The 2013 ritual rebuilding of the Ise Shrine in Mie Prefecture, Japan
Active Hope helped me to understand that building trust is key to action. One must find strength from others to become an active participant in the greater rhythm of the earth. Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone define active hope as a practice that “like tai chi or gardening, is about something we do rather than have” (3). Instead of an endpoint, active hope is a process that involves contemplation, renewal, and empowerment. By trusting the “spiral of the work that reconnects,” we can understand that “we are larger, stronger, deeper, and more creative than we have been brought up to believe” (Macy and Johnstone 37). We must remind ourselves that we are a part of the whole; a system that is in constant evolution and continuous movement. Humans are like soon-to-be heroes at the beginning of an adventure story; we do not realize the great power we contain inside ourselves or the power of the support networks surrounding us. As Active Hope describes, the lesson of King Arthur’s sword teaches us that we need only to recognize and draw upon the strength of our ancestors and the community around us to begin our journey.
Reading Active Hope caused me to make interdisciplinary connections to my architecture history class and other aspects of my life. In Arch350, I recently learned about the Ise Shrine, a Japanese shrine that involves contemplation through the ritual process of rebuilding and draws from the past to integrate communities in the present. The Ise Shrine is a Shinto shrine from Mie Prefecture, Japan, that was first constructed in 4 BCE. While most architecture focuses on permanence and resilience, the Ise Shrine emphasizes ritual in the cycle of rebuilding. Every twenty years, people work together using traditional manual labor methods to rebuild the shrine. The ritual process of rebuilding both renews community and spiritual bonds, while keeping old traditions alive. The Ise Shrine represents the ideals that Active Hope suggests we must strive for as we move forward in the Anthropocene. By recognizing the support of ancestors and community, the shrine is working towards a strong, resilient community with a “team spirit” mentality. Unlike many famous architectural feats from history, the Ise shrine is part of a living cycle that continues to adapt and bring people together to experience ritual and cultural renewal.
Learning about the Ise Shrine, I imagine a future in which the energy and significance of traditional rituals is harnessed to protect the earth system. Neighborhoods could hold a community event to which everyone could contribute, similar to the ladybug in Wallingford (Seattle), but instead of merely painting an intersection, the community might organize and host a sustainability project. Through contemplation, people could learn to trust themselves and their capability to work together to search for sustainable solutions. Receiving from the past, we could learn to give to the future in a spiral of active hope.
Works Cited:
Breen, John. Digital image. The Japan Society. N.p., June-July 2015. Web. 14 Dec. 2017.
Macy, Joanna, and Chris Johnstone. Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re in without Going Crazy. Novato, CA: New World Library, 2012. Print.