In the culmination of this exploration of the flow of carbon through the universe, the earth and every mobile and immobile denizen of the planet, Hawken reiterates the contrast between the indigenous worldview – all of us, including land, plants and animals are inseparable – and the worldview the rest of us live in – disconnected, objectifying, exploiting and extracting.

The indigenous and other wise cultures of the world plan seven generations ahead – the idea and term “seven generations” arising out of the Haudenosaunee confederacy, the first democracy in the Americas forged by 50 indigenous clans – because they remember seven generations into the past.

The author remembers being in the Brown Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church during the March to Montgomery led by Martin Luther King Jr, and other black leaders, where mercy and forgiveness weren’t mere words, but living practices in the face of brutal murders of their community members.

The chapter is a quiet but impassioned call to awaken and to act, with beautiful quotes from many wise leaders. Every word in this chapter is meant to be read over and over, every day.

Some of the statements that inspire, challenge and speak to me:

“Pessimism and gloom are cobwebs; brush them aside.”

“You can’t be both cautious and courageous, we must choose.”

“Beliefs do not change our actions; actions change our beliefs.”

“where you are is where you are most effective. The power to act does not lie elsewhere.”

“Everyone on earth comes first; there is no second.”

“Our intention and reward are the same: to experience and express the irrevocable connection to all beings. It is our only way forward.”