More examples of our life-aligned world happening now.

The evidence keeps piling up (even with appearances to the contrary).

As I see it, collectively and culturally we’re breaking down and breaking open because we’re birthing our new world with conditions for all beings to thrive on a regenerated Earth.  

And, it’s a shift in our consciousness, not just in our physical/material experience.

We’re at a threshold on multiple levels. On the external level are the obvious ones that are called the polycrisis: climate/earth, financial/economic, political, social, relationships, community. On a more fundamental level are ones like beliefs, identity, meaning, worldview, paradigm.

I’ve written about this process previously: here, here, here, here,  here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

These examples are in addition to the ones I included in my e-book Hiding In Plain Sight: Evidence of Our Life-Aligned, Regenerative Culture Emerging.

Here are more examples of that life-aligned cultural shift I’ve come across recently.

The Schools Giving Children a Say in How They Are Run

As trust in democracy declines, a project putting pupils’ voices at the heart of school life is proving its worth. “We try to make every pupil’s voice heard,” explains Jess, a nine-year-old who even has a job title: suggestion box leader and staff liaison officer. According to the organization, almost 90% of pupils at participating schools feel listened to (compared with 36% beforehand), and more than 90% of teachers say the process improves pupils’ listening and speaking skills. 

Scientist wins peace prize for farmer-managed natural regeneration work 

An Australian agronomist has been awarded an international peace prize for a farming technique that has revolutionized farms in Niger. Tony Rinaudo started Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration, which restores denuded landscapes into fertile soils for livestock and crops. He then affiliated with World Vision, with his technique spreading to more than 40 nations. It has added more than 500,000 tons of grain to Niger’s annual crop yields.

A record number of dams were removed in Europe

When you remove a dam from a river, something extraordinary happens. Fish that had been blocked from swimming upstream – for as long as 200 years, in some cases – start returning to their historic breeding grounds, re-establishing ancient migratory routes. Nature has a way of never forgetting. Give it space and it will recover, recolonize, thrive again.  It’s a story that’s playing out along many waterways in Europe, where last year a record number of dams were pulled down: 603, according to fresh data, with Sweden leading the way. Biodiversity gains have already been reported . . . “It’s genuinely exciting,” one conservationist declared. 

Spain's New Move Toward Economy Democracy

This is part of a growing trend. Mondragon, the Basque cooperative network, started in 1956 with one technical college and one workshop, now employs 80,000 people across 100 cooperatives. Workers own and govern, extending democracy from the government all the way out into the economy.

Mondragon is the blueprint inspiring the Spanish government right now. And it’s very similar to the one behind Scotland’s Community Wealth Building Bill, which passed 103 to 0 in February and became the world’s first national community wealth building law.  The five pillars — fair work, progressive procurement, community ownership, local finance, democratic land use — are now law. The movement has gone from movement to mandate.

This isn’t a movement building toward something; it’s already here. 

In addition to Scotland and Spain:

~ When Spirit Airlines collapsed, 36,000 people pledged $22 million in under 24 hours to buy it cooperatively. The site crashed from traffic.

~ The Entertainer, one of the UK’s biggest toy retailers, just chose to sell to its employees instead of private equity.

Cities like Cleveland, Chicago, and Baltimore are mobilizing anchor institutions — hospitals, universities, local government — to keep wealth circulating where it’s generated. Worker cooperatives are growing. Studies keep confirming that greater local ownership increases income, wealth, and jobs in communities. Millions of people are now investing directly in their own local economies through crowdfunding. And polling shows the public is firmly behind all of it.

Torn by War, Israelis and Palestinians Tie Their Fortunes Together

Palestinians, Israeli Arabs, Israeli Jews, and other entrepreneurs connect in workshops and meetings to form business start-ups in an accelerator program called 50:50. While many have and continue to experience terror in their homelands, they are worried: "I don't want my kids to be living in a world full of hatred." For investors, the team and their collaborations are as important as the product. Business survival is “based on equality, a shared goal and a mutual trust and reliance on each other's support.” If they can come together under the current political landscape, they will build resilience. “They'll fail together or they'll succeed together." The relationships they forge have significant ripple effects on friends and family, and participants hope to “build lasting bridges that could advance the cause of peace.” One said, "It's already worth it just to show other people that it's possible.”

Transform Finance: Our Values-Led Business Project

This new report, Hiding in Plain Sight, is written for business leaders—founders, CEOs, board members, and senior executives—who are looking for ways to navigate tension between their personal values and professional expectations.

This project is based on a simple observation: many founders, executives, and board members hold strong personal values, yet face real constraints that shape whether and how those values can be acted upon inside a company. This learning hub aims to make values-led decisions, defined as strategic business choices primarily guided by values above purely financial considerations, more visible, practical, and durable.

Their values, such as environmental stewardship, economic inclusion, freedom, community, religious faith, and responsibility to the public, shape day-to-day decisions and influence how their companies grow and develop. Yet acting on these values is often assumed to be rare, risky, or limited to exceptional circumstances.

This report challenges that assumption by showing how values-led decisions are already shaping real companies today.

Drawing on more than 600 examples of companies that have made values-led decisions, the research identifies cases that are not confined to familiar stories of exceptionally altruistic leaders, social enterprises that defy the odds, or narrow “win-win” cases where doing good delivers clear financial advantage. Instead, it reveals a wide range of companies, including many household names, where leaders have made decisions guided by values beyond purely financial considerations.

These practices may not make headlines, but they offer rich and practical insight. The research shows that acting on values is not only possible, it is more common than many expect. (emphasis mine)

As I see it, all these examples are encouraging because what got us “here” won’t get us “there”, and “there”—a world of well-being for all—is becoming much more real and present.