​Seeds of Hope in a Time of Need:

Micro-Communities, Relational Fields, and Ecological Civilization

Inspired by John Clark and John Cobb, through a process-relational lens

​In "Lessons from the School of Radical Change: Notes of a Slow Learner," John Clark reflects on the long arc of his journey—from movement activism in the 1960s and ’70s, to solidarity work in Central America and West Papua, to study and practice within Buddhist, Quaker, and anarchist traditions, to deep community engagement in post-Katrina New Orleans. Along the way, he came to recognize that truly transformative change requires more than political critique or even bold resistance—it requires the cultivation of new ways of being together. Not just new ideas, but new relationships. Not just protest, but shared life.

He writes:
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“As a result of all these slow processes of learning, I decided a few years ago that it was necessary to leave the university where I have taught for decades, and to start working more directly and full-time for the process of social and ecological regeneration. I started a project called La Terre Institute for Community and Ecology, situated on 87 acres in the forest of the Gulf Coast, in addition to having programs in New Orleans, to help pursue this work. I have learned from the early stages of the project that it is urgently necessary to find a small community of similarly motivated people who can work together, in order to make this undertaking a success.”

This statement emerges not from theory alone, but from Clark’s lived recognition that personal, political, ecological, and spiritual healing are deeply interwoven. The work of transformation—healing from capitalism, militarism, patriarchy, and ecological devastation—cannot be separated from the work of building grounded, relational spaces of care and creativity. He speaks of these as “micro-communities"—small, intentional groups rooted in shared purpose, mutual support, and a commitment to healing and transformation. For Clark, these communities are not peripheral—they are essential. They are the spaces where genuine social and ecological regeneration can begin.

This conviction resonates deeply with John Cobb’s call for the emergence of an ecological civilization: a civilization grounded not in domination, consumption, and growth, but in local communities that are creative, compassionate, participatory, ecologically wise, and spiritually fulfilling—with no one left behind. For Cobb, these communities form the basic units of a livable future. He and I developed this vision in our short co-authored book, Choosing Life: Ecological Civilization as the World's Best Hope (Topical Line Drives, 2020).

At the heart of Clark’s vision I share with Cobb is a truth emphasized by process-relational philosophy: the world is not made of isolated things, but of relational fields—dynamic networks of becoming, shaped by emotion, memory, and possibility. In this view, each moment of our lives is a process of becoming, influenced by relationships past and present, and open to new potential. Transformation doesn’t occur in abstraction—it happens in the context of relational life.

And crucially: relational fields are fields of shared imagination and emotion, not merely spaces of interaction. They are sustained by practices such as prayer and meditation, as well as acts of mutual service, caregiving, and cooperation. A shared meal, a song sung together, a circle of listening, a moment of silence—these are not decorative. They are the generative tissues of communal life. They shape how people feel, trust, and imagine together.

Micro-communities, then, are powerful because they nurture these fields of becoming. Whether composed of two people or two hundred, their strength lies in the depth of their relational quality. They may take many forms:

• Mutual partnerships of two people engaged in healing or spiritual companionship
• Households and intentional living groups (3–12 people) rooted in shared rhythms and mutual support
• Neighborhood circles and affinity groups (8–30 people) practicing activism, learning, or caregiving
• Ecovillage-scale communities (30–150 people) embodying local autonomy and ecological stewardship
• Interconnected networks of micro-communities that span regions, cultures, and causes—linked by shared values and mutual inspiration

Importantly, some of these relational fields may be digital—at least in part. While physical co-presence offers a depth that cannot be fully replicated, digital micro-communities can still become sites of deep connection, shared emotion, and collective imagination, especially when guided by intentional practice. A Zoom sangha, a WhatsApp mutual aid group, or a virtual classroom can serve as a field of becoming when sustained by vulnerability, attentiveness, and care.

This brings us to a deeper question:

Can the vision of ecological civilization—grounded in care, relationship, and local resilience—become a new social imaginary? Can it replace the dominant myth of consumption and control with a living story of interdependence, justice, and joy?

Clark’s answer is that it must begin small. Cobb’s answer is that it must begin local. And both suggest that micro-communities are not just responses to crisis—they are acts of prophecy and prefiguration. They show us what is possible and train us to live into it.

​For Clark, this conviction is no longer theoretical. It is embodied in his decision to step away from academia, to put decades of political, ecological, and spiritual learning into direct, community-based practice. The founding of La Terre Institute was not just an institutional move; it was the fruit of a long, reflective pilgrimage through activism, suffering, global solidarity, and inner transformation. It represents a shift from analysis to cultivation—from critique to commitment. What he seeks now is not a blueprint but companions in a shared field of becoming—a small community of motivated people co-creating a life grounded in care, regeneration, and hope.

From a process-relational perspective, this is not only a social strategy—it is aligned with the grain of reality. Life itself is relational, and each moment offers the chance to move toward beauty, intensity, justice, or compassion. Relational fields are where the future begins.

In a time of unraveling ecosystems, fragmented societies, and spiritual exhaustion, micro-communities sustained by prayer, meditation, and mutual service are seeds of hope. They may not change everything all at once, but they remind us that something better is possible—something already quietly growing in forests, kitchens, city blocks, and digital circles around the world.

They may not save the world overnight. They may not save it at all. But they give us a vision of the world as it can be. And that very vision, in small groups, is a seed of hope. A seed, I might add, that adds to a larger life, the living whole of the universe, whatever its immediate effect, the energy of which is then recycled back to earth,. The philosopher Whitehead puts it this way:

"What is done in the world is transformed into a reality in heaven, and the reality in heaven passes back into the world. By reason of this reciprocal relation, the love in the world passes into the love in heaven, and floods back again into the world. In this sense, God is the great companion—the fellow-sufferer who understands." (Process and Reality)

The energy of small and hopeful communities does not belong to the communities alone, it also belongs to a wider life: a fellow sufferer who understands the pain and the hope. And somehow, in ways we can barely understand, the energy floods back again into the world, not with the force of hurricanes, but with that of tenderness, mindfulness, and community. In this way, the seeds bear fruit, even if only the size of a mustard seed.


- Jay McDaniel

​Hope-Bearing Micro-Communities
for Ecological Civilization
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1. Intentional Households and Co-Housing Communities

Where daily life models simplicity, shared resources, and mutual care

Example: An intergenerational co-housing village with communal gardens and shared meals

2. Neighborhood-Based Resilience Circles

Local groups preparing for ecological and social shocks through mutual aid and care

Example: Neighbors sharing tools, meals, and disaster preparedness plans

3. Community Gardens and Urban Agriculture Collectives

Hands-in-the-soil communities reconnecting people to food and land

Example: A multicultural garden in the city that feeds both bodies and relationships

4. Ecovillages and Land Trusts

Rural or semi-rural communities experimenting with low-impact, regenerative living

Example: A permaculture ecovillage with compost toilets and renewable energy

5. Spiritual and Contemplative Circles Rooted in Earth Reverence

Groups that nurture reverence for the Earth through shared spiritual practice

Example: A weekly meditation group honoring the seasons and the more-than-human world

6. Youth and Intergenerational Climate Action Pods

Young people and elders teaming up to face the future with courage and love

Example: A student-elder partnership advocating for green infrastructure in town

7. Artistic and Storytelling Collectives Focused on Cultural Renewal

Artists using beauty, play, and imagination to re-weave the social fabric

Example: A public art project showcasing stories of ecological restoration

8. Worker-Owned Cooperatives and Solidarity Economy Circles

Economic micro-communities based on fairness, democracy, and reciprocity

Example: A worker-run café that pays living wages and supports local growers

9. Digital Affinity Spaces for Ecological Wisdom Sharing

Online networks cultivating education, empathy, and global solidarity

Example: A multilingual permaculture group sharing knowledge across continents

10. Interfaith and Interspiritual Coalitions for Justice and the Earth

Spiritual communities uniting across traditions for the common good

Example: A climate pilgrimage jointly organized by Buddhists, Christians, and Indigenous leaders

11. Urban–Rural Partnership Hubs

Bridges between city and countryside, reconnecting food, labor, and land

Example: A network linking urban eaters to regenerative rural farms through storytelling and exchange

12. Grief and Healing Circles for Ecological and Social Loss

Safe spaces to feel, lament, and metabolize collective pain into compassionate action

Example: A climate grief group integrating ritual, music, and mutual care