samsara

It is silly, really,

our use of “nature“. “Man-made”

lines drawn where there are no lines. Only nature. No nature. Only darkness. Only stars.

We cannot separate

our selves, yet we

keep trying

Tags: samsara

Consuming Thoughts: H

H is for Health That Should Never Be Poor. Basho: Old pond / frog jumps in / the sound of water. In the US we are currently wrapped up in a very important, often ridiculous debate about healthcare or, more accurately, health insurance. Having just repatriated and wandered the maze of healthcare choices”, as a consumer, I can say the array of choices in front of me was more like a game of Russian roulette or a bizarre amalgam of Sophie’s Choice and Groundhog Day. Each of the myriad “choices” I had to make was a gamble or a sacrifice. It was stressful, unsatisfying and, well, unhealthy.

David Gilmour: I am you and what I see is me. Consider a frog. Essentially frogs need water, warmth and bugs. Taint or take away one of those essentials (or the conditions that support these essentials) and you’ve got a mess of unhealthy, mutated frogs or no frogs at all. Frogs are voracious consumers in their eco-systemic niche. So are we. As humans we need a healthy, resilient, sustaining Value Web, yet so many of the choices we are being asked to make are neither healthy for us, our communities and the eco-systems that sustain us.

For consumers, shopping is a highly entertaining game of choice. The question is what are we really choosing? In the case of healthcare we are “choosing” damaged goods from a broken system. In the case of health, though, as we shop, we have the opportunity to choose for our selves and support the health of our communities and the eco-systems that support them. Our choices can give life instead damaging the conditions that make it possible. We can design the effects of our purchases to be less bad and more good and healthier for all of us-including the frogs.

Tags: Basho, David Gilmour, health, health insurance, healthcare, russian roulette, sustainability, value web

Consuming Thoughts: G

G is for Good, of Which We Need More. Tom Waits: You got to keep the devil way down in the hole. Disposable diapers. The mark of a sophisticated consumer society. No muss, no fuss, take ‘em up and toss ‘em into the nearest available trash receptacle. That amounts to over 4,000,000 tons of turd bombs trucked to landfills yearly in the US alone. Shocking. What’s our response to shock? We recoil, pull back and, physiologically prepare for fight or flight. Fleeing, we fling our filth away, deliberately in denial, we cut our selves off from considering the consequences. Fighting, we campaign in outrage, demand responsibility through reduction, writing rants, we burn off our anger in opposition. We’re demanding rather stridently that we change behavior. For some reason, this rarely yields the results intended…

John Cleese: And now for something completely different. What if we re-thought, re-designed, re-branded and marketed disposable diapers that allowed us to stay in our throw away rut and that were also nutritious (for worms, that is). Well, it’s been done and gDiapers is doing it right. Disposable diapers that disappear as compost (residential or commercial). Certified as cradle to cradle, they go back to where they came from, closing the loop. Think of this as an aiki-solution. No fight, no flight, re-direction of disastrous behavior into virtuous, value-generating action. Same babies, same parents, same behaviors, different diapers, good waste.

Of all the things, more good from wasteful behavior. Chevy Chase: Ahahahaha … I like it!

Tags: aiki, and now for something completely different, Chevy Chase, compost, Cradle to cradle, disposable diapers, gdiapers, John Cleese, Tom Waits, you got to keep the devil way down in the hole

Special Announcement: The Green Marketplace Forum

For those of you in Japan or going to Japan at the end of September we are co-sponsoring this landmark event:

The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan Presents:

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GREEN MARKETPLACE FORUM: THE FUTURE OF WORK, HOME, & HOW WE GET AROUND

Wednesday, September 30th, 9:00-18:30

DISTINGUISHED SPEAKER LIST INCLUDES:

• Mayor Hiroshi Nakada of Yokohama
• Paul Sands, General Manager of Virgin Airlines
• Kiyotaka Fujii, President of Better Place Japan
• U.S. Govt. Expert on emerging GOJ policy around carbon reduction targets and how that is shaping the business environment

PLUS:

Interactive “stakeholder dialogue” session: Your opportunity to connect and catalyze business opportunities with other individuals and organizations, and add your perspective to the discussion on emerging government policy around carbon reduction targets and how that is shaping the business environment

EVENT OVERVIEW:

The Green Marketplace Forum (GMF) is an interactive event that explores the future trends and business opportunities of Green Design/Building and Green Mobility/Transportation as they relate to our lifestyle and the many changes resulting from efforts to achieve a Carbon-free society. The US Embassy will also present an update on the Government of Japan’s carbon reduction targets and how this may affect the business environment and business opportunities. The GMF allows you to hear from and interact with policy-makers, thought leaders, organization leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs; and provides event participants with a process to begin moving from dialogue to action in these core areas of our lives and work.

DATE: Wednesday, September 30, 9:00 to 18:30

VENUE: Four Seasons at Chinzan-so in Tokyo

MAP: <http://www.fourseasons.com/tokyo/directions_and_map.html

<http://www.fourseasons.com/tokyo/directions_and_map.html> >

COST: (All fees include a buffet lunch)

Morning Session: Members: 7,000 yen; Guests: 8,000 yen

Afternoon Session: Members: 7,000 yen; Guests: 8,000 yen

Full Day: Members: 10,000 yen; Guests: 11,000 yen

Contact: Chad Stewart (chad@ikan.biz) to register

REGISTRATION AND CANCELLATION DEADLINE: 5 p.m., Friday, September 25

Tags: American Chamber of Commerce Japan, Better Place, carbon free, Green Building, Green Design, Green Mobility, Green Transportation, Hiroshi Nakada, Kiyotaka Fujii, Paul Sands, Virgin Airlines

Consuming Thoughts: DEF

D is Design as the Place to Begin: Freddie Mercury: ”Is this the world we created? What did we do it for? Our current economy of relentless consumption is a lack of design problem. Nobody in their right mind would design a system that is so consistently wasteful and capable of altering the very atmospheric conditions that allow life to thrive. Yet here we are. So, what can we do? Start by designing your own life. Be your own Lean consultant. Cut waste. Keep what gives life. Life creates the conditions conducive to life. Get to work!

E is for the Edges Where Economy and Ecology Meet: Peter Gabriel: “What ever may come and whatever may go that river’s flowing.” Either now or later the economy we’ve built on air will settle back down to it’s earthly foundations. As consumers I suggest we help it along. Invest in that which enriches your Value Web. Find those opportunities services and things which provide value to you and to the people around you while enriching our cities and communities while enhancing the health of the environment that holds us. We’ve been “conquering” and “subduing” nature for long enough. It’s time to go with the flow…

F is for the Flow of Feedback Beneath our Feet: Mike Patton: “It’s it. What is it?” Call it what we will: Karma. What goes around comes around. We are what we eat. We do as we do. We get what we get. Sometimes you get the bear-sometimes the bear gets you. We do not live, experience, think, intend or act in a vacuum. We are living, open systems. That means we affect and are affected by everything that goes on around us. What we consume consumes us. If we pay attention, the feedback we receive-instant or otherwise-is constant and instructive. What we choose to eat, buy, keep and throw away have very real ramifications in our lives and reverberate throughout the Value Web. As a consumer you can ignore “it” and continue being eroded and washed away in a muddied, waste strewn stream or accept and acknowledge “it” and start taking responsibility for “it.”

Tags: design, ecology, economy, feedback, flow, Freddie Mercury, karma, lean, life creates the conditions conducive to life, Mike Patton, Peter Gabriel, the Value Web, waste