Whose Money is it Anyway?

Last week at work I was talking with a colleague about the government, more specifically, the corrupt politicians and their dirty deeds. I used the disgusting behaviour of our city and the police in the eviction of the Occupy protest camp as an example of our government at its worst. Of course there are many more examples of corruption, greed, mismanagement and general sneakiness. But it seems I was talking to a wall when the response I got was that I can't really complain because I work for the government. "You can't have it both ways."

At first I was shocked. Naturally I can complain about the government even if they sign my paycheck since I am not obliged to agree with what the government does as a condition of my employment. Our country has a couple of documents securing my right to free speech and free thought called the Canadian Constitution and The Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I thought most Canadians would be familiar with these documents. Perhaps not.

What is even more shocking is that my colleague believes the government owns the money. The government doesn't have money, it collects and distributes the people's money, our taxes. I work for the public, not the government. I work in a public institution which means it belongs to the public. I owe no allegiance to this or any other government party or leadership. It is very scary to know that people believe we cannot question authority if they sign our paychecks. In actuality, it is our obligation to question authority, especially the government, whom we have placed in office to oversee the management of public resources.

Let's get this straight. The government works for the people, not vice versa. Anyone is allowed at anytime to voice objection to this or any other government department, agency or party. If you are working within the government and don't like the criticism, might I suggest moving to the private sector?

Eye Exercise

I think it was last week. Someone sent me an article about exercising your eyes. I didn't think much of it but was curious and sure enough, 10 minutes later I was doing the eye exercises described in the article. It got me thinking though. Why do we not exercise our eyes? They are, after all, a muscle. We work our other muscles, in gyms, jogging, swimming, yoga, pilates, tai chi...even vocal exercises. Why not exercise our eyes? They're kind of important no?

Anyhow, it's been niggling in my mind for days. I'd rather exercise my eyes than wear glasses or contacts. Having recently joined the four-eyed club with a prescription for reading glasses, I now understand the difference between good and bad eyesight. And, glasses (although sometimes a cute accessory) suck! I think glasses are weakening my eyes. After I wear them, my vision is worse than before. Yes, I need them to read books but maybe an e-reader with large font is a better idea. I digress.

Today is when it all began to make sense...the annoyance, the niggling, the curiosity. I was in a meeting at work with some colleagues and some international students. We were meeting about a college program that sends employees overseas for short-term individual volunteer placements. We were talking about what people in different countries think of Canada...and the difference between Canada and their country. Everyone in the room had an opinion because every one of us has gone on overseas placements, or relocated, or experienced some sort of work or personal travel to Asia, Africa, South America, Middle East, etc. We all have had experiences abroad that were eye-opening and mind-broadening. We all had on some level exercised our minds culturally, intellectually and socially.

Now think about it. We are told that our eyes, over time, harden and become more rigid. We become unable to focus on things near or far so we go to the eye doctor. A specialist! The eye doctor examines us and, if we're not 20/20, gives us a prescription. The eye doctor then tells us it is likely our eyes will get worse over time so expect to return in a year or so for another prescription...on and on it goes. What the eye doctor does NOT do is suggest eye exercises instead of buying glasses. Instead the eye doctor advises us to close our eyes and rest our eyes regularly. Ha!

Examinations! Prescriptions! Lenses! Resignation! Bah. How familiar. When I applied the same line of thought about eyesight to cultural competence it dawned on me that our society would rather us wear 'glasses' than take the time and effort to exercise our minds, even though the results would be far more favourable.

Consider this...what might our society look like if we all had some intensive experience in a foreign country with an unfamiliar culture or language? Would we need to have diversity policies, cultural counseling or inclusiveness courses? Or would we not need these 'prescriptions' because we all would be exercising our minds in a way that would help us to understand that we are all different and that different is not bad or fearful, it's good. Would we be as dependent on government to give us the rules on how to behave fairly and without prejudice? Would the government be as capable of instilling fear and hatred in us? I think it would make a huge difference.

When we try to correct a problem in an unnatural way (prescriptions) we risk becoming dependent on something originating from authority (specialists), and this dependence compounds.We relinquish our power and surrender without taking the time or making the effort to correct the problem ourselves. We capitulate and, in the end, lose a lot more than we had expected. Meanwhile the authority lines its pockets with our gold and controls us with false promises of security or support.

Prescriptions are mechanisms of control and they ought to be the very, very last resort in ANY situation. Policies, laws and processes are designed to keep us in line so we'll be compliant thus easier to control. Effort would be much better spent on learning programs that give us opportunities to exercise our minds than on policies that close our eyes and keep us in the dark.

Demurrage

Demurrage. This is something new I've learned about in the past few weeks. Defined, demurrage is "the cost associated with owning or holding currency over a given period. It is sometimes referred to as a carrying cost of money. For commodity money such as gold, demurrage is the cost of storing and securing the gold. For paper currency, it takes the form of a periodic tax, such as a stamp tax, on currency holdings. Demurrage is sometimes cited as economically advantageous, usually in the context of complementary currency systems." (wikipedia)

In an interest based monetary system the cost of borrowing is a burden on the borrower. In effect, it is beneficial to retain money instead of spending so that you can accumulate wealth for current and future expenses, both real and imagined. It is a fear based system in which saving for a rainy day is deemed wise. Insurance companies make billions on this societal assumption. Pay now...just in case. Risk adverse financial planning banks on this idea. And, yes, there are risks and we do need to save for our retirement, unforeseen accidents or economic downturns, etc.

But, when you think about it, why is this so? Why do we fear the unknown and plan so cautiously for the future. Well, I think it is because of the interest-based system itself. It generates fear in the belief that storing funds is the only way to be prepared for what may come to pass. We don't invest in preparing for the future, we invest in not preparing for the future...not creating a better future. This makes no sense.

In a demurrage system, the reward for accumulating wealth is gone. In this system it is a burden to store money since its value or purchasing power depreciates over time. Distributing currency becomes the ideal. If there is a cost to accumulate wealth, what would happen? Would more money flow through business and the community? Would more lenders lend? Would entrepreneurship increase? Would we invest more in the tangibles, better systems, infrastructure, services...in each other?

Who benefits from interest? Certainly not the majority who hold the burden of interest payments. It is a fundamentally flawed system in which the wealthy get wealthier. I wonder how much currency is locked away in private holdings, only used to exert influence and control over the majority, domestically and internationally.

Governments would benefit from the demurrage fees placed on currency holding, as would other institutions. Imagine if we actually lived in a gift-based society where wealth, influence or wisdom were not determined by the size of your bank account but by by the size of your generosity.

Do I think our bankers are crooks? Definitely. There are other options to our current financial system to consider and demurrage is one of them. We just need to think differently. Giving is definitely better than taking, as any volunteer will admit. We just don't place real value on it yet....and we should.

read: http://www.sustainwellbeing.net/different_money.html

We Don't Need Permission

I could wait forever for permission. I work in higher education. There’s a lot of waiting…for the i’s to be dotted and t’s to be crossed. But I just can’t wait. They’re too slow.

Why are colleges and universities so slow to change? Higher education institutions have an ethical and public obligation to further our communities. And by ‘further’ I mean designing and delivering education for the purpose of sustainably balancing economics, environment, society and culture in our world. Higher education institutions have to change as our world changes. It is our responsibility; yours and mine, to ensure higher education institutions fulfill their obligations. No matter what your role is in any institution, community, club or chapter, if you know and believe that something is not fair, ethical or honest, you must try to change it. It’s common sense. Doing anything less is merely acceptance, denial or apathy.

I think something has to change in higher education and it has to change immediately. I believe that sustainability needs to being taught to all learners in higher education, not just as an add-on and not isolated in specialized programs.  Unfortunately, in many disciplines sustainability is seen as a ‘nice-to-have’ or the latest trend. To make matters worse, sustainability is viewed as something you ‘do’ not something you ‘are’. This is wrong! 

Sustainability is a mindset, a way of thinking. It is how you approach something, how you understand, how you study, how you learn and act. It is big picture thinking merged with microscopic understanding. It is two-eyed seeing. It is a holistic approach to learning not only about the world, but also about yourself.

What message is higher education sending when it spends millions of dollars on sustainable infrastructure and energy management while disregarding sustainability in the curriculum, professional development and higher learning? I think it is teaching us that sustainability is vocational, but not academic. This won't do.

Osmar_Schindler_David_und_Goliath

Grace Hopper once said, “It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission.” She also said, “Humans are allergic to change." And she’s right on both accounts. We resist change out of fear; those who try to make change have not only to overcome their own fear but the fear of others as well. Much like David and Goliath, one small entity has to confront an extremely powerful and intimidating force. Incidentally, fear is often speculative and a small crack in the foundation of fear has the potential to bring down an assumption built on shaky ground.

I’ve been chipping away at the great wall of higher education for a number of years. I’m not in a position of influence but I am persistent. And that is key. Like a weed that breaks through concrete, persistence is essential. Authority, control and dominance are not the most significant forces; might does not make right. Integrity is boundless. Authority is not.

Permission is a top-down arrangement too, isn’t it? Who really has the authority to tell you what to think and how to think? Who has the authority to deny you the right of discovery and personal growth? Well, at this time in history, the education system exercises that right because we let them. Many people know that institutional deconstruction is necessary but the flawed higher education system remains intact. Why? Fear.

Our education system (primary, secondary and post secondary) has been designed to teach us to accept authority and behave according to cunningly crafted authoritarian and industrial-age rules and regulations. The CLOCK, another industrial invention that helps us to compliantly work on average 35 hours per week, RULES our lives. We are taught to fear change, fear the unknown and fear one another.

If you believe this to be true, as I do, then please recognize the education system for the illusion it is. Metaphorically, throw a rock at it: your fears, the wall, the clock, the inequality, the control. It is only as real as you allow it to be. When you know change is necessary, you have to change how you think.

Here are some works by marvelous changemakers that have helped me to overcome some of my fears, insecurities and doubts:

1.     Exopedagogy (Education Out of Bounds, by Tyson Lewis and Richard Kahn)

2.     Eco-feminism (Wangari Maathai, Vandana Shiva)

3.     The Ascent of Humanity, by Charles Eisenstein

4.     Walden, by Thoreau

5.     MOOCs (take as many as you can. I like Coursera)

6.     The Great Work, by Thomas Berry

7.     Earth in Mind, by David Orr

8.     Blessed Unrest, by Paul Hawken

9.     A Sand County Almanac, by Aldo Leopold

10.   The Earth Charter

I could write about the little things I’ve tried to change…some successes, some failures; different ways I’ve been trying to chip away at the wall. But there is no point in talking about what has been done by one person in one place at one time. The entire higher education system in my country, and in the ‘Western’ world, is a flawed, broken system and its pigeon-holed approach to sustainability is glaringly inadequate. This has to change. It will take a lot of effort from many individuals and groups to change the education system, transforming how we live and learn sustainably. Change will never come from the top. Goliath wears a lot of armour and has other plans for us. Change will come from people like you and me who don’t wait for the permission we’ve never needed. 

Frankenstein Lives!

The movie I, Frankenstein is coming next week and I am taking my son to see it. It's meant to be a treat for him but I'm secretly looking forward to it. Frankenstein is one of my favourite books. In the new movie, Frankenstein is still alive 200 years later and I think it a well timed release. Ah human pride. What suffering comes from it.

I was reading the news this morning and thought about the creature. Frankenstein is everywhere...he lives on. We see him in the neo-colonial world of hubris. We see him in the technological explosion and in our increasingly individualistic society. We've created a beast that we do not care for and cannot control; and we would love to abandon and destroy the beast were he not already so powerful and running amok. Made from our own hands, fashioned in our best interest...we've played god with the world and now it's not at all what we wanted nor expected.

Look at the politicians, jet-setting around the world in an attempt to manipulate or rein-in the beast. Who are they to be given this power? What gives them the right to play god with people's lives? Pride. Arrogance. And what is their aim exactly? Their goal? What do you do with something you've created that you cannot control?

The creators have abandoned the creation and now seek to control or destroy what they've made now that it threatens to destroy the creator. A cruel fate for blind ingenuity.

I know this movie will not live up to Shelley's original work in any way but I am curious to see how they portray the creature. He is definitely our shadow...a constant reminder of our dark side and a lesson never learned.

A Good Day Reflection

I sat down with the idea to blog and I got distracted by the idea of creating a Christmas card. Squirrel! Wow, how easy it is to get distracted this time of year. It's a couple of weeks until Christmas and there is so much to do. Time for a little reflection.

I don't know what to write, I just want to write. Here's why. I have too much to say. My mind is whirling. I had a great day at work. I talked to a lot of really lovely people today. I've also been reading a great book. I also came to my senses. So far Friday the 13th has been pretty good.

I'll start with work. I had a potluck with the EAP (English for Academic Purposes) students today. I meet with a couple of the EAP students every week so I got an invitation to the potluck. Every year the students host a potluck and cook food that is delicious and a cultural smorgasbord. Delightful. Even better is the conversation. The students are from all over the world and they get along so well. There's a lot of laughter and support among the students. It always reminds me of how much we are all so similar while being so different. Diversity is a wonderful thing. It is a positive experience to be involved with this group and I applaud the faculty who work so well with the students; all such determined adults with amazing stories to share. They've seen and been through so much. It's eye-opening to hear their stories and it makes me proud to be a part of an organization that supports such an inclusive environment.

I had a good work day too. My colleagues are wonderful, all very dedicated and thoughtful. It's not easy to be the extrovert in a room full of introverts but they put up with me. I love what I do and where I work. Lucky? Oh yes. I'm not saying it's all sunshine and roses everyday but pretty damn close.

So I'm pretty happy with work. My children are lovely too. they both came home with great report cards and I am very proud of them.

I'm sitting at home now. It's a cute house albeit in need of a lot of work. My house is the only un-renovated house in the area but at least it's mine, warts and all. My cat welcomed me when I came in the door, squawking on and on about his day. We had a rough start, the kitten and I, but the cat and I get along great now.

I'm reading a fabulous book called 'The Ascent of Humanity' which I can only handle reading a section at a time. It's a book jammed with all sorts of ideas and insight into our world that are realistic but somewhat optimistic in nature. A rarity for a non-fiction novel. It's nice to read a bit before going to sleep...makes me think about our society and where we are heading.

I'm listening to folky Christmas tunes on CBC radio 2. A mishmash of alternative and varied tunes that you won't find on the top 40 stations. I'm drinking some nice red wine and sneaking a cigarette indoors because it is freezing outside today.

What a nice day. And I REALLY appreciate it. All the bad things happening in my life are parked at the door today. It's heaven really.

I said that I came to my senses recently and that is partially why I can appreciate where I am right now in my life. It finally dawned on me that I can be happy. It is simply a choice to be happy or not. And I choose to be happy. As happy as I can be; and grateful for what I do have. Life IS what you make of it. Taking chances is good. Taking risks is good. Being patient is good. Letting go is good. Accepting imperfection is good.

My point! It's simple I think. it begins with 'shut up' and ends with 'get over it'. Stop complaining, it's a useless thing to do and changes nothing. On FaceBook a friend posted a graphic the other day with words that basically said that if you are doing something you don't feel right about, walk away. What could be more truthful than that? Stop doing what you don't like and start doing what you do like. Why should that be difficult to do? Yes, some of what we have to do is not our favourite thing to do but it usually takes up only a small percentage of our day. Why dwell on that?

I'm not saying to be naive or ignorant. Definitely be well-informed, well-read and current, but put it into perspective. If you want change, do what YOU can from where you are. It will make you happy. Be creative, share your ideas, try something new, failure is OK and usually a great learning experience. Stay safe, be wise, be open to new ideas. If you disagree, think about why you disagree and fill in the gap with your knowledge and experience. Don't doubt things, ponder things instead.

We are living in a spectacularly rich environment with so much information at our finger tips that we should never be bored. NEVER! No one should ever say they are bored.

Please have a lovely day today. Merry Christmas!

Exercise is Spiritual

Ah, my poor wee blog. So neglected lately. Seems I've not been sharing much lately. So she goes.

Today I write about exercise. To me, lacking any sense of connection to any organized religion and amused by the unwarranted devotion and fake sincerity of zealots, the gym may be the closest thing I have to a church.

Yes, exercise is a spiritual experience. I can only speak for myself but it seems that the point at which I cross the threshold, swimming or running, is the closest I will ever got to any sort of god. When the mind and body split, it IS a spiritual experience. What happens at that point...the threshold? Why is it at a certain point in exercise the body shifts into automatic and frees the mind? It's a fantastic experience and I think people who experience passing the threshold want to re-experience the sensation again and again.

Might I add that it comes natural to kids...who know the joy of exercise and play.

It takes a lot of time and practice to get to the point of being able to pass the threshold. It takes work and commitment. The improved fitness and health, well, they are just rewards for dedicating time to yourself. Exercise decreases stress and makes you feel good. You look better, walk taller, feel like you're achieving something. What religion is better than that? What religion can make people feel good and live better without hurting, judging and denouncing others? Name one. I can't.

When you stop exercising, you start to feel bad, maybe even look bad, and feel guilty or disappointed in yourself. Why is this? I think it is because of a lost connection to something that is, or was, a spiritual experience. I don't know, maybe this massive technological explosion is cutting off our spiritual connection which would be disastrous. Maybe it will be our downfall.

Go get some exercise please.

Therapy Session

Is your life crazy? Work too crazy? Love life too crazy? Family life too crazy? What to do? I have no idea. How can we handle multiple pressures without getting crushed? Sometimes I bemoan the situation I am in...or in which I find myself.  Perhaps you do the same.

I sometimes play this mind-game where I attempt to make sense of all the craziness, which only makes me think "good lord, this is way too much to handle." And so, I prefer to acknowledge that my situation could be way worse...as it is for many people. I think about being selfish, greedy, needy and insecure. I think about being fortunate for what I do have and try not to focus on what is wrong or missing. It is a mental-game, but it works.

Often it is said that life is a puzzle and we have to figure out what piece is missing.  I disagree! Life is a mystery and all we can do is do our best with what we have. By that I mean that we have to do what we think it right and try not to hurt anyone in the process. To hell with the missing piece.

But, caution...do not foolishly skip around thinking only of how great is the world. There are villains out there. I am not referring to criminals but those who try to destroy others for their own gain. Watch out for them. Watch but do not react. Many villains are lost and do not realize that they are destructive. Some think they are doing the right thing. Beware. They will try to lead you astray. Be wise. Be confident. Be brave.

In reality, often for many people the world is too much. It's very depressing. There's a lot of pain and sorrow and it can drag you down. Sometimes you don't want to know and prefer to bury your head in the sand. But you cannot do this! You must face it...and being courageous will make you stronger.

Lead yourself and others will follow. Don't wait for others to act or lead you. There are no heroes, only ordinary people doing things that we all ought to do. Believe in the impossible. Empower yourself and try to find a focus, a passion, a path. The worst thing is to be an aimless wanderer. Worse still to be a sheep.

Mistakes will be made so learn from them, don't repeat them. Mistakes are common, it happens. No one is perfect.  Don't dwell on mistakes. Change your attitude.

What excites you? What inspires you? What makes you happy? Answer these questions privately, no one needs to know. Don't be jealous or insecure. Don't envy others. Everyone is different and on a different path. No two can be the same. Yours is unique and only you get to experience it. No one is completely happy and if they say they are, c'mon...they are lying.

Listen to happy music! Good, punchy, mood-changing music and dance to it. Thank god for music! You are the writer of your own story. Make it a good one!

Saw, Axe, Wedge

I have not written for a very long time. I've been very preoccupied, with a relationship. But now I'm back and that means more reading, more reflection and more questions.

Firstly, having relationships, although difficult, are a great way to learn more about yourself because you get to see yourself through the eyes of someone else...always humbling...and important. It's too easy to fall into the trap of blinding self-confidence when you are not confronted with different ideas and sometimes challenging criticisms. Adding a new perspective to your view of things only makes the picture bigger, but not necessarily easier. I think I have a few more questions and a few more quasi-answers than before. I was naive in many respects.

That said, I'm rethinking some things and cautiously researching more carefully what I love to learn about, namely sustainability. Ugh, I hate using that word but it's fairly easy to surmise that I mean society, culture, economy and the environment. Sustainability is a word so big and so all-encompassing that it is easily misinterpreted and often misused. But lets leave that discussion for another day.

I was reading A Sand County Almanac again, by Aldo Leopold, and found myself reflecting on something he wrote:

"The saw works only across the years, which it must deal with one by one, in sequence. From each year the raker teeth pull little chips of fact, which accumulate in little piles, called sawdust by woodsmen and archives by historians; both judge the character of what lies within by the character of the samples thus made visible without. It is not until the transect of is completed that the tree falls, and the stump yields a collective view of a century. By its fall the tree attests the unity of the hodge-podge called history.

"The wedge, on the other hand, works only in radial splits; such a split yields a collective view of all the years at once, or no view at all, depending on the skill with which the plane of the split is chosen. (If in doubt, let the section season for a year until a crack develops. Many a hastily driven wedge lies rusting in the woods, embedded in unsplittable cross-grain.)

"The axe functions only at an angle diagonal to the years, and this only for the peripheral rings of the recent past. Its special function is to lop limbs, for which both saw and wedge are useless."

Saw, axe and wedge. Wow. Leopold alludes to the study of history and I can't help but think that his allegory reveals to me my own flawed thinking of sustainability. The concept of sustainability certainly is not new but how we think about it is. When we think about it, what do we think of? Do we saw through the layers in time tracing back to the root cause? Do we instead look for a single point in history and wedge out a chunk of time from there? Or, do we just cut through the periphery and examine only the recent past. In each case, each analysis will reveal very different results and each case, irrespective of the other, will provide false answers to the age-old question about man and nature. Or should I say man in nature? even this perspective assumes there is a divide between man and nature so the question itself is flawed.

When I think about sustainability I think I have a habit of rejecting what the axe reveals because it doesn't tell the whole story and get to the root. Even the wedge doesn't get to the root and I am way too focused on the root, the beginning of it all. Conversely, when I think about my relationship I focus way too much on the axe and wedge revelations and not the whole multi-layered, historically revealing slice from a saw. And I am baffled. Why do I do this? Is it my personal bias? I think so. It's too hard to get to the root of a relationship because it painfully reveals so much about yourself that you don't want to see or accept. It's too personal. 

This tells me that my desire to find the root cause of sustainability might mean that I am not personally attached to it. I don't see myself in the layers of time that lead us to where we are now, and that is wrong. My cultural-bias is too strong despite my most sincerest belief that I am thinking with an open mind. Obviously I am not. Leopold could connect with the natural world in a way that I can only admire and not fully understand. 

Cautiously I can move forward with this new awareness. Goodness, I knew that I was thinking with a 'western' perspective, I understand that...and was aware of that. But I did not realize that I was not feeling personally connected to the situation. I don't blame myself because I've removed myself from the cross-examination. The fact is I don't practice what I preach. I just preach it like sustainability is some sort of religion. And, now, immediately as I write this I want to defend myself to say that at least I'm doing something. What hell is this?!

St. Paul wrote:

"I don't understand myself. I want to do what is right but I do not do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate ... It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what's right, I inevitably do what's wrong." (Romans 7:15)

Mark Twain wrote:

"A habit cannot be tossed out the window. It must be coaxed down the stairs one step at a time." 

The challenge then is to figure out what the hell I am doing and why I am doing it. STEP. Why am I so curious and engaged with sustainability? STEP. Why do I not feel a personal connection? STEP. Why do I let myself be fooled by my own lack of understanding? STEP. These are questions that might help get to the root of my own personal biases that apparently affect everything in my life. Hopefully thinking about the saw, axe and wedge collectively I will do better...but it's a hard task to fell the tree to find an answer.

The File Folder

I am sitting here at my desk mindlessly watching a co-worker pass by with a file folder in her arms. What is her story? Is she coming from a meeting or going to a meeting? She looks tired, was it a bad meeting or is she not looking forward to where she is going? Either way, doesn't matter, I am interested in the file folder she's holding.

What is in that folder? Something important or a just a collection of meeting agendas and minutes; souvenirs of time spent in meetings. That folder looks light enough but it looks like a burden too. For some reason we value these little bundles of paper. Do the file folders give us a sense of control or importance? When we hold them close to our chests, are we wearing them like a badge or a chest plate?

It is interesting how we have come to be so reliant on file folders. I wonder how we organized our lives in the past...the days before file folders. When was that exactly? According to wikipedia, the vertical filing cabinet like we use today was invented by Edwin G. Seibels in 1898. Poor guy applied for a patent but was turned down. What a rip off. Before this, papers were kept in envelopes stored in numerous little pigeonholes lining walls...not the most efficient system. But I bet there was a lot less paper kicking around, there were only so many pigeonholes. Of course they didn't have computers to store a lot of crap. What did they do with their crap? Did they keep crap? (Naturally I am not referring to libraries which categorically store resources and archives...I'm talking about the day to day stuff we so love to keep around us.)

A couple of years ago I was in cultural competency training for my placement in Kathmandu. A guy came in to talk about his experience in Botswana with the local tribe. He went there to help them record their traditions and history so they could present something tangible to the government. The tribe wanted the government to recognize them as a distinct society. So he helped them record oral accounts, images, stories and maps on a computer. Teaching his counterparts how to store the information was not easy because the tribesmen had no previous encounter with file folders or filing systems. Asking someone to file something is very cultural. To assume that everyone knows what a file is, or what to do with it, is a mistake. It is an invention that has been taken for granted.

We often fall into the trap believing that there is one way of doing things, it is ubiquitous. I think this is dangerous. I am sure that the file folder was a great invention and proved to be more efficient than the walls of pigeonholes and letters. But, that was then and this is now. We seem to be trapped in some sort of vortex where everything has to be sorted, classified, organized and filed in very obscure patterns.

If I got rid of my folders..what would happen? Is it possible? Of course it is possible. I have to think carefully about what it is I am keeping and for what reasons. What am I without my stuff? Do I need an anchor or can I drift? Am I allowed to drift...at what cost? Is it true that we are more than what we own?

Spinning out of Control

Spinning, spinning, spinning. The world goes round and round. Around the sun we go, day and night, tides and currents continue on their faithful paths. And around and around the people go, faithful to our daily routines, birth to death, nation to nation, city to city, neighbour to neighbour, lover to lover, mother to child. We spin until we're dizzy.

We, in the West, are so dizzy and off balance we can't clearly see what is right before our eyes. Nature has a natural spin, a flow that is balanced. Night has day, tides come in and out, summer has winter. People however do not have balance. We consume and make waste but we do not consume our waste. We take from nature but we do not give back. We share with our neighbours but not with others. We break but we do not repair.

So, we need to stop spinning in one direction for a while. We need to pause, regain some balance, and either reverse spin or continue on at a slower pace. What am I trying to say? All actions have consequences and to date we are not taking the responsibility to account for our actions. In society we have to examine our actions both by our intentions and the ramifications of our actions. No plan should go ahead without a researched analysis and plan to manage the consequences. Example of no balance? Easy, BP, Afghanistan, Iraq, colonialism...shall I go on...?

How to slow down spinning? Well, think about when you spin around too fast, the first thing you notice...other than the pleasure...is a blurred view of the surroundings. But you keep going because it's fun. And then you start to notice that you're feeling off balance so you decide to stop...and whammo! You are stumbling around, bumping into things. Kids love it, Adults...not so much.

What is my point? We've been having a lot of fun in our post-industrialized society learning new ways to make our lives better and easier but we've started to notice that our view of the world may be a bit skewed. We've not been able to see the people on the sidelines who are not spinning, the disappearing plants and food and animals. So now we're at the point where we not only need to but want to stop spinning. Wow, is it ever going to mess us up. We should expect to be so dizzy and off-kilter that we have to sit down.

Uh-oh. Sit down? What does that mean? So that someone else can spin? That's a scary thought; we want to spin. We've been happily spinning so long. What might the view be like from a seated position? We've surely been there before, a long time ago. But what fun is there in sitting? Well, for starters, we can see more clearly and maybe we can talk to someone else who has been sitting down for a while watching, quietly observing us spin so happily.

In the Western world, we have to stop. Just stop. What might life be like if we lived like the majority of the world? I'm guessing most of us don't want to live that way. So, what if we all got up out of our seats together in a big circle and slowly start to spin together, smile for each other instead of for ourselves. We won't be dizzy but we will have a lot more fun and so will everyone else.

I have no ideas where this spinning thought came from. I had intended to write about the complexity within each of us and how to find a way to connect our own individuality to the complexity of global citizenry and sustainability. Maybe I'm not ready to write about complexity yet. Maybe it comes from the Mindfulness in Leadership retreat I attended yesterday with the Authentic Leadership institute (ALIA) led by Alan Stone. Maybe it was something someone said to me last night. I did have a vision of each of us as our own planet, with our own orbit and gravitiational pull towards one another. But we're so complex...we tend to spin on our own axis. Ya...I need to think about it a bit more. Maybe next blog.

A Cause for Celebrity

I should be going to bed, it's late but I can't. My mind won't let me. I'm feeling a bit distraught at the moment...let me explain.

I love David Suzuki. He's been an inspiration to me for decades. In the early nineties I became a fan when I saw him on the bus to UBC when I was going to class. I thought "Yep, he's legit. Walking the talk." Tonight I had a chance to hear him talk at Dalhousie. I brought my daughter and his book to sign. I was so excited and thrilled that my young daughter would have a chance to hear this Canadian icon.

He was great...passionate, articulate, informative and wise. But I left the auditorium feeling sad. He's just a man, in his 70's now, probably slowing down a bit...not that you could tell from his talk. He's just a man.

He's dedicated his life to a cause that I am greatly concerned about and I fully support him and his Foundation. But...he's just a man.

I came home and turned on the TV for a sec to watch the news. The Abbey Lane show was on and to my great pleasure, the Killers were performing. My lucky day! Not so much. I watched them and that same feeling of sadness came over me. They're just a band, a bunch of guys playing instruments. Just ordinary people.

It dawned on me that I'm saddened by celebrity. What harm is being done by celebrity? We know the media attention that can come from it. People may listen more, give more money, buy more books. But then what? Does my sincere admiration for Suzuki lessen my admiration for others who are not celebrities. Would I recognize a photo of David Orr, Thomas Berry, Paul Hawken, Lester Brown or E.O. Wilson? No, of course not. But I admire them and their words. Does the fact that Suzuki is a celebrity diminish my admiration for him after seeing him in the flesh? Yes, unfortunately, it does.

Why? It might be because he's getting older now and we'll be looking out for the next Suzuki, the next leader to take us into the future. But there can't be another Suzuki can there? We can't depend on these leaders to lead us. We need to lead ourselves and learn from the wisdom of others who have taken the time to dedicate their lives for the betterment of all of us, not for celebrity status.

No, I am not saying that Suzuki sought fame, not at all. What I am saying is that celebrity has a dirty little tinge to it, it rubs the shine off the true brilliance of the person.

No one will be the next Suzuki so where does that leave us? Where are we without our reliable, constant and true leaders who will tell us what we need to know and believe?

Suzuki talked about our fatalistic inclination to worship the economy and how dangerous it is to put economy before ecology. Truer words were never spoken. But, we idolize him...he's our beacon, our voice, our leader. When he is gone, so will be his light and I fear we will be soon groping around in the dark.

Sustainable Future

So...I'm on this sustainable future work team for the college academic plan and we've been challenged with the question of how to best prepare the current and next generation of learners with the skills, aptitudes and attitudes they will need to help shape an environmentally sustainable future for the Province. It's an interesting opportunity.

First we have to agree upon the term 'sustainability'. It's generally agreed that, like the unfortunate watering down of the term 'green', the corporate adoption of the term is now muddling the understanding of 'sustainability'. In corporate circles, it's been adopted to indicate longevity of a business or used to position oneself against the competition. It's less about society and the environment and more about economics...the economics of survival.

I've been using the term 'restorative' for a while now because I think it better reflects the rise of societal and environmental activism around the world; the heightened awareness of eco-degradation; the increasing desire for a simpler way of life to offset the incredibly fast pace of a materialistic industrialized western society...one that's on track to engulf billions of individuals around the globe. Restorative means to restore and make stronger. We can use our technologies and knowledge to not only replenish a weakened environment but to also enhance our environment with inclusive and innovative practices and policies. We can make our world a better place by committing to global equity, gender equality, eliminating warfare, engaging in peaceful religious and ethnic collaborations. We can restore the health of our environment and we can make our world a much better place to live.

That being said, sustainability is not a 'term' that can be defined because sustainability is not a thing, it is alive, just as any organism is alive. Organizations are living entities too, they evolve and grow and repair themselves like we do; it is not that people are the heart of an organization, rather it should be understood that the organization is in the heart of the people. How I see an organization is how it is communicated to me through the people that represent that organization. I am my organization, it is not me. I have my own soul which I use to express my connection with the organization's soul. If I do not relate well with the soul or expression of the organization it will be reflected in my relationship with the broader community.

So...back to the question 'how to best prepare the current and next generation of learners with the skills, aptitudes and attitudes they will need to help shape an environmentally sustainable future for the Province?"

I think when we think about our own relationships with other entities as life forms, we start to see them as not forms of hierarchy or power but as systems. We can better relate to systems because we ourselves are systems. How more natural is it to identify with our commonalities than to distinguish what makes us different...or weaker, or more powerful? it is intriguing to identify our strengths and similarities with others to see how we can be stronger. But in the western world, we don't do that. We look for ways to compete, survive, surpass, overcome, achieve, accumulate, advance and acquire. This means that we look for ways to stand apart from others, to be different, to gain respect. But, this is not a healthy sense of individuality and self-awareness. This is a sense of conformity and acquiescence. We survive and succeed by fitting into a mold predetermined by centuries of patriarchal, industrial rule.

Again...back to the question 'how to best prepare the current and next generation of learners with the skills, aptitudes and attitudes they will need to help shape an environmentally sustainable future for the Province?"

We now have a discourse on sustainability and a systems thinking approach to sustainability. What we have achieved is the breaking down of stereotypes and predetermined notions about sustainability and organizations. So now we must continue to break down barriers.

In a school, the most obvious barriers are: barriers to entrance, barriers between disciplines, barriers between gender, ethnicity, power, ability, access and language; barriers between student and faculty, faculty and administration, barriers between pedagogy and cultural understanding (evaluation, delivery, practice of the learning), barriers between institutions and industry; physical barriers between people in offices, cubicles, classrooms and single desks.

One way we could begin to prepare the current and next generation of learners with the skills, aptitudes and attitudes they will need is to remove barriers. Life does not draw a line in the sand between biology and poetry or math and art. One flows into the other naturally. In schools we've organized knowledge into neat and tidy piles of sand, each pile representing all things related to a particular discipline. How can that be? How can you draw without understanding angles? How can you visualize depth without art? They're inseparable yet we have moved them apart into different disciplines. Why is biology or ecology not taught to business students? Isn't it in the best interest of all business students to expose them to the realities of natural systems?

Let's agree that the removal of barriers, all barriers in an organization, will provide the access and exposure students need to develop an understanding of their world, local, national, regional and international. Great, but what will they do with their knowledge. Will they act on it? Does being informed equate with being engaged? Does empathy equate with compassion? No, in both cases, it doesn't.

A second way we could begin to prepare the current and next generation of learners with the skills, aptitudes and attitudes they will need to help shape an environmentally sustainable future for the Province is to engage them in their learning, in the process of becoming a citizen. All curriculum should include opportunities for students to apply their learning in a sustainable application; volunteerism, assignments, journaling, service learning, projects in the community, etc. Learning is important but so is the application of the learning and finding relevance or a personal connection to the learning. When we are able to make the connections between what we learn and the world, we grow. When we are able to change our environment based on our learning, we develop new understanding and skill.

The process we need is basically dialogue and deliberate action. But we're still missing something important. I call it taking down the exit sign.

When students enter school, secondary or post-secondary, it is a temporary task with a well trampled path laid out before them. Yawn. This linear path always has an exit sign symbolizing the end of your learning...now time to join the real world and get a job. I think this is totally wrong. Sure, it is a fine fit for the industrial age when assembly lines were the latest and greatest but this is no longer the industrial age, that 200 year adventure has gotten us into a heck of a mess. No, now we're in an information revolution and what I hope is the age of restoration. It would be enormously helpful if students entered the world of education as if it were a community that grew around you and sheltered you. instead of visualizing a path with a start and finish line, try to imagine a village with a town centre and surrounding neighbourhoods with their own specialities. A students should start in the middle of the community where most of the support is located and have the opportunity to explore the different neighbourhoods to learn and grow as individuals. Likewise, we should see this village as a manifestation of ourselves, with our soul in the centre encircled by life experiences and learning and adaptations. As we replenish the soul with our lives, we find our purpose and are better able to serve others. In the school centre students can replenish their learning through dialogue and sharing and recognition.

What was that question again...how to best prepare the current and next generation of learners with the skills, aptitudes and attitudes they will need to help shape an environmentally sustainable future for the Province. My answer would be to remove barriers, infuse sustainability learning and the application of that learning, and grow an inclusive soul-seeking community of learners.

Life's Not Fair

Sometimes procrastination for me means I get to blog. Yes, a blog is a therapeutic tool that comes in handy when avoiding other work. On to the therapy.

I've been reading a lot about fairness lately, especially through the lens of ecofeminism ecology. It is striking what we value and what we don't value. In our patriarchal capitalist market-driven society we value production and power. Find it, make it, profit from it...find more, make more, earn more, spend more...on and on and on. We think about life as a 'thing', something to be consumed. It got me to thinking of what it would be like to live in a world where we valued the opposite of 'things'.

Imagine...a society where the highest value is placed on families raising children. In this world, parents earn a living by working in the community, helping other families, and raising their children to be good citizens; who are indeed the most valuable products of society. Teachers are highly valued because they are responsible for shaping the minds of children...the future leaders. Producers of goods and materials to mobilize and entertain families play a supportive role in this society and to acknowledge the value for what they do, the governing bodies would provide a monthly stipend to cover their costs (a sum determined by the government).

People know where their food comes from and they know how to grow some of their food, how to repair materials, and how to live comfortably. Mentors are highly regarded in society and sought out as leaders. This society values wisdom, not titles. This society values people, not things. This society understands how to live with nature, not to profit from it. Housework is valued as a skill, as are the skills of cooks, nurses, artists, farmers and tradespeople. Men and women are paid equally and recognized equally under law.

Even in dreaming of this world I have a hard time shaking the concept of money from my head. It is not easy to imagine a world where money is not the driving force, albeit an illusion of power. It is quite a crippling thing really, this money we so value and spend most of our lives trying to accumulate and spend. What would it be like to have a world without money...or without debt?

About fairness: I often hear the phrase 'well, the world is not fair' and it makes me angry. The phrase is so passively-aggressive that I find it frightening. What does it mean really? Since the world is not fair and we can't do anything about it, it's OK to be unfair? Exploiting other parts of the globe is OK because 'the world is not fair'? Bupkis!

If we could just retract that statement from everything we do we'd be left with a sense of responsibility for once. If it doesn't seem fair, either don't do it or find a better way to do it that is fair. Seems simple enough. But we don't take the time or effort because 'the world isn't fair'. Could it be that the 'developed' world is not concerned about millions of starving, sick and dying people in the low-income world because, well...'life's just like that, be glad you were born here and not there'? Now that India and China are developing, the Western world is crying foul because it's not fair, there are too many of them and they will make our energy and production costs skyrocket. Boo hoo...I guess life's not fair.

What Does Reading Do?

I read and read and read. I read about injustices all over the world, in the South Pacific, Indonesia, Central and South America and so on. I read about displaced populations, gender and poverty discrimination, hate, degradation, destruction and starvation. But, I also read about heroic acts, bravery, pride, determination, protests, confidence and strength.

And I read on...

Now I sit here typing this entry wondering what I am to do? Who am I? I read about many terrible things that are going on around the world and I want to cry. I want to cry because it is so horrible, because I am part of the problem, because I don't know what to do. I just read.

But it's not enough! I'm not content. What good am I if all I do is read? Do I not have any power to act? Let's see...

I don't have any real power here in Canada. I'm one of millions in the 'developed' part of the world. I work, have children, own my own home, have leisure time and plenty of time to read. I do what I can at a very small level regarding the environment. I plant trees, reduce paper waste, promote environmental awareness, raise funds for hospices and orphanages in South America and Zambia, live simply (or try to) and so on. Woopdeedoo. I don't deserve a pat on the back which I often get, I deserve a slap in the face. Well, maybe not a slap...

I know I can do more. But what? Should I go back to school for more education? What would that do? Should I sell my house and move to another part of the world to help? What can I do? I'm stumped. Should I write about what's going on in the world or about my own self-imposed oppression?

Listen to me...I can't, I don't...what a wimp. So, what to do? I can keep on reading and hope that someday I'll get some guts. Where does the fear come from? Am I afraid of change? Failure? My own inadequacies?

These are difficult questions to answer. I'm as good as the next person, maybe not as educated, powerful or rich. And to be honest, I don't understand why the world is as unfair as it is, why I get to live a comfortable life while others suffer, why I feel paralyzed to act.

So I'm not well educated (relative to what exactly I don't know), powerful (according to whom) or rich (compared to whom exactly). In my eyes, I should see myself as very educated because I am aware of what's going on and feel a need to act. I should feel powerful because I am strong and lucky and determined. I should feel rich, not because I earn and spend more than the majority of the world but because I have a family, a home, good health and a strong support network.

So, I have nothing to stop me. What next?

Infinite Possibilities, Finite World

We live in a world of infinite possibilities but we have finite resource. Something has to give.

I just came back from a "radical simplicity" weekend retreat with Jim Merkel. We spend a lot of time trying to quiet the mind...easier said than done. The location was beautiful, the weather was cold, we spent all day in dialogue and evenings by the fire. We observed Earth Hour and didn't really notice because we were socializing by candlelight and firelight...and what a bright moon that night.

Back to the point of this entry: usually when I think about sustainability I think about the world, what's fair, what's right, what can be done, etc. I think big and broad, not so much small and focused. This weekend I've had a chance to shake off some loose branches, refresh and regroup. I've learned to try to internalize my ideas...not that that was the intention of the retreat, but it's what I learned. I have to look at my life a lot closer. I have to sit down and go over all the nuts and bolts of my finances, my own consumption patterns, my goals. Although I'm a big thinker, I have to get a handle on where I am and what I am doing so I can quiet my mind.

I think doing this, going through this self-analysis will help me to release some stress and bring clarity to my life. Honestly, financial calculations are the last thing I want to do, I hate them with a passion. But...yes but...

Merkel has some good models to follow, and I will try them out. Here's what I think is going on...I'm consuming about 20 acres/pp with my current lifestyle and my goal is to consume less than 10 acres/pp. Yes indeed, it will be a radical simplification of my life...and my family's life.

And, I am going to give myself a break. I'm not going to beat myself up about not been the greenest of green; about having a less than successful garden last year; about an insane need to have that shirt in the window that would look perfect on me; about drooling over the iPhone and agonizing over the fact that my current cell phone works just fine.

I've learned a new way to think about sustainability. I'm changing my verb from 'perfect' to 'practice'. For example, I will practice change, not perfect change. I will practice gardening, not perfect it. Over time, I'll learn more, experiment and gradually will do better. I will try and accept failure for what it really is, success in progress.