We are the ones we have been waiting for

'It is the worst of times. It is the best of times. Try as I might I cannot find a more appropriate opening for this volume' Terrorist attacks, natural disasters such as the Asian tsunami and the flooding of New Orleans, the reality of global warming, ongoing warfare in Iraq and the de-stabilisation of the Middle East - sometimes the future can seem bleak, if not frightening. Yet this is not a pessimistic book. Taking a line from the poet June Jordan who said 'We are the Ones we have been waiting for' - Alice Walker reasserts the power of the individual in making political change happen. In short, we can 'fix things' by focusing on what we share as human beings rather than what separates us. Looking at subjects as diverse as sending our children to war, the rich/poor divide, Nature, the I Ching, modern gender roles, women in the miltary, and even a piece on her dog Marley, Alice Walker looks towards an optimistic view of the future through a more intuitive understanding of the self and the world around us.