Heads up to the authors of the essays. Don't leave any comments here that identify you as the author of your piece. They are to stay anonymous till next week when the awards are granted. I will delete anything that hooks you up to the great piece you wrote!
IMPORTANT: I should have said that no one should vote for their own!!!
Thank you, Suzanne! I think you've done a wonderful thing by inspiring people to dream the future we all want to see. I finished reading all 20 and will now deliberate on which essays I think are the best.
Unlike other contests, this one feels like a beginning. Suzanne, I'm loving how you did this--kept trying to be inclusive and fair, and in doing that, you downplayed the competitive element and encouraged connection, a web of beautiful ideas where contestants feel acknowledged, not ignored. Thus, to my mind, moving the contest towards a place where these ideas could actually come to pass. I have so far read 4. I plan to read a few each day, and then re-read. The ideas are so beautiful and exciting, I foresee more contests--asking businesses to compete, to come up with ways to implement them. Win/win/win/win...
I work with Suzanne and I feel so lucky to have the chance to read those essays. They not only give you hope, but they show how much potencial we have as human beings in experience. Thank you to everyone who took their time to write such insightful pieces.
Wow. This is amazing Suzanne. I have already read 8! Made my coffee this morning and started reading. I'll probably have to re-read them as I notice that after a while the words merge and I can't tell one from the other. They become one single vast idea. Which is also beautiful but not helpful on voting!! ;-) So I'll let them merge, let them inspire me, and the re-read in a more diligent way. It feels like an honour to be able to read these people's visions for a better world. Thanks for sharing this with us. Big hugs and happy reading weekend! (for some of us!)
As a big proponent of neighborhood "re-Villaging" to bring about systemic change, these quotes jumped out at me from the essays as I read:
"The best way we found to do that was through conversations between trusted groups of people. So we started getting people together." (2)
"It took people from all the different religions sitting down together, and, well, less talking than listening. They, and all the people who didn’t really have a religion, listened until everyone felt heard, and until everyone agreed on the basics." (4)
"It is my personal belief, from a lifetime of surrender and commitment to service, that when we ask for help in this way, things happen." (5)
"Don’t blame your parents for not seeing it right away, or your grandparents for not seeing it at all." (6)
"I wanted to share more widely my belief in working collaboratively from the grassroots up" (7)
"We noted that human nature in private is very different from human nature in public. Things we would do under cover of anonymity, we would never do in the full light of day." (8)
"So we deliberately. Started. Talking." (9)
"The more they knew each other, and trusted each other... the less scared they got, the more willing they became to rely on each other." (9)
"‘Those who love peace must learn to organize as effectively as those who love war’" - (MLK via 10)
"One healed good intentioned human can have the same impact on many others." (10)
"Here’s what’s amazing about people: when you build a community
that creates space for new voices, for louder voices, the ideas get better, more organized, and more powerful." (11)
"The small behaviors of lots of people, multiplied throughout the world, created change." (11)
"Little did I know, the small local steps I personally took in my community eventually had a widening influence on the whole world." (12)
"'If you want to save the world, first start with yourself.'” - (Ghandi va 13)
"But I never knew how strong the pull of the group was. I studied the social experiments where people did crazy and awful things they would never do in real life, just because the group was doing them." (14)
I really enjoyed reading these. So much synchronicity!
Ok. I have now read all of them and trying to read them quicker once more. I notice that the second time around different things were salient. Things that I hadn't picked up or focused upon in my first read. I also notice that I will find it extremely hard (so cudos to you Suzanne!) to vote on five. Some have very good ideas but maybe jump too quickly into the utopian view (which is fair enough as this is not a book, but a short essay!) but I notice being curious and going...mmmm...if I knew that this person had the "how" more worked through I might go for her/him. But I also notice that sometimes the story telling piece captivates me and I have to focus extra hard to also be diligent with the idea itself. This is a complex task! I am already apologetic to the ones I won't vote for and aware of potential flaws in my judgement. In any case, I trust that whoever the winners are some interesting stuff is bound to come about! I hope I get to see the ripples of this...
Oh yes, both/and for sure. I think his point is that we need to balance out the Yang-focus of the purpose-driven (often profit) nature of businesses with the Yin of calm, compassionate wisdom. Yes, exactly the vibe I'm getting from your approach - helping companies achieve that balance. Lovely!!
Having read all the submissions, I love the creative ideas and writing styles. That said, I am concerned at the lack of understanding of systems change. Most of the submissions are in the land of 'magical thinking' based on individual healing, fighting the system, and winning via vote (maintaining the same underlying power structure).
Here are generative lines from the essays that stood out:
- "Almost a billion people earn their livelihood in a worker’s cooperative or an employee-owned business, sharing the risk, the investment, and the fulfilment of productive work." (#5)
- “We needed ways of bringing people together at a grassroots level, and working collaboratively and democratically in ways that would eventually present a meaningful challenge to existing power structures." (#7)
- "We also encouraged the development of worker-owned businesses, as it built economic strength and stability, and we worked with our local “anchor institutions” to employ locally and to keep the wealth in our community." (#12)
- "our current self-governance system. This system, as you are aware, places a strong emphasis on deliberation and consensus around shared objectives and aspirations. This approach enables the rapid deployment of hierarchical implementation groups to construct what needs to be built.... Firstly, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the funds were owned and operated by an independent not-for-profit foundation. However, the mechanism that truly moved the needle and changed everything was something they termed “Exit to Planet.”" (#18)
MY INPUT (as a mechanical engineer, entrepreneur, and in progress PhD in Decolonial Community Ecopsychology):
- What we're looking for is within the above; and can be accessed by the overarching question: How do we Self-govern as Community? Simultaneously, how do we build collective economic and political power that is scalable, replicable, and provides a tangible model of transformation?
Suzanne thank you! I've read them all. I notice repeated themes of communication, community building, mutual aid. I'm glad to see some of them have concrete places to begin, traction in this world we have right before us. It certainly gives me hope that more than one of us is thinking about it.
I admit to some cynicism about human behavior, but if we can actually work together maybe maybe ...
Thanks, Suzanne, for sharing your contest via Suzanne Taylor's Now What? I just subscribed and will get reading! Is is too late to be included in the contest? I also am passionate about Restoration and write about it on Wildlands. Thank you!
Heads up to the authors of the essays. Don't leave any comments here that identify you as the author of your piece. They are to stay anonymous till next week when the awards are granted. I will delete anything that hooks you up to the great piece you wrote!
IMPORTANT: I should have said that no one should vote for their own!!!
Thank you, Suzanne! I think you've done a wonderful thing by inspiring people to dream the future we all want to see. I finished reading all 20 and will now deliberate on which essays I think are the best.
Unlike other contests, this one feels like a beginning. Suzanne, I'm loving how you did this--kept trying to be inclusive and fair, and in doing that, you downplayed the competitive element and encouraged connection, a web of beautiful ideas where contestants feel acknowledged, not ignored. Thus, to my mind, moving the contest towards a place where these ideas could actually come to pass. I have so far read 4. I plan to read a few each day, and then re-read. The ideas are so beautiful and exciting, I foresee more contests--asking businesses to compete, to come up with ways to implement them. Win/win/win/win...
I work with Suzanne and I feel so lucky to have the chance to read those essays. They not only give you hope, but they show how much potencial we have as human beings in experience. Thank you to everyone who took their time to write such insightful pieces.
Wow. This is amazing Suzanne. I have already read 8! Made my coffee this morning and started reading. I'll probably have to re-read them as I notice that after a while the words merge and I can't tell one from the other. They become one single vast idea. Which is also beautiful but not helpful on voting!! ;-) So I'll let them merge, let them inspire me, and the re-read in a more diligent way. It feels like an honour to be able to read these people's visions for a better world. Thanks for sharing this with us. Big hugs and happy reading weekend! (for some of us!)
As a big proponent of neighborhood "re-Villaging" to bring about systemic change, these quotes jumped out at me from the essays as I read:
"The best way we found to do that was through conversations between trusted groups of people. So we started getting people together." (2)
"It took people from all the different religions sitting down together, and, well, less talking than listening. They, and all the people who didn’t really have a religion, listened until everyone felt heard, and until everyone agreed on the basics." (4)
"It is my personal belief, from a lifetime of surrender and commitment to service, that when we ask for help in this way, things happen." (5)
"Don’t blame your parents for not seeing it right away, or your grandparents for not seeing it at all." (6)
"I wanted to share more widely my belief in working collaboratively from the grassroots up" (7)
"We noted that human nature in private is very different from human nature in public. Things we would do under cover of anonymity, we would never do in the full light of day." (8)
"So we deliberately. Started. Talking." (9)
"The more they knew each other, and trusted each other... the less scared they got, the more willing they became to rely on each other." (9)
"‘Those who love peace must learn to organize as effectively as those who love war’" - (MLK via 10)
"One healed good intentioned human can have the same impact on many others." (10)
"Here’s what’s amazing about people: when you build a community
that creates space for new voices, for louder voices, the ideas get better, more organized, and more powerful." (11)
"The small behaviors of lots of people, multiplied throughout the world, created change." (11)
"Little did I know, the small local steps I personally took in my community eventually had a widening influence on the whole world." (12)
"'If you want to save the world, first start with yourself.'” - (Ghandi va 13)
"But I never knew how strong the pull of the group was. I studied the social experiments where people did crazy and awful things they would never do in real life, just because the group was doing them." (14)
I really enjoyed reading these. So much synchronicity!
Ok. I have now read all of them and trying to read them quicker once more. I notice that the second time around different things were salient. Things that I hadn't picked up or focused upon in my first read. I also notice that I will find it extremely hard (so cudos to you Suzanne!) to vote on five. Some have very good ideas but maybe jump too quickly into the utopian view (which is fair enough as this is not a book, but a short essay!) but I notice being curious and going...mmmm...if I knew that this person had the "how" more worked through I might go for her/him. But I also notice that sometimes the story telling piece captivates me and I have to focus extra hard to also be diligent with the idea itself. This is a complex task! I am already apologetic to the ones I won't vote for and aware of potential flaws in my judgement. In any case, I trust that whoever the winners are some interesting stuff is bound to come about! I hope I get to see the ripples of this...
Oh yes, both/and for sure. I think his point is that we need to balance out the Yang-focus of the purpose-driven (often profit) nature of businesses with the Yin of calm, compassionate wisdom. Yes, exactly the vibe I'm getting from your approach - helping companies achieve that balance. Lovely!!
Having read all the submissions, I love the creative ideas and writing styles. That said, I am concerned at the lack of understanding of systems change. Most of the submissions are in the land of 'magical thinking' based on individual healing, fighting the system, and winning via vote (maintaining the same underlying power structure).
Here are generative lines from the essays that stood out:
- "Almost a billion people earn their livelihood in a worker’s cooperative or an employee-owned business, sharing the risk, the investment, and the fulfilment of productive work." (#5)
- “We needed ways of bringing people together at a grassroots level, and working collaboratively and democratically in ways that would eventually present a meaningful challenge to existing power structures." (#7)
- "We also encouraged the development of worker-owned businesses, as it built economic strength and stability, and we worked with our local “anchor institutions” to employ locally and to keep the wealth in our community." (#12)
- "our current self-governance system. This system, as you are aware, places a strong emphasis on deliberation and consensus around shared objectives and aspirations. This approach enables the rapid deployment of hierarchical implementation groups to construct what needs to be built.... Firstly, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the funds were owned and operated by an independent not-for-profit foundation. However, the mechanism that truly moved the needle and changed everything was something they termed “Exit to Planet.”" (#18)
MY INPUT (as a mechanical engineer, entrepreneur, and in progress PhD in Decolonial Community Ecopsychology):
- What we're looking for is within the above; and can be accessed by the overarching question: How do we Self-govern as Community? Simultaneously, how do we build collective economic and political power that is scalable, replicable, and provides a tangible model of transformation?
I'm happy to share more if people are interested.
Suzanne thank you! I've read them all. I notice repeated themes of communication, community building, mutual aid. I'm glad to see some of them have concrete places to begin, traction in this world we have right before us. It certainly gives me hope that more than one of us is thinking about it.
I admit to some cynicism about human behavior, but if we can actually work together maybe maybe ...
Thanks, Suzanne, for sharing your contest via Suzanne Taylor's Now What? I just subscribed and will get reading! Is is too late to be included in the contest? I also am passionate about Restoration and write about it on Wildlands. Thank you!