[Editor’s note: I must start by saying that what unfolds below is a team effort – thanks to everyone who has contributed to this list! So, for better or worse, many parts of the world have been recently occupied – and in some places, like Vancouver, this may or may not be coming to an end. Many elements of the Occupy Movement have issued demands. Personally, I see many problems with demands, as they imply binary-negotiating and/or unchangeable beliefs. Personally, I see more value and possibility in ideas and collaborative brainstorming – though this is a much harder process for certain. Some other folks share a love for collaboration and they have kindly offered their ideas in world-changing list-form. So, without further ado, here is part three of a four-part series that is meant to get our community thinking about how our brilliant, passionate, inspiring, adaptive, funny, delicious, healthy, and innovative humanity can make the world a better place. Thanks for the memories, everyone!].
How can we leverage our humanity to solve the world’s problems?
Here are ideas 1-25. And here are ideas 26-50. And here are ideas 51-75:
- Hike. Get out in nature’s bosom. Commune with the forest spirits. Skinny dip. Roll in dirt. It’s clean. Sit. Listen. Yell! Pee your name in the snow (men only, I think). Play capture the flag. Know Nature. Know Its value to you personally. Because you can’t want to protect something if you don’t even know what it is.
- Cycle. You’ll see more and feel good. Buy rain pants and suit up. You’ll be dry under you clothes (and naked!). Be visible. Cyclists are the future: fuckin non-motorized, non-electronic cyborgs on wheels.
- Draw. Not for art’s sake. For communicating. Long before we wrote, we drew. On cave walls and on bark and hide. Appreciate the symbolic nature of signs and symbols, and the miracle that allows all humans to interpret them. Ed Emberley is a prophet.
- Drink. Water. H2O. Its ubiquity only adds to its many mysteries.
- Learn. A language. Or several. Or even just a smattering of words. Knowing another’s tongue is the quickest way to break the ice and will allow you to more easily understand ‘the other’.
- Objectify. Be partial. Know that your opinions are opinions and based on what you believe you know. Do not mistake passion for rightfulness. Choose to be emotional; do not make emotional choices.
- Listen. You talk too much. Listening allows for ideas to reveal themselves to speakers who may not even know they have such ideas. If you can’t listen, pretend to listen, as this often has the same effect.
- Keep. Imbue physical objects with meaning. A ring, a rock, or even a house. We are physical creatures living in a physical world, not virtual avatars. Don’t tear down old buildings. Believe in ghosts and spirits.
- Teach. To teach is to learn well. Whether it be abstract or practical knowledge, by teaching it you will learn it deeper, and it will become you.
- Smile. In monkeys it lowers tension and creates group harmony. We are all monkeys. Faking is acceptable as it often leads to the real thing. Emotions and your facial muscles are inextriclaby linked. You can fool your own brain.
- Don’t. Don’t do anything. Eke. Survive. Be simple. Learn the art of inertia. Laziness is godliness. The planet will thank you for it.
- Think critically. Do not accept things for what they are and ask lots and lots of questions.
- Perform. Sock puppets, Shakespeare, Improv, and Musicals are great ways to tell stories as well as tackle the pesky problem of fearing public speaking.
- Dance with people. And, to quote a wise man named Jim, “never let the rhythm control your dancing.”
- It might’ve been said before but it bears repeating: learn another language. This will help when you visit other places. And it will really help you visit communities not just tourist attractions.
- Have heroes and role models who exist in the real world, not the hyper-sexed and overly violent fictional worlds of so much media.
- Send handwritten thank you cards. First, because it’s the right thing to do. Second, people love getting mail and, let’s face it, the cards are outstanding advertising for your personal brand!
- Be skeptical and question authority. This doesn’t mean rebelling against anything and everything; it just means that you shouldn’t take everyone at their word all the time.
- Strive to be a bit more of an armchair economist so that you can understand – and share knowledge about – the complex workings of the global financial system.
- Commit to keeping the complex complex. Sometimes simple solutions come at the erosion and sacrifice of necessarily complex and important things.
- Remember that the things you own end up owning you. The only logical solution here is for you to give your things away so that they can own other people.
- Take off/out your headphones and/or earbuds and listen to the world around you. This will expose you to funny things, interesting things, and things that will inspire you to engage members of your community in conversation.
- Collaborate. Like a symphony. Working together is the only way that we’re going to pull ourselves out of this mess.
- Find common ground with someone who has a totally different worldview than you. It’s possible. I mean, Kurt and John do it every day on this blog!
- Recognize that humanity’s adaptability will see us through tsunamis, earthquakes, peak oil, and the zombie apocalypse; however, there will be catastrophic collateral damage and many of us will not survive the next 100 years. Try your best to be okay with this fact and also try really, really hard to not be a weird survivalist who makes people super uncomfortable while riding the bus…