NEW RENAISSANCE
I believe that we have the possibility to start what I like to call a new renaissance. A new way to look at ourselves, our community and interact with each other. Remember we are all on the same spaceship and all part of the same humanity. There is one race. The Human Race. What happens when we actually realize that and more importantly behave in that manner? We don’t know, and have no previous examples of it so this is entirely new, but it is possible. Think about it, who can stop us but ourselves? W e have all the tools necessary to mold the world in the peaceful-balanced place it’s meant to be, nothing and nobody is stopping us but ourselves. Am I the only one that questions why this is the case?
I’d like to see us reach our potential for peace prosperity and equality and that is my dream. How do we do that? I have some ideas and with your help we can build and expand them. This is a leaderless movement that is built on community, common goals and cooperation. Cooperation is not something that we have a lot of experience of, but we have to try; otherwise we will watch the ship sink and wish we plugged the holes when we had the chance. There is no better chance than Now and there will never be as few holes to plug as today.
It will not be easy; I understand that most humans don’t like change and we’ve become way to accustom to someone stealing from us, trying to gain power or saying one thing and doing another.
I am not that kind of person and of course there are those that may say “of course you would say that” but if you look at my works and my story and most importantly my actions you can see that I’m dedicated to this as I believe this is the most important thing that one can do with their life; that is to be in service to others. Death is a fate that we all will face and I have no interest in dying with the most wealth, I want to live with the most love.
So what are my ideas?
I had to start simple and with things that I could control, affect and have experience with. As we gain more expertise, and more people with different backgrounds and ideas join, we will expand this but right now there are three basic pillars; The three C’s.
CRITICAL THINKING
It is key that we be able to think for ourselves and make intelligent decisions and be able to discern what is valuable and what it not, what it truth and what is not and what is beneficial and what is not. It seems trivial, but many wrong turns that we experience in life are due to lapses in critical thinking and acting on mainly emotion.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
Critical Thinking allows us to be able to make the best decisions for ourselves and not fall victim to peer pressure, or past experience, and pave the way for a brighter future. Think about it; you are sitting where you are now due to the choices and decisions that you’ve made in your past. If you were able to think critically on those decisions your present would be different because you would have possibly made different or better decisions. We need to incorporate this into our thinking process now so that in the future we have better options to make choices from. We create those better options in the future by making better decisions today.
HOW DO WE THAT?
Education. We need to augment our education to include these basics and show our future and current generations how to think about decisions consequences and actions before they are taken. This is something that we can do easily with after school programs that incorporate scenarios, examples and use the other “C’s” to make it fun, engaging and inclusive.
CREATIVITY
It is key that we be able to foster and use creativity. It is not just being able to draw, paint or create music and art, but the ability to use imagination, which is key.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
Without imagination you can’t envision things that don’t exist. You can’t see yourself in a situation that is not your current one. You will be imprisoned by current circumstances and not be able to look past them to envision what can be or what is possible. Creativity is a missing element in education from my perspective but very important.
We need stimulation of our creative side to allow us to solve problems in the real world and imagine solutions to situations that aren’t present, and ways to bring them about. Plus imagination is fun. What is life without fun?
HOW DO WE THAT?
Music, Art and Photography for starters. I’ve seen first hand how a camera can turn a group of energetic adolescents into future directors, comedians and actors and actresses, all with just their imaginations. A simple click of shutter can turn anyone in a photographer and allow them to capture a moment or nature and see the beauty that is all around them or within another person. Music to me is another language that transcends words and has the ability to unite on multiple levels and it is a great way to foster cooperation . Imagination is an inexhaustible resource and can allow magic to happen at any moment.
COMMUNITY
This is what it is all about. We have to begin to do for ourselves what we can and work together for the common good. It is pure physics that the more strings we have together, the stronger the rope. We can see that being separated makes us weaker and we can see the affects of separation all around us. The fact is we are stronger together than we are apart. We have to pool resources and ideas and create systems and avenues for growth that benefit the whole as well as the individual.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
We can see that being separated or unorganized makes us weaker and we can see the affects of this all around us. The fact is we are stronger together than apart. Why not attempt to work together on a scale that hasn’t been done to help and grow the community in ways that are new, creative and beneficial to all.
HOW DO WE THAT?
One way to do this is through creativity, sharing and giving back. For example: We can create a song/album/movie/documentary/print that is sold and that can support both the artists, people working on it and the community.
An example would be an agreement by the artists to contribute a percentage of profits to a common goal for that particular project. It can be the renovation of a park for children, the funding of a center for education, the purchasing of new or better equipment or sustaining the space needed to create the project in the first place.
The limits are up to the individuals and with the vision of the community in the forefront and clear goals at the onset; everyone knows who benefits and it helps both the contributors and the community. This is an example of a win-win. Sustainability is preserved and others can benefit from successes and programs can continue to serve the community and allow for growth. It becomes a self-sustaining center
