A Future We Can Love

Description

Discover wisdom and guidance to face the climate emergency from the most influential spiritual and environmental leaders of our time, including the Dalai Lama, Greta Thunberg, Joanna Macy, Vandana Shiva, Paul Hawken, Katharine Hayhoe, and Matthieu Ricard.

When the Dalai Lama and Greta Thunberg spoke for the first time in January 2021, millions of people around the world took notice. “It is encouraging to see how you have opened the eyes of the world to the urgency to protect our planet, our only home,” the Dalai Lama wrote to Greta before their meeting.

A Future We Can Love shares the words of these two great figures, generations apart, bringing them into dialogue with dozens of visionary scientists, activists, and spiritual luminaries. These include indigenous scholar and artist Lyla June, medical biochemist and author Diana Beresford-Kroeger, climate scientist and Zen teacher Kritee Kanko, interfaith environmental leader Dekila Chungyalpa, Buddhist teacher Willa Blythe Baker, Rabbi Steve Leder, and many more. Through this world-changing conversation, readers embark on a four-part journey toward active hope in the face of the climate crisis: from knowledge of climate science, through the capacity for change, and to the will that is needed and the actions we can take. The book will help you:

• comfort your climate anxiety and metabolize grief or burnout into wonderment and useful energy
• recognize interdependence as key to our well-being and as a lens for understanding both the climate crisis and its solutions
• clarify why feedback loops leave us no time to wait on climate action
• develop your own rituals and practices for connecting to Earth and renewing hope
• overcome common obstacles to speaking and acting clearly on behalf of the human and wild communities most affected by the climate crisis

A Future We Can Love inspires each of us to rise to the occasion to ensure a brighter future for generations to come.“This rare and potent blending of voices highlights Greta Thunberg and the Dalai Lama as they share deep wisdom and true inspiration for our times. Their plea goes right to the heart: Out of love for life, please act on behalf of our precious planet. It’s not too late!”
—Tara Brach, author of Radical Acceptance and Radical Compassion
 
“The crisis with our planet can feel overwhelming, which is why I am so grateful for this remarkable book. Grounded in the conversation between the Dalai Lama and Greta Thunberg, with other valuable reflections added from various experts, the result is a resource that is deep, practical, and timely. Read this book, take notes, and then go and make a difference.”
—The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry, Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church and author of Love is the Way
 
“We are in a moment when very ancient wisdom and the latest science are converging on some difficult and important questions for our species—and this conversation between young and old is a perfect example of how rich this moment can be!”
—Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature
 
“In A Future we Can Love Susan Bauer-Wu has created a captivating chorus of voices from key environmental thinkers articulating the dire realities and hopeful actions we can each take to stave off the climate crisis. Let’s hope a future we can love becomes the future we might have.”
—Daniel Goleman, coauthor of Why We Meditate and Altered Traits
 
“Do we have the will, the capacity, and know the action to take to protect our earth from climate change? Inspired by a conversation between the Dalai Lama and Greta Thunberg, A Future We Can Love is a profound call to action. Rather than be an abstract or philosophical declaration, it provides tangible ideas to help support our earth for future generations.”
—Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness and Real Happiness
 
“So many of us want to look away when it comes to this massive global problem. But this book pulls off the neat and crucial trick of bringing all of us into the conversation and giving us the tools to help out, without falling into the traps of resignation, avoidance, or denial.”
—Dan Harris, author of 10% Happier and host of the 10% Happier Podcast
 
“Enter and be entrained into an inspiring and illuminating conversation and inquiry—one that our very lives, all of us and all life on Earth, depends on.  May it lead to potent transformations inwardly and outwardly at all levels of scale.”
—Jon Kabat-Zinn, Founder of MBSR; author of Coming to Our Senses and Full Catastrophe Living

“A Future We Can Love is a profoundly moving personal reflection on the climate crisis. The book provides an unflinching overview of current science, then embraces a roadmap to solutions. How we shop, eat, and vote—our climate values matter. Susan Bauer-Wu interviews world-renowned climate scientists and augments their sobering facts with a healing vision. She shows us how to navigate these challenging times with compassion and love. In a world of eco-anxiety, Bauer-Wu’s wisdom inspires respect for our planet and all living things, along with a much-needed sense of hope and possibility.”
—Roberta Baskin, investigative journalist and climate activist

“Never before have I seen the truths of our climate situation presented in such an intimate and vulnerable way. Susan’s conversation allows the world’s greatest scientists and spiritual leaders to become our personal guides. Together they give expression to our heartbreak, and together they describe the path back to hope . . . and to action. A must read!”
―Philip Clayton, author of The New Possible; President, EcoCiv.org

“A Future We Can Love is a rare weave of factual clarity, passionate outrage, deep teachings, charming stories, personal practices, and lovely, lovely heartfelt prose. The book is a gem—the best I’ve seen both introducing people to the bad news while also emphasizing what we can actually do to create the future we love.”
—Rick Hanson, PhD, author of Making Great Relationships

“If there is medicine for despair and anxiety about climate change, it can be found in this book.”
—Lion’s Roar SUSAN BAUER-WU is an organizational leader, clinical scientist, and mindfulness teacher whose lifework has been dedicated to alleviating suffering and fostering well-being through contemplative wisdom. She is the president of the Mind & Life Institute and previously was the Kluge professor of contemplative end-of-life care at the University of Virginia. She is an avid gardener and hiker who is nourished by trees and animals and awed by our reciprocal connection with nature. She is deeply committed to the care of our planet and to policies and personal actions that will ensure a future we can love for our children and grandchildren. She lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, and is also the author of Leaves Falling Gently.CA

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