Resilience in Times of Collapse – Erasmus+ Course at Tamera

The Work That Reconnects Spiral 

The course was anchored in the Spiral from the “Work That Reconnects” by Joanna Macy – the great, and sadly recently departed, eco-philosopher and activist  – complemented with other tools such as trauma-informed work and the Theater of the Oppressed. In Joanna’s words, “The most radical thing any of us can do at this time is to be fully present to what is happening in the world.” The Spiral is a practice to help us do just that.

It began with Gratitude: a state of nourishment and self-resourcing, and a space to compost our modern desires for “more.” We connected to it by asking: What are you grateful for in the world we live in? or What do you love about being a human on Earth? Each answer opened us to a deeper felt sense of abundance and life’s richness.

Next came Honoring our Pain for the World – making space to sit with the discomfort and suffering caused by the many ways injustice and violence affect us and the world we love. Those of us in high-struggle contexts shared pain rooted in the brutality of past and present colonialism, occupation and state violence. For those of us in low-struggle contexts, a common theme was guilt, especially about not doing enough. Sharing these vulnerable parts helped foster empathy and compassion toward ourselves and others.

Then came Seeing the World Through New and Ancient Eyes. In this phase A’ida Shibli, an Indigenous woman from Palestine, shared powerful practices for re-rooting ourselves in our ancestry, the land and community, cultivating our capacity for coexistence based on reciprocity. We also engaged in role-playing a dialogue between present and future generations. It allowed us to perceive the common roots of our traumas – and of our interbeing, embedded in a web of inextricable, sacred relationships. We were also made aware of our power to transform these struggles, through service in the name of life and love.

In the last phase, Going Forth, we gave back to the community of beings at Tamera that had hosted us, through land caring practices (e.g. by ensuring space for Indigenous plants among overzealous migrant flora) and by preparing and sharing food and art. Then came the time for harvesting and the question: With all that I learned and experienced, what shall be my next step? For some of us, visions crystallised and new commitments took root. Others felt renewed in their current path. And some of us are still trying to make sense of it all – and that is also part of resilience-building.

Key Learnings: Collapse, Resilience, and Healing 

Collapse and Systems of Oppression: Collapse is not a distant threat; it is the present reality for many, although experienced unequally, with marginalized communities carrying the heaviest burden. During the course, participants from Palestine and Brazil bore witness to the daily collapse unfolding in the West Bank and São Paulo’s favelas. As ecological, social and geopolitical tensions rise globally, more of us will be drawn into this unravelling. We explored the systems driving collapse, especially capitalism: a socio-economic logic based on endless growth and private accumulation. Its roots are entangled with centuries of other systems of oppression, including patriarchy, colonialism, racism, anthropocentrism and others. When capitalism reaches a point of exploitation and suffering so deep that it requires authoritarian force to suppress resistance and prevent revolution, it gives rise to fascism. To oppose systems of oppression, the call is not merely to analyze them and point fingers, but to ask: how do they live within us? How do we reproduce them, even in spaces of resistance?

Trauma:  Systemic oppression and its consequences, such as wars, genocide, slavery, colonization and climate disaster, leaves us with deep, often intergenerational wounds. These traumas can manifest in different ways – the “4 Fs” of trauma including fight (aggression), flight (escape), freeze (paralysis or dissociation) and fawn (pleasing and appeasing others as a protective strategy). While these responses were originally described for individuals, collective trauma can also trigger similar reactions in groups, communities or entire nations and geopolitics. Understanding these trauma responses – both individual and collective – is essential to breaking cycles of violence and building pathways toward collective healing, justice and peace.

Pathways to liberation:  Resilience, the ability to survive and recover from trauma – is rooted in interdependence. This is as true of living systems and the web of life, as it is of liberation. “None of us are free until we all are free,” – a sentiment echoed by many civil rights and social justice leaders including Fannie Lou Hamer, Martin Luther King Jr. and Emma Lazarus. Our destinies are deeply interwoven; both local and global solidarity are essential in times of collapse. This means speaking out against injustices, both within and outside of our own communities. It also means tending to ourselves to heal from trauma that hinders building peace. Because trauma is stored in the body, healing must happen through the body. There are many nervous system regulation techniques, including breathing exercises, meditation, self-massage, self-hugging, stretching, shaking and rocking – and others that happen collectively, like co-regulation through touch, hugs, deep listening, or singing. This healing, as we learned, is an ongoing practice; there is always room to grow and deepen our connection with the world inside and around us.

Personal Reflections

Kaya: Looking back, some key learnings for me on the sources of resilience – taught in large part by our brothers and sisters in high-struggle societies – are, first, that it comes from cultivating the capacity to hold grief in one hand and unbridled joy in the other. Second, that it arises from training ourselves to shift attention from self to the collective asking, What does my community, and all my relations, need right now? Third, that resilience grows through group work, something I often find missing in the Global North, where suffering is usually processed only privately and intellectually. And fourth – a lesson from A’ida – that collective healing becomes possible when we learn to stand in our power to offer grounded, compassionate presence to witness others in their pain, without centering our own. It also asks us to let ourselves feel our own pain and discomfort, express it through the body, and be witnessed and embraced in that vulnerability. I see deep value in bringing these lessons into youth work and other professional contexts.

Michaël: An important reflection that I had while participating in the course is that ecospiritual communities like Tamera often remain accessible mainly to white people. Yet BIPOC people are essential for the peace and liberation they stand for. Inclusion requires ongoing, intentional effort. Our facilitation team worked hard to bring in our Palestinian and Brazilian friends — the only BIPOC participants, who offered some of the deepest insights. Just as we wouldn’t discuss women’s liberation with only men, we can’t address collective liberation in all-white contexts. Tamera has taken meaningful steps by naming this discomfort in its Inclusion Statement and beginning internal education. It’s not about perfection, but about the courage to confront privilege and actively include marginalized groups. Another personal insight rooted in the understanding of interbeing – that none of us is free until all of us are. I believe collective liberation depends on cycling out of our trauma responses, both personal and collective. Although not a part of the course itself, I find the Karpman Drama Triangle – victim, persecutor, savior – a helpful lens to understand how conflict persists. True peace, for me, begins with naming these roles and doing the work of accountability. This to me, is resilience in times of collapse.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.