Blessed Unrest Phenomenon | Paul Hawken

After reviewing the resources on inquiry-based learning and engaging with the elements of academic literacy, review the Blessed Unrest resources to learn more about this phenomenon as a jumping-off point for your inquiry project.

During these increasingly tumultuous times, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the challenges facing humanity. In her book, Hope Matters, Elin Kelsey makes a case for hope, not fear, as our most powerful tool for tackling the planetary crisis (Kelsey, 2020).  As we re-imagine our lives post-pandemic, how might we harness the power of hope?

It is in the spirit of hope that we turn to explore the Blessed Unrest phenomenon, described by Paul Hawken in his book, Blessed Unrest. Although it was published in 2007, the themes remain relevant today and the movement has only grown to meet the challenges facing humanity and the planet.

Goodreads summarized Hawken’s book in the following review:

One of the world’s most influential environmentalists reveals a worldwide grassroots movement of hope and humanity

Blessed Unrest tells the story of a worldwide movement that is largely unseen by politicians or the media. Hawken, an environmentalist and author, has spent more than a decade researching organizations dedicated to restoring the environment and fostering social justice. From billion-dollar non-profits to single-person causes, these organizations collectively comprise the largest movement on earth. This is a movement that has no name, leader, or location, but is in every city, town, and culture. It is organizing from the bottom up and is emerging as an extraordinary and creative expression of people’s needs worldwide.

Blessed Unrest is a description of humanity’s collective genius and the unstoppable movement to re-imagine our relationship to the environment and one another. (Goodreads, n.d.)^[1]