[Editor’s note: And so concludeth the experiment. This has been an incredibly inspiring community-driven team effort – thanks to everyone who has contributed to this list! The world’s Occupy Movements might be dwindling, resting or might just be unreported. 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 the conclusion of this superawesome 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. And here are ideas 76-99:
- Repair things. Or at the very least bring things that need fixing to the people who know how to fix ‘em.
- Number 13 is solid, yes. Just don’t forget to hug your friends, too.
- Share in sport with people. Playing basketball, volleyball, soccer, football, rugby, and even non-sports like baseball represent a shared experience that transcends language and culture. And it keeps us healthy, too!
- Have an opinion about triple-bottom-line sustainability principles. Discuss these opinions at dinner parties.
- Speaking of discussions/arguments, don’t confuse disagreement with dislike or disrespect. Embrace the power of healthy debate – echo chambers aren’t incredibly innovative.
- Trust people.
- If your/our current political system is so uninspiring that you cannot bring yourself to participate in it, well, fair enough. Here’s the thing, though. Apathy makes winners of the corrupt. So, if you don’t like the system of which you’re a part find the other people that share your opinion/values/ideas and work together to change it.
- Speaking of Number 82, please don’t confuse this with anarchy. In fact, we can leverage our humanity by ensuring that whenever we meet any self-proclaimed anarchist who is not named Tyler Durden that we impose structure on their life in some way. This is both hilarious and meaningful, as it could be the thing that stops anarchists from breaking stuff with no positive outcome in mind.
- Explore spirituality that is different from the stuff on which you were raised.
- Work hard and be nice to people
- Be a doer, not a sayer. Too many people say things but never follow through
- Push your boundaries by reading something you wouldn’t otherwise pick up – if you need to, join a good book club to empower a thirst for different types of knowledge
- Help other people – I firmly believe the key to happiness for the vast majority of people is to spend a sizable (though not overwhelming) chunk of your life making others happy.
- Live near your work; walk wherever you can; cycle or bus the rest of the time
- Feel comfortable with modesty – feel convinced that big/flashy/expensive isn’t often necessary/better/preferable
- Trust in the universal strength of your own mind and body.
- Try not to life too much in the past, too much in the present, or too much in the future – all are important and should try to be balanced out
- While there are a lot of problems in the world, there are a lot of people who are doing a lot to solve them. Appreciate what people are currently doing and stay positive while constantly striving to make things better
- Don’t underestimate the impact your actions – however small they may be – can have
- Spend time with animals.They’re good for the soul.
- As a conversation starter, ask people what they’d most like to occupy. The answers will undoubtedly be hilarious and thought provoking.
- Volunteer for something meaningful all year long, not just during the holidays.
- Downsize your life. People can do more with less. Even better, we can do less with less.
- Read this series, as it’s a pretty great map for how to make the world a better place.
So there it is. Now get out there and occupy some of these ideas!