Human beings carry within them the ability, developed through evolution, to find meaning in existence. Its core is their experience and understanding of themselves as part of larger communities, human as well as spiritual and planetary. Today, when sick-leave due to stress is on the rise, and crises, from war to ecological collapse threaten the foundation of society, our inner power to create and feel meaningfulness in life is more crucial than ever! This relates not only to coping with stress and threats, but also to collaboratively finding solutions to their underlying causes.
Contemplation – to raise our gaze above purely instrumental concerns; Aesthetics – to see and care for beauty in what exists around us; and Compassion – to bond with others and the more-than-human world, are three paths to meaning-making, which can free individuals from self-encapsulation, make them see their role and agency, and ignite the urge to take responsibility for supporting sustainability and wellbeing across individual, collective, and system levels.
Against this background, ERiCi explores these intertwined paths with a special focus on integrating them in education and professional practice across different sectors and levels in society. For more information, see the initiative’s institutional website at Lund University and a recent article about ERiCi here.