Easily Amazed

TEDxKatuah was another inspiring event that brought people from different arenas of science together to share ideas, spread inspiration and make connections… in a fascinating and historical site. Stay tuned for more details to come.

TEDxKatuah
Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute

What struck me most during my short visit to Occupy Wall St in NYC and participation in a General Assembly there, was how much energy and attention people were investing in taking care of one another… food, first aid, blankets, kindness to neighboring businesses, respect of noise, etc.

Is that the case in other cities? What if at the core… it’s about all of us caring for one another?

Following the guidance of Buckminster Fuller, what can we do “to make the world work for 100% of humanity in the shortest possible time, with spontaneous cooperation and without ecological damage or disadvantage of anyone?”

And if you’re wondering about your own personal piece… here’s a couple more quotes from Bucky that inspire me:

“The things to do are: the things that need doing: that you see need to be done, and that no one else seems to see need to be done. Then you will conceive your own way of doing that which needs to be done — that no one else has told you to do or how to do it. This will bring out the real you that often gets buried inside a character that has acquired a superficial array of behaviors induced or imposed by others on the individual.”

“When individuals join in a cooperative venture, the power generated far exceeds what they could have accomplished acting individually.”

Turning ideas into action… what’s it take?

Chris Corrigan notices patterns and expands with his own insight, drawing on the Occupy Wall St. movement and conversations from its origins with Adbusters.

Some selects from Corrigan‘s post. Check out the full article to see what inspired these observations:

It is a complex world and small interventions can make a difference. Nothing is guaranteed, but there are a few characteristics of #OccupyWallStreet that are worth pointing out. If an idea like this is to propagate and spread it requires a few key things to take it beyond a brainstorming session:

An invitation. What is our one demand? The poster is not a manifesto, it is an invitation to co-create, to show up and deliberate together. While {there is} an idea, the process is important.

Connectivity. Adbusters has a massive network of people who are in constant communication with each other. Such a network makes it possible to share and propagate ideas, and ensures that the medium for transmitting the idea is already in place. If you have to build a network to get your ideas out, you are already behind the times.

Sponsorship. {Different Generations Collaborating Together} “I feel like this is the first time in the 20-plus year history of Adbusters that we really have a chance to pull something off, and it’s we. Let’s face it, most of the people, probably 90 per cent of the people camping out on Wall Street are young people, and even though I’m not sleeping there I still feel it’s we. It takes old people like me and theoreticians like Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri, who are writing for our next issue, and people like David Graeber, the anarchist, and Saul Newman, the guy who recently wrote a book about anarchism. It takes all kinds of people to launch a revolution, but the cutting edge is young people who put their asses on the line.”

A light plan with few expectations. A concrete strategic plan with a fail safe strategy is too rigid and brittle for this work. In order for self-organizing behavior to have a chance, you need to step back and let things unfold as they will. And if it fizzles, let it go. But if it works, throw everything you have at it to keep it going.

A shared purpose aligned with the times. There is a clear purpose at the core of this work and that is to address the economic and social inequalities that plague the world. The time for analysis is over. We know what the problem is. Even those who clamor for the movement to be clear know deep down that the protesters are right about something. You can sense it. There is a need and the movement is providing a focus for the despondency that many people feel. This is not a small issue that only a few people can relate to. The 99% is real, and invites each of us to find our own relationship to the core.

A view of possibility. “I know it sounds kind of grandiose, but it seems like on Nov. 3 and 4, when the G20 meet, it is possible to have millions of people marching around the world, all demanding one thing. And we believe that one thing could be the Robin Hood tax.”

This is not aimless. This is action that is undertaken with the idea that something is possible. A tax on financial transactions – slowing down fast money

Wether you’re behind the Occupy Wall St. movement or not, what I want to know is what is your One Demand? What is your Big Idea? How can we together keep moving what’s important forward into action?

Nobody Can Predict The Moment Of Revolution from ivarad on Vimeo.

Below is a woven poem from quotes found in the above video, a documentary from OccupyWallStreet.

it’s not a protest in the sense of being against something,
it’s a way to formulate something new
an opportunity for a new style

a shift in power and the way that people relate to each other
a mass awareness, a mass realization
an awakening of the masses to the obstruction of justice
that has been a part of our lives for too long now, for too long of a time.

we have to be first and fore most altruistic
and care for the collective

everybody is scared to make that first step.
to break through those walls that people put up
to make the connections necessary to build a community that talks about problems.

we all have common problems. common things that we can change to make our lives better

this model is a growing movement for round table discussions
it’s about people making things happen rather than expecting someone else to take care
it’s worth a shot

The first sip of cup of coffee touches my lips, slides down, awakening my morning routine.

A list is made of the opportunities I will dive into in the next couple of hours.

A weekend of stillness and connection has nourished my soul.

My plate is full. The meal looks delicious. I’m grateful for this opportunity to dive in!

photo by dongga bs

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