What does our natural world mean to you?

When I have children and grandchildren, the world will be very different from now. Ecosystems will finally regenerate and come back to life. We will come back to life.

There will be no more nation-states, the world will be a society centered on the global community, on free movement and on the inclusion of all. There will be ecovillages, alternative schools, food forests, gardens and green spaces everywhere.

Every person will be attended, seen and heard. We will recognize the inherent worth in all people. We will be more connected with ourselves, with our spirituality and with our Planet Earth. We will have nearly cleaned the ocean of all plastic and pollution, completely stopped deforestation and planting trees will be a regular social activity.

Everyone will have healthy homemade food and clean water, and our human systems will mimic the biological systems of life. Biodiversity will come back and animals will return to their homes, corals will return to life and everything will be powered by renewable energy. People will be so rich, not in money, but in their connections with others.

I will tell my children and their children about the days when I was younger and how the government and companies were killing our land. I'll tell them how we almost didn't make it. I will tell them how the animals were dying, the land was burning and it looked like no one cared.

I'll tell them how we took to the streets and got organized. How we took action and we demanded our rights to a respected and preserved land. To a more human and equal world. I will tell them how we started building communities, growing food, planting trees, revitalizing and regenerating. I'll tell them how scary and hard it was, but we did it because we needed to do it.

They will live in a world so beautiful that when they hear this story they can hardly imagine what kind of dystopia I am describing. They will say that I must be exaggerating! They will ask: But how did you live like that? It doesn’t even seem like the same planet.

And I will proudly say that my generation is the generation that changed the human presence on Earth from destructive to regenerative. From a world divided by wars and borders, to a world united by peace.

If you've read this and think I'm talking about a utopian future, maybe it's time to start re-evaluating the importance that your actions have in today's world. Because believing in an utopia is the first step in making it a reality.

What does our natural world mean to you?

Below I share with you several sources with which you can start contributing today or can inspire you to take part in a change in your city.

- Global Ecovillage Network is a growing network of regenerative communities and initiatives that bridge cultures, countries, and continents. GEN builds bridges between policy-makers, governments, NGOs, academics, entrepreneurs, activists, community networks and ecologically-minded individuals across the globe in order to develop strategies for a global transition to resilient communities and cultures.

- If you aren’t familiar with all the various forms of alternative schooling out there, here is a brief overview of the different histories, options, and philosophies. Ron covers the conventional model, freedom-based learning, social constructivist models, critical pedagogy, spiritual developmentalism, and integral or holistic education.

- A food forest, also called a forest garden, is a diverse planting of edible plants that attempts to mimic the ecosystems and patterns found in nature. Food forests are three dimensional designs, with life extending in all directions – up, down, and out. If you would like to know more about this and other sustainable food project click here.

Do you have a story or a project you would like to share? Send me an e-mail to theglobalpaths@gmail.com or contact me directly on the Facebook page.