First Big Project of 2008

The cat is out of the bag. I have been working on this idea, mainly in my head, for a couple of years now. Over the holidays I finally put it down on paper and had a few friends and family take a look. It is a doozy of an idea and still very flawed but I am excited to see where it leads. I am putting it out there for you readers to give me your honest and critical feedback. If you like it tell me why, if you don't like it tell me why. The more input and perspective I get on this the better as it will allow me to really see the flaws and more importantly how I can possibly fix them. So here goes.

Ideal World Book:

I think we can all agree that the world, in its current incarnation, is not a world that we would call ‘ideal’ (and if you can make a valid argument against this statement, I would love to hear it!). If you are like me, you dream of a world where everyone has access to basic needs, there is equality for all and peace across the globe. However, what does the ideal world really look like? Where a world with a population of 6.6 billion, all have different dreams and aspirations, how can we ever come to a consensus on the question, “What does the ideal world look like and how do we make it so?”

What if we could ask the world to share their vision? Not just politicians and the rich and famous, but everyone. What if we could get men, women, and children of all ages, ethnicities, geographical locations, religions, and sexualities to shape a global, collaborative vision of what an ideal world would look like?

The Ideal World Book is a global community of people looking to shape this vision. The Ideal World Book is the accumulation of thoughts and ideas, of essays and poems, of art and science that shape a vision of an ideal world.

We are at an apex, the tipping point, in both our lifetime and the lifetimes of future generations. If we are going to affect positive change in our own lives and the lives of those to come, then we must make the conscious effort to do so now, here, in this moment. I can’t do it alone; you can’t do it alone. But WE – a community of people with a collaborative goal, a goal with substance and vision – WE together can make it happen.

I don’t have the answer to this important question. I have ideas and passion. You can’t answer the question, but you can provide your insight and assistance. I am asking for your help to shape this vision, to join a community of people who want to voice their opinions, to assist in starting, here and now, to make the ideal world a reality and not just a daydream.

This is a project that I have dreamt of for years, but I need help! I have the passion to make this project happen, but I don’t have all the necessary skills. If you would like to join me in making the Ideal World Book a reality, I would be indebted to you. I have no money to offer, but at the completion of the Book, you would be able to say you were a vital part of creating it – and that is far more valuable than money.

How it Works:

The Ideal World Book will start as a community where people will answer the question, “What does the ideal world look like and how do we make it so?” Members will post their thoughts, ideas, poems, essays, photographs, drawings, and anything else that can be printed, to a website for all to see. The material posted on the website will then be graded by the whole community on a scale of 1-10. The top-rated material that will fit into a 200-page book, along with a chapter crafted by the Ideal World Book committee, a group of global leaders, will then be printed to form the Ideal World Book – a manifesto of an ideal world. From there, we as a community can decide how to start making it happen! At the conclusion of its creation the proceeds from the sale of the book will be put towards further projects that make the Ideal World a reality (the community will decide how this is done). This is the basic idea - it sounds simple but I know it is far more complicated.

The Next Step From You:

Email me with feedback, ideas, what you would like to contribute. Tell me why this could work, tell me why it can’t, what needs to be thought about in order to move forward. I emphasize again that I have the passion to make this happen, but I don’t claim to have all the skills or answers required. In the end I’m not looking for money, (although I certainly don’t want to lose any!), but my goal is to have as many people as possible participate in the creation of this Book. I will measure success not by profit, but by knowing that the vision that comes out of this will be shared by the world over. Let people know about this; start a conversation; invite me to a conversation or a presentation to a group of people; let us start a dialogue and get things moving.

I am on the record now. Dreaming is not a bad thing. Dreaming without taking action is just disappointing. This is my dream, what is yours?

Holidays are Over

It was my first day back to college today. I was completely ready to get back and get moving on the new semester, as well as all the fun things I have planned. Seeing everyone again was a really enjoyable, but a little overwhelming. So much coming all at once: where everyone was, what they did, who they saw - I try to listen but eventually it just gets to be too much for me. Life does that sometimes. It can be completely overwhelming. My example while not nearly as bad as how some people have it was actually quite hard for me. The important thing - and what I did - was to step away and regroup. Our mind, body and spirit can only take so much before it starts to break down. This is the point where we cease to feel balanced and it is important to listen to what our mind and body is saying to us, instead of forcing it. Think of a time when you have felt overwhelmed, what did you do? I would love to hear your answers.

Katrina Cleanup

About 2 years ago this date I was down in Biloxi, Mississippi helping with Hurricane Katrina cleanup. The trip would change my life. Upon my return from Biloxi everything around me seemed different. I remember the drive home and I kept waiting to see a house strewn across the road or a blue tarped roof. I wrote a reflection not long after the trip to help me summarize the experience and remember the trip. I want to share that with you because I think it still has and affect on me.


The experience of going to Biloxi, Mississippi will stay with me forever. When I first heard of the opportunity to go, I immediately filled with excitement. I had never been on a trip that could potentially have such an impact on somebody other than myself. I expected to go to a place that I had heard was severely damaged, but because it was four months after the fact, I assumed that the worst would have been cleared up. The best way to describe what I expected is a habitat for humanity project, only on a larger scale.
I couldn’t have been anymore wrong. It was beyond anything that I could have conjured up, even if Id expected the worst. Pictures do this place no justice, and even if you take the worst picture imaginable, it is that times 80 miles. Unfathomable. Fortunately, my experience was shaped more by what was behind the damage and debris. The initial trauma, and even the lasting impact of the damage, pales in comparison to what I learned, and what will stay with me long after I forget what it looked like.
I had the privilege of meeting and working with some of the most fantastic people. Our team leaders, Joan, Howard, and Chuck were some of the most sincerely nice people one could ever meet. They were caring and fun, and most importantly for me, very comforting. They made the experience positive, when it could have easily been negative. Beyond our group leaders, the team was wonderful. The group was diverse in age and experience, but we all worked well together.
The people we met while down in Biloxi taught me a valuable experience about life: It is the most precious thing we have. The loss of every worldly possession means nothing in the grand scheme. Happiness can and will prevail as long as we remember that life is all we need. Two of the victims, who’s houses we worked on, were perfect examples of the triumph of the human spirit. Ms. Daisy, who’s house filled with water to a height of nearly 8 feet, lost almost everything. But her smile and thankfulness were contagious. She shared her story with whoever wanted to listen, she thanked everyone in her presence, and her smile warmed up even the coldest days – and it sure did get cold! We left her house unfinished, but she was just glad we came.
The most profound impact on me was given by a gentleman, Steve, who again lost everything. He had just moved to Biloxi two months prior from Texas. He moved to Biloxi to start his own consulting business, which he had put all that he had into. Both his house and business were destroyed in the hurricane. He had a collection of some forty thousand records, all scattered and destroyed on his lawn. He had prepared for the worst, putting sand bags around all the doors and windows, but a piece of the pier went through his front window, allowing all the water to enter, and basically fill his house. The day we went to help him clean up was the first day he had been back since the storm. I was working with him to comb through his belongings in the kitchen. In one cupboard, filled with a variety of molds, I pulled out a package, sent to him by his grandmother many years previous. It was a hand made lace table cloth she had made for him. The water and mold had all but destroyed, however I convinced him to send it to a dry cleaner. In the same cabinet I pulled out a camera bag, with what he said was about $3000 dollars worth of camera equipment – all destroyed. His exact words were: “I wish I hadn’t of found that. Sometimes I wish the storm had just taken it all so I wouldn’t have had to come back and experience this”. But later, after working along with him, we took a break, and he looked across the street at his neighbors house which had a large X spray painted on the siding, and again his words will stick with me forever: “I was lucky. Some lost everything, even lives, family members, pets. All I lost was my house and some of the things I collected along the way. It can be replaced. My neighbors life can’t be”. Those words frame this experience for me. I am lucky. I am lucky because when I arrived home, life was “normal”, and I didn’t have to see the damage day in and day out. I don’t have to live with lost family members or pets. Not even my consumer possessions. But that’s not why I feel lucky. I feel lucky because I got to meet wonderful people, and learn at such an early age that living is our most precious gift, and the rest is just icing.
I can’t really say anything to someone who is thinking about going on a similar trip. It would do it no justice. It is an experience unlike anything else and no words can explain it. All I would say is you have nothing to lose, and everything to gain by going. You may go with the lofty goals, and the ‘I can save the world’ mentality, but when you come back you will understand it isn’t you who is doing the saving. You will bear witness to the triumph of the spirit, and you will feel like the one who was saved. Someone just like Ms. Daisy will smile at you, and you will understand.

Always Looking for Inspiration

I look for inspiration all the time. Things that make me think, things that make me feel, things that give me hope. My sisters friends had a baby not to long ago and since I just love kids they let me hold onto her for a few minutes. They took a picture and I thought nothing of it at the time until they posted it on Facebook. It is funny how the simple picture of a child can inspire your thoughts. She is too cute!

The point is that inspiration can come from the oddest of places. Sometimes we get so focused that we don't take the time to really breath in and absorb everything around us. I happened to read a great blog post about the difference between choosing a path and choosing a goal. Jason, at A Miracle A Day, distinguishes the two by saying that when we focus too much on a goal we get trapped by it, whereas if we choose a path we can travel it at our own pace and in any way we so choose.

The metaphore of life as a path holds true. Things happen all around us, all the time, and the more we take notice and heed our true calling the more we can enjoy all that comes our way. If you, like myself, want to change the world, start with yourself. Find the inspiration all around you, in the eyes of a baby, or the writing of a two-bit blogger like myself.

Walk the path of your choosing, and take it all in, every second, because unfortunately at some point that path will end and life will be the sum of all the steps you took to get there. If you don't enjoy each step then what is the point of taking any?

Social Websites for People Interested in Changing the World

The more and more I get into this blogging thing, and get connected with other people who are doing the same thing or interested in doing the same thing, the more I am getting turned on to new or different social networking websites for people who are interested in doing something to improve the world. I came across this great blog post, Networks for Change, by Jason Diceman over at WorldChanging. He outlines and gives a general overview of what each has to offer. I have profiles on a number of them now, but it is difficult to keep up with them as they pop up. I just joined a new one in its BETA phase called UnltdWorld. I am new to all of them and couldn't give an honest opinion one way or the other on which ones I like best and why. If you have any feedback please pass it along.

The great thing about social network websites is that you are able to connect with people from all around the world who you share some sort of interest with. The important thing, though, is to take advantage of your ability to network and take action. It is not enough to add someone to your friend list and watch your number of friends rise. What is important is to take the connection and make a difference with it. How many of your friends on these websites have you talked to since they were added. I know this because I am probably the most guilty of all. There is no substitute for creating actual friendships and making real connections. They are possible over the internet but they don't magically exist because you "agree to being their friend". Make the most of the opportunity that sights like Facebook provide. Post your new project, or idea and let others take an interest, ask opinions, hear advice. Make use of this 'Flat World' instead of taking it for granted.

Obama takes Iowa

The Iowa primary was held today and, what is sure to be a tight race for the Democratic party nomination, Barack Obama came out on top. I am not leaning one way or the other at the moment when it comes to the race between Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John Edwards. I think whatever candidate comes out of the Democratic election should be considered the favorite to win the Presidency and I think any of them would make a great President in their own ways.

I must admit I am an Obama fan, if for nothing more than the way in which he is able to paint a new vision for the U.S. in the coming years. He is young, ambitious, and highly likable.

However, Hilary Clinton also has some very good ideas, and a great support in her husband. I think if I could vote for both I would. Just a thought but could they both share the Presidency/Vice Presidency? If they could agree to work together they could potentially be in power for the next 16 years. That would make plenty of time to make some dramatic changes throughout the world - and this time they don't have to come at the end of a gun.

Whatever happens I am just glad that we won't have to go through 4 more years of President Bush. I am Canadian and while I have no say or vote for the U.S. election I can voice my opinion. Let's go Democrats!

As an aside: I said this to a friend the other day, State elections (ie. Canada, US) should have an international component. For example, 15% of votes should be determined by the rest of the world. Why? Because no longer are States solitary. Every decision has repercussions around the world, so it makes sense that the world should have some say in who is governing another country. Think about it, if Presidential hopefuls had to answer to the rest of the world, don't you think that part of their election platform would be to help the rest of the world in some way? I think it is a great way to make politicians more accountable for their decisions that affect people half way around the world. Would they be so quick to start a war in the Middle East, or deny funding for AIDS, Malaria, and TB - I think not. Just a thought though.

Facebook Page for Balance On Earth

I created a Facebook page under the name Balance on Earth, for anyone to access and add input. I hope that anyone who reads this and has a Facebook profile will join and start to share ideas for how to make the world a better place. Another blogger, Katie Orlemanski, who is travelling around the world and writing about the areas and events she encounters along the way will also be posting to the page. You can read up about her experiences at Change the World.

For those of you who are interested in learning more about environmental comings and goings, I know that I don't post nearly enough on the topic, there is a great blog that is separated for both boys and girls called Green Guys Global and Green Girls Global. Both blogs have great ideas and information for those of you looking to lead a greener life, so I would recommend checking both out regardless of your gender. I especially like that at the end of each post they provide a few links to other material on the subject so that you can learn more if you so wish.

It is a wonderful feeling knowing there are so many wonderful people trying to make the world a better place in their own ways. Please continue to contact me with your ideas and websites.