Older, but no wiser

You know how a kid feels when he’s discovered something exciting and wants to tell you about it, and the words tumble out in half a dozen incoherent streams all jumbled together? That’s a bit like how I feel having read Christy’s post which links to Wiser Earth, Paul Hawken, and the latter’s new book Blessed Unrest.

I’m actually becoming mildly concerned at my ongoing difficulty in concentrating and thinking straight – one of the many reasons for there being so few posts here lately; I seem to exist in a permanent mental fog – but even though I can’t give you a cogent analysis of what this network seems to offer, I know I feel excitement and inspiration in the idea of the collective power of hundreds of thousands of groups rounds the world (over 100,000 organisations have entries on the Wiser Earth site) all working in different ways to address social justice, poverty, and the environment.

Here’s an extract from Christy’s extract of the Paul Hawken’s words, just to give you a flavour of what I’m rabbiting on about:

“The social justice movement, environmental movement and indigenous movements are intertwining and morphing, and are becoming the largest social movement in the history of the world. They are, in essence, humanity’s immune response to political corruption, economic disease, and ecological degradation.

[…]

“This movement is about ideas, not ideologies. We have to make those ideas better known to the world. This movement claims no special powers. It grows up in small ways, but now we have to become more powerful. Rather than control, it seeks connection and now we must become much better connected to each other. Rather than seeking dominance it strives to disperse concentrations of power, but now we have to aggregate our voices.

[…]

“Science now knows that every child while still in diapers exhibits altruistic behavior. It’s hardwired. It’s in our genes. Concern for the well being of others is something we are born with. We become human by helping and working with others, and buried in our genes literally is faith and love. What it takes to arrest our descent into chaos is one person after another remembering who they are, where they are and joining together to save and restore life on Earth.”

Fine words, but my excitement comes from the possibilities that arise when millions of people around the world act in concert instead of in isolation. Somehow, I feel this is more than just another website. Go; explore those links; find something that lights your fire…