Generational Convergence

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On the fly…so I am not going to provide stats and stuff.

However, I just want to speak from a 30,000 foot up perspective about something positive. When I get frustrated about all the struggling I see and challenges I feel we face as a collective, I turn to what we have to feel hopeful about.

And one of those things is the massive convergence of multiple generations of folks all moving toward making the world better. Whether that is aging Baby Boomers who want to return to their values from the days of the world-changing 60s or young folks so acutely aware of issues without being burdened by years of bitterness…or folks in the middle learning that a life of meaning is more than money and requires us to give and volunteer toward a better world. No matter the generation (or the motivation), I am hopeful that we will see a convergence of generations all cooperating with their different capacities and knowledge to co-create a better world for all of us.

Add to this the tremendous opportunity of the rollover of wealth. Plus the rising emergence of open values and collective intelligence…and I think there is reason to hope. There is a huge shift we must make to become a world capable of supporting human thriving…but it is possible. And the will power is gathering momentum.

Bali Who

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Pulled from Grist email today:

‘Tis the Season to Be Bali
High drama leads to compromise at international climate meeting

After days of bitter fighting and an overtime stretch filled with twists, turns, and tears, world leaders on Saturday agreed on a broad plan for developing a new global climate treaty by 2009. The “Bali roadmap” calls for measurable and verifiable steps by developing nations as well as industrialized ones, and calls for developing nations to get credit for protecting their tropical forests. The European Union had pushed for industrialized countries to commit to cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions of 25 to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, but the U.S., Canada, and Japan balked, so the final text just says that “deep cuts” in emissions are needed. The U.S. also announced that it could not support language committing rich nations to provide technological help to poorer ones; that move elicited boos, hisses, and an impassioned plea from a Papua New Guinea representative to the U.S.: “If you’re not willing to lead, then get out of the way.” Believe it or not, the U.S. then did get out of the way, changing its position and saying it would support the agreement. Still, just hours after the deal was finalized, the White House expressed “serious concerns” about it. Wouldn’t want to get a reputation for being cooperative.

sources: The Washington Post, BBC, Associated Press, The New York Times, The Telegraph, Reuters, Reuters
new in Gristmill: Professor Andrew Light laments the unnecessary line in the sand the U.S. has drawn in Bali

‘Tis the Stuff Season!

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Which means it is an ideal time to grab a cup of tea and watch this: http://www.storyofstuff.com/

Many years ago I toyed with the idea of writing a paper about how flea markets and garage sales are forms of “resistance” to consumer culture. And in a way they are, as the sites of production do not benefit from the “resale” of goods through these avenues. But still, it perpetuates the very notion of happiness through consumption that leads us toward mass consumption of anti-depressants along with all the other stuff that can never fill the void of our disconnected materialist lives.

I don’t watch tv and I avoid ads on websites, sticking to a space on the internet unmarred by flashing lights. I still consume. I am not wholly free. But I can see some lights shining. One comes from giving–when we give or act as a gift to others–all the people (giver, receiver, and observers) experience positive chemical flow in their bodies. Self-made anti-depressants. Give and get happy!