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(This is the final Post in a series of three. If you haven’t already: You may want to read the last two Posts before reading this one?) 

Over the years of my transformation I have learnt that success isn’t really about ‘Success’! Often those who have ‘real success’, may often may not be the celebrities, or have conquest ‘medals’ to show for it: They don’t seek ‘medals’. Their life is one giant inspirational ‘medal’ for others.

I go back to Gandhi’s answer to the question posed to him: “What is your life message?” His answer: “My life is my message!”

How many of the leaders of the world today, the presidential candidates, the elite, the celebrities, have ‘life messages’ that inspires ‘us’ to emulate their ‘life message’, rather than idolise their narrow ‘medal’ resumes? ‘Walking the Talk’ leadership is not what the ‘soul-less’ System rewards it prefers manipulation, deception and ‘Talk the Talk’. This form of hypocritical politicking is destroying the souls of ‘the majority’, divided ‘us’ further and further way from any hope of a One Point Zero world course.

After all my meetings with many people on this trip to the USA, I am convinced, beyond doubt, that America’s soul is ‘Off Success’. It’s time for the leadership, elite and ‘owners’ of ‘The System’ to have a, Bernard Russell, tincture ‘overdose moment’.

Once Sobering up to The Truths they find, they need to have selfless courage and conviction to plot a new course away from the self-serving, comforting lies that divide what was once an amazing Nation. The Majority have a responsibility to force this ‘tincture moment’ to help themselves and the Nation…..

For ‘you’ it is time to listen to ‘your’ souls, and no longer accept ‘The System’ and its self-serving abuse. It needs a revolution and that requires each person to have the courage to stand out of ‘The Crowd’ and act on their soul’s feelings and directives to break free from the path of ‘Horrors’, Bertrand Russell describes .

The world watches in anguish and anticipation as American’s majority decide what Message they want to give the elite and what ‘Success’ they really want…..

In my last blog I also pointed to a London Times article: “New Zealanders and the curse of the Kiwi Knight.”, and I discuss that now:

My simple mind struggles to find a motive for this article other than one that is from another ‘System servant’, author (David Brooks the other), who is pro ‘The System’, its celebrity building and Tall Poppy values.

In Richie McCaw, I believe we have one of the, if not THE most, valuable role models of what the Olympics and all competition should be about: Yet this article is seemingly aimed at putting him down, and pointing to New Zealand as a country which is behind the times in its “loathing of Tall Poppies”!

Over the years I have moved a lot in my views on what fame and celebrities are all about and who should be The real inspiring and famous people in setting true role models for a troubled modern society? Etc. Watching the way ‘The System’ so easily ‘grows poppies’ from sometimes strange ‘medals’ and contrived resumes, without concern about the person’s life message value? I have often become very disillusioned in how ‘successful’ people  who don’t have a successful ‘life message’ are often presented as icons to be admired. Often the whole thing is built on a money making promotion either linked to reinforcing ‘The System’ hold on ‘The Crowd’, or in some way driving increasing consumption of the celebrity’s promoted products and services.

I sense we should be looking at the real heroes in the light of Who they really are and How they go about their success. We are so desperately in need of real leadership, role models, who walk an exemplary life message talk, not celebrity icons whose personal lives and / or behaviour that are far removed from those needed for a One Point Zero or a unified society / humanity.

In the further context of the exemplary New Zealander Richie McCaw, in yesterday’s post I pointed out that New Zealand ended up with some ten times the ‘per capita’ medal haul of the USA:

It’s easy to write off New Zealand as a very small nation, and black swan anomaly, but having immersed myself in that country over this past two years, I can vouch that it has a success way beyond its huge medals  ‘per capita’ superiority, that could provide huge learning for the USA, and many other ‘tall poppy’ nations.

Sadly, I sense in the case of the USA elite, the brute force, tall poppy ‘blindness’ to the fact of a ‘wrong success’, would make a desperately needed ‘tincture of philosophy’ seem like step towards ‘defeat’. A stop think, understand the truths, correct the course intervention, a seemingly unnecessary waste of time while ‘The Crowd’, are still mostly compliant.

Worse still would be the result that the elite would have to admit to ‘The Crowd’ that their course was merely designed to serve a few, at the expense of the many, and the Planet: That would be tantamount to deception at the highest level?

Behind their sophisticated Machiavellian and Humanitarian masks, there is no care for anyone else but themselves: The more they can use, have, and accumulate, no matter from whom or from where they ‘take’ it, the more they can divide themselves from the good, honest people of the majority.

While my focus above and the last few posts has been necessarily on America, this problem of the abuse of power of ‘The Elite’ and ‘The System’ is pervasive in modern western society. It’s also becoming the new fashion in the developing world where it is being rolled out as the path to ‘Success’, replacing traditionally successful and sustainable cultures. This all flies right in the face of a One Point Zero America, and a One Point Zero world and I believe through each of us taking a revolutionary stance there can be a breaking of ‘The System’. With this must come, new ‘Walk the Talk’ non-Tall Poppy, leadership and with the right vision and leadership humanity would find that a One Point Zero world repairs the divide and eliminates the deeper human soul belonging crisis of The Chasm.

Americans vote with your souls and not as ‘The Crowd’!  Good luck, the world nervously awaits The Result!

Bye bye America and than you for allowing me to do my very important work, and being open to my or ‘Tough Love’…!

PS: I hope you can see that I’m a real person, who really cares for the soul of Humanity.

 

Yesterday saw the closing of another Olympics games and yet again new human boundaries having been established in our quest for something…..?  I had to think about what the quest is really for….? That was quite profound, as years ago I knew clearly what the quest was for but today it’s not so clear?  It was a quest for excellence of human ability, largely physical ability in the field of organised Sports, but maybe it’s now about a ‘con-quest’.

Beyond the conquests, the Olympics stood for a ‘place and time’ where ‘all’ the nations of the world put aside their differences, gathering together in a one-ness of humanity for the purpose of ‘friendly competition’. Competition, where the top priority was the camaraderie of sports-person-ship and celebrating the wonder of human capability and participation, whether winner, loser or supporter.

I was brought up in a highly competitive sporting family, and this ethic was ingrained in us at a young age, and I took a strong competitive spirit with me into most aspects of my life. With this went a ‘conquest mind’, and the only journey was honing ‘the journey’ to compete and conquer: Whether that was business, sport or climbing the ‘Good Life’ ladder aspiring for its apex of the Elite High Life.

Around the age of 39, something changed for me, my soul was screaming out loud that this wasn’t a journey at all, this was an imprisoned ‘rail track’ to an illusionary destination. A destination, that was someone else’s ‘statue of success’, and needed their “common sense” belief and values, not my own, to ‘get there’!

At the end of my last Post I pointed to Bertrand Russell’s quote:

“The man (woman?) who has no tincture of philosophy? The ineffective person who just goes through life imprisoned in the prejudices derived from common sense, from habitual beliefs of his age or his nation, and from convictions which have grown up in his (her) mind without the cooperation or consent of deliberate reason.” As Russell concludes that this is a life of ‘Horror’ as one is following ‘somebody’ else’s belief of what life is about….…..

Twenty years later I look back at my 39 year old picture and see that the ‘tincture of philosophy’ and the ability to see beyond the “common sense” and “the habitual” has freed me from a ‘the Horror’, of living a life ‘according to someone else’ that Bertrand Russell describes!

In my last post I also pointed to the New York Times article entitled “Is our Country as Good as Our Athletes are? “  I’m assuming you have read it, but if not you can get the gist of it here.

As I read this article, I could not help concluding that the author is in his ‘Horror life’ with beliefs and values attached to The System’s statue of success… OR that he is consciously part of that same System, and living the Good Life manipulating and masking its ‘Life of Horrors’ from others?  If it was the former wondered if he is not in desperate need of a serious dose of Bertrand Russell’s ‘tincture of philosophy’ and a challenge of his beliefs…..??!!

Maybe this is what ‘America’ is struggling with at the moment: The elite and those whose very identity is linked, and dependant on The System, being so blinded by its pervasive power, refusing to open their eyes and see that The Nation’s statue for Success has long run its useful day????

In this article, by a highly respected, intelligent, and clearly loyal, New York Times journalist, he points to a ‘Success’ which I see is at the very core of the World, and USA problems today:

It’s a ‘success’ that is founded on ruthless competition, domination by brute force and numbers; An almost exclusive rational orientation, void of any spiritual context, locked onto a co-dependant,  economic and consumerism, success; A focus on the conquest of being Number One on all its many conquest ‘medal’ seeking fronts.

Connecting with my ‘little Howard story’ above, this reminds me so much of the ‘journey-less journey’ to winning and conquering, orientation that I was on up to age 39, and the many tinctures of philosophy I have eagerly taken in between!! (See Journey to The Truths)

The author talks about the Olympic medals as being the measure of a nation’s success, and gloats on America’s hoard of ‘medal’s Success’! Probably knowing that ‘tall poppy’ gloating, based only on force of numbers, isn’t a good advert for real success, he then casually points to another measure of success: A nation by nation, ‘per capita’ medal measure of success  and fleetingly admits that on that score ‘other nations’ are ahead of America!

Maybe the most celebrated nation at the Olympics should be the one whose ‘per capita’ medal haul, is the highest? Maybe it should not even just be about ‘medal hauls’?

Interestingly the UK has a ‘per capita’ medal haul almost three times higher than that of the USA,. Australia nearly four times, and New Zealand and an amazing ten times higher that of the USA!!

Not wanting to dwell on this ‘inconvenient truth’ and its implications, the author then conveniently diversifies his analysis to the evidence of ‘more’ ‘American domination’ success:

Seemingly proud that the nation is “the world’s leading energy producer…”! Hmmm, yes it is also one of the leading ‘per capita’ ecological footprint nations nearly five times higher than the global average!!

If the whole world lived like just an ‘average American’ we would need nearly FIVE planets! This is serious leadership, where one would think a huge population with technology leadership traits would be able to be leading the world as the lowest footprint nation of The Developed World!  So yeah no wonder it sees energy as being important to feed its insatiable need for energy to stay be leader of the Footprint ‘race’!

Moving beyond his claims of economic and trade success, he moves into entertainment, pointing out ‘success’ here: “Hollywood is as dominant as ever”  This really does get things going: I recently went to see the latest ‘Jungle Book’, and ‘Legend of Tarzan’, movies, to see whether our relationship with Nature was being portrayed anthropocentrically, or as I believe our relationship should be represented to us, ‘planet destroying’ humans?

I came away from both movies literally shocked at the level of violence that was central to ‘the entertainment’ of both these movies. These shouldn’t be violent engagements, but rather ones that should help us bond with Nature. Ones that help us see where and how we humans fit in to Our Planet? However all ‘they’ show are anthropocentric, gladiators in death defying and violent conquests.

As I saw in these movies, the technology achievements of Hollywood are absolutely amazing, but sadly it’s all directed at the wrong ‘Statues of Success’. Hollywood is a celebrity factory whose ‘medal winners’ provide disastrous inspiration value as ‘walk the talk’ icons for a One Point Zero world, or one that even remotely aligns with us humans living in sync with Nature and our planet Earth.

I see this ‘tall poppy’, self-appraising and ignoring of the truths and a more balanced scorecard as classic case of avoiding Bertrand Russell’s ‘moment’ for a ‘tincture of philosophy’, facing the truths, and using the learning opportunity presented?  Instead, in his denial of the truths, he is desperately sticking with the Biggest, Most, More and more, Win at all costs, and Machiavellian Domination beliefs, that have paved THE way, to THE Success.  His success, or is he in a ‘Horror life’ too…?

Going further: Can ‘Success’ be determined and measured by a small elite group who are masters of a self-serving system, and out of touch with spirituality and the human soul? A group who are the very architects and custodians of a system that has made a country now deeply divided. Divided into the superficially ‘successful’, dominating ‘few’, who are becoming increasingly removed from the demoralised, imprisoned, and disillusioned, ‘unsuccessful’ ‘majority’.

One can’t holistically measure the spirit of ‘the majority’ in terms of Olympic medals, energy production, economic power, technological prowess, Hollywood success, etc of the ‘few’!  These are the elite’s performance criteria, and ones based on winning, domination and a tall poppy, arrogant relationship with ‘the majority’ and world. It’s because that’s how they measure the success of their own lives, and have mastered how to exploit The System and ‘the majority’ to ‘get it’.

The author of this NYT article would do well to look at the USA’s obesity figures, mental illness, loneliness, spiritual health, ecological footprints, etc to find out whether the nation (the real nation, not the ‘Elite nation’) is ‘On Success’ or not?  The human soul is a very sensitive ‘being’ and knows when things aren’t right and ‘Off Success’.

I believe a nation is successful if its overall human spirit is healthy. A healthy spirit comes from leading a fully flourishing, intensely human life. This fundamentally must includes belonging to Humanity, Nature and The Planet, not exploiting it for selfish intent……

Next Post will connect the London Times article “New Zealanders and the curse of the Kiwi Knight.”, I pointed to in my last post to the above, to hopefully complete a ‘tincture of philosophy’ that provides some inspiration and ideas for a path to personal liberty for all the good people who make up ‘The Majority’ of America! At this difficult junction in our history, the world desperately needs yeah to act on your truths, not on The Crowds ‘convenient falsities’ !!

More tomorrow….

Thanks to Amtrak, I arrived in Portland, Oregon yesterday morning.  Just under eight hours, this was a very special train ride with much of it following the long and economically important Columbia River. With now 14 dams on the river (3 in Canada and 11 in the USA, the river is almost a series of interconnected human-made lakes now. Travelling right on the lake shore for many of the hours provided water based tranquillity that my soul seemed to soak up with a message: “We need more of this My Boy!”

Some info thanks to Wikipedia:

“The Columbia River alone possesses one-third of the United States’ hydroelectric potential. In 2012, the river and its tributaries account for 29 GW of hydroelectricity, contributing 44% of the total hydroelectric generation in the nation the Grand Coulee Dam and the Chief Joseph Dam, are also the largest in the United States and among the largest in the world.”

“The installation of dams dramatically altered the landscape and ecosystem of the river. At one time, the Columbia was one of the top salmon-producing river systems in the world. Previously active fishing sites, such as Celilo Falls in the eastern Columbia River Gorge, have exhibited a sharp decline in fishing along the Columbia in the last century, and salmon populations have been dramatically reduced. Fish ladders have been installed at some dam sites to help the fish journey to spawning waters. Chief Joseph Dam has no fish ladders and completely blocks fish migration to the upper half of the Columbia River system.”

We all know these stories, but on this Trumped by Nature, One Point Zero mission, I’m just so ever mindful of reflecting on the Path of Society, and how we can learn from our amazing Success, and become better.

Wikipedia goes on to say that because of the hydroelectric generation, power in the Columbia basin is almost the cheapest in the USA and Google, with its huge power hungry server rooms, has set up its infrastructure to take advantage of this economic benefit.  A seemingly useless fact, but quoting Mike Berners-Lee  from his mostly useful book entitled “How Bad are Bananas? The Carbon Footprint of Everything”, if ‘one’ spent a whole year browsing Google, one would create a carbon footprint of about 5 tonnes that would mean you have used 60% more than one’s ‘every human the same’ allocation for a One Point Zero planet….Scary hey, as you haven’t even eaten or gotten into your car, taken that flying holiday, etc..)!

Now I know we don’t spend ‘a whole year’ browsing but I sense most of us see browser as free, and having no downside on Nature, but there we go it’s all part of our development path, and as such we should be aware of all the impacts! To me it is not about the details, but rather being aware that us humans are so anthropocentric that we are not aware that we share the planet with others (other humans and other inhabitants) and our almost all of our actions have implications.)

The Town Hall and The Green Party!!

Well as many of you would have picked up from my last Post: The Town Hall where Jill Stein of the Green Party (and Ajamu Baraka, her 2IC), was being interviewed was not in Spokane, but CNN’s virtual Town Hall in a NYC studio!  Ha-ha, yes the laugh is on me, and I deserve it and laughed myself!   Anyway I got to watch it from the comfort of my Spokane hotel room! I have to say I am so glad I watched it all as it give me a missing piece of my USA picture since I have been here:

What a different style, and approach they are pushing:  Very much against ‘The System’, not the all to familiar Clinton / Trump robust confrontational gladiators, fighting tooth and nail, with all the personal attacks that go with, and behind other is a domination and control agenda.

Here I heard a desire to break that system and stop the culture of domination and get back to a nation for all: Rather than the current nation that serves the elite and subtly abuses all else. Not just nationally but globally!  Yes, the Green Party has such a small support base that it was almost a token CNN conference where the show host almost seemed paternal in that he didn’t want to attack her, but support her political development. I enjoyed her positioning on feminism, and what was clear is that she walks her talk on feminism and many other things she spoke about… The questions were geared at find out WHO she was rather than WHAT she was and would DO, and in that sense she came out as a great person, with a great moral and ethical persona.

I can see that the socialistic, blanket forgiveness of student loan debt is not a good way to go, but the idea of the young generation being compensated by the current / privileged generation, and the ones who have stolen the future from the younger people is a very sound idea. And yes, while she didn’t have details on how it would be funded, she did point to The System in the past finding huge amounts of funds ‘for itself’ when it needs them (eg 2008 GFC). Here now it needs to be as creative and serious in solving the younger generation ‘abuse’ as it was then, I though was very appropriate.

I am of the firm view that the baby boomers (of which I am one) have committed huge humanitarian crimes in seriously making the future for youngsters of today so less attractive than ‘we’ had it. This is serious stuff, but unfortunately it is my truth and one shared by many in ‘The Crowd’, who will not publicly admit it. I liked Ajamu Baraka, if only for his ability to Walk the Talk of The (his) Truths, and is clearly someone who lives authentically and by his truths, and has a very strong moral / ethical belief system.  The two of them together were just so authentic, sincere, and of genuine deep commitment to societal justice that in this very strength I could see the basis of no hope for their election success.

They presented a picture of an America and a leadership so different to the America of today, almost an America that is so desperately needed in American and The World today. In reflecting on this Town Hall interview it I saw what I have been struggling with since I arrived here:

The America of today is about the dog eats dog, a gladiator street fighter election process, and the elite managing a huge and highly effective system that continues the decades of domination, exploitation and abuse for their own benefit. I sense as I was part of the ‘The System’, and now having been transformed I am fervently against it, I can see so clearly its goals, mind-set and power, and how hopeless it is to be a ‘prisoner’ on the other side.  America is about winning and domination, and what hit me between the eyes over the last few days is that The Ultimate domination and abuse is in my area of interest: One Point Zero and the abuse of our Planet Earth!! (Yours, mine and all other humans’)

I was hoping that being The Green Party, there would be at least some discussion on Sustainability, Environmental issues, but no not one: The debates were about views on Hillary, Trump, and election strategy issues….. The truth is the main issue is The Tragic System!  Vote for someone who will keep the system going as best she can or vote for someone who has a personal vendetta against ‘The System’, but is just interested in settling some big personal scores, or vote for ‘nice people’ who would love to break ‘The System’ but who have no chance because they are too radically ‘nice’! A bad place to be and the Powers that be should be asking themselves how, and why, they have got the nation into such dwang!  An election should be about choosing a leader for a vision for a better future, but the focus only seems to be about which dwang and / or how do we get out of The Dwang?

Time For Dealing with the Truths and then Revolution to solve…

Since I have been in the USA now I have not heard one election debate / discussion that has involved the issue of care for the planet and America’s blatant abuse and leadership of the abuse of the planet! I can see such a great vision for a new America, one that other Nations could admire, and follow, but this is about a whole new course and one where America would need to stand back and reflect on from whence it has come, and where it is going as a result….

This needs dealing with the realities (The Truths) and not just trying to win more and more with the wrong game. The Facts are something serious is wrong, and I’m not just talking about a planet problem; there is a human soul belonging problem, that’s what the real problem is: ‘The System’ is killing the souls of Americans; I can see it so clearly! I can almost guarantee that The Elite, even with their footprint sinking, hedonistic ‘High Life’, are not living peacefully with their souls….

I sense to win an election these days one cannot be a ‘good person’, because as they say:  ‘Good people don’t win anymore!’

Is One Point Zero REALLY that Important, Howard…

The time on the train has done me good, as I realised that I had got lost in my mission, trying to be the adventure blogger, tourist blogger, and then losing sight of the Big Picture Problem….

Two days ago I sat in Spokane library for the whole day answering a question that had been building:

“Howard, are you sure this One Point Zero issue is as ‘Humanitarian serious’, and as top priority as you make out and are giving it your life priority?”

I thought back to ‘my friend in French Polynesia, who gave me all the evidence to just pack it all in and go and enjoy life!  Read here.

I’d been dealing with the low interest, and general fobbing off I have got almost everywhere, and as evidenced in the media, people not willing to ‘walk the talk’, or even ‘talk the talk’,  etc….… I realise I may need to change path a bit, but there is more to it than that…!

In answering the above question I went all over the internet on planet issues, UN, IPCC, Climate issues, etc, as I have done many times in the past, and dug deep in myself for lies: Each time the answer came back:

This One Point Six and ever increasing problem is hugely important, if not the most important humanitarian issue, as all others are linked to it in some or other way. You may say I’m blinded by my own Truths, motives and issues, but I’m a pessimistic realist: I get my optimism, passion and excitement from the adventure in solving The Truths! So ensuring I’m dealing with The Truths and not convenient lies is paramount for the Howard modus operandi!!

Blinded optimists, just carry on and on, hoping for miracles, which sometimes do come, but sadly the miracle we need today for the course we are on is an ‘impossible miracle’.

Facing The Facts (The Truths) and getting excited about a new Revolutionary Path is the path for those wanting a soulful path! Dominators know ‘The Truths’, prevent ‘The Crowd’ for seeing ‘The Truths’, and keep them in slightly uncomfortable turmoil so that they can continue exploiting for their own elitist needs. Seemingly living in ‘paradise’ this exploiter role doesn’t fit with any human soul!

I concluded it is because of The System that does not want to hear the One Point Zero truths, nor does it want anyone helping the exploited / abused see the Truths. (The Facts). The reason being is it is The System that has caused the Facts, and the people who run ‘The System’ have the most to lose if ‘we’ had to move on to a One Point Zero course!

Many of you may interpret my ‘outburst’ above as one of some source of anger within, and wonder why I put so much little impact high energy into it….  I guess many of you and others feel anger to The System, I know that because I feel and hear that every day….. I would like to think that because I don’t really belong anywhere I have quite a unique disassociated perspective to be able to get the Truths out on the table, without having to worry about what ‘The Crowd’ will do or say to me? (Yeah, I can’t lose being a voice to ‘The Crowd’, and in that way I ask any of you if you can help in ensuring that doesn’t happen, I’d really value that!! My Crowd is all of Humanity, and yes I do struggle with belonging to smaller Crowds where the Truth is a Liar about The Truths! )

Over time I hope to be valued for that perspective, one that is not anger based, because I am a victim, but one that is Truths based because I am taking a moral / ethical view.  I can tell you now, I am definitely not a victim, as I am free of ‘The System’, but what really gets me going is when I see the extent of the exploitation and abuse of others by ‘The System’.

Now this has been a long one, and in ending off I want to point to three, seemingly totally disconnected, 3^rd part works that I’ll discuss next Post:

1. Check this NYT David Brooks article: “Is our Country as Good as our Athletes are?”

2. And this London Times article: “New Zealanders and the curse of the Kiwi Knight.”
3. Bertrand Russell’s quote: “The man (woman?) who has no tincture of philosophy. The ineffective person who just goes through life imprisoned in the prejudices derived from common sense, from habitual beliefs of his age or his nation, and from convictions which have grown up in his (her) mind without the cooperation or consent of deliberate reason.” As Russell concludes that this is a life of ‘horror’:  Living a life that is not one’s actual view of the world, is not living one’s own life, and one’s convictions are then not of one’s own, but of somebody else: ‘The Crowd’ and The System that makes The Crowd! “Horror” implies:  This is not living authentically and one’s soul will not be peaceful.

Where are ‘you’ on the 1-10 Horror scale?

Before I set out on my Journey to The Truths I would have said a 3/ 10 (where 10 is maximum Horror), but in hindsight I now see that the System had so unknowingly blinded me that I was actually close to a 8/10, Horror Boy! Sometimes we don’t know what we don’t know hey!!

We will discuss tomorrow!

Shooo this has been a heavy one hey, hope you still with me, and find it fun (Serious Fun!!!?)

 

Arriving two days ago at 02h45 two days at Spokane Station I wasn’t sure what to expect other than a new city in a new State`, Washington. Well right from the Amtrak representative at the baggage claim counter I have experienced a real friendly, almost laid back culture that has been refreshing. While generalisations are fraught with danger, I sense the fact that this isn’t a huge tourist destination, and also west of the great Continental Divide, makes for a different community.

A city of some 210 000 people, it’s pretty spread out around the Spokane River which provides a two stage waterfall feature right downtown that forms part of a 1920 hydroelectric scheme, that has an interesting background I share with you later in this Post.

The city has an aptly called Main Market, because it is on Main Street, but for me it has also been ‘the main market’ for my meals and beverages. Actually I haven’t yet seen (and certainly having been looking for!!) the big supermarkets and that ‘consumer ratchet-er’ Costco!  So far Main Market has provided all I need.

An authentic Co-operative, which also allows non-members to shop, and has that real new community sustainability ethic. The area around Spokane is full of small farmers and the Co-op has linked its supply chain to these organic providers. (See there great Mission Statement) There is both a sit in / take out Deli section and then a traditional supermarket section. Prices are fair, the food fresh and delicious and the staff ever friendly. I know there are many of these types of operations popping up all over the world, and it will be interesting to see how the market responds as sustainability and local organic products are more and more demanded in place of the exotics and ‘footprint heavy’ food options.

Heading out from my hotel room early on Monday morning (yeah, I have weakened for the comfort of a hotel in the city!!) I came across groups of people holding up the placards below and promoting a Green Party Leader rally at the local Spokane Town hall this Wednesday. I didn’t know anything about the Green Party, and so chatted to one of the placard holders… Apparently the polls show they have 7-10% of the electorate, and as I spoke more I thought they sounded pretty much what One Point Zero USA needs! It actually hit me how America’s ‘Two party’ tradition makes it very difficult for small parties to get the voice space to make inroads. I spent some time on their website and thought to myself: “Hmmm, on what they say on their website, This Green Party seems on the surface, and with ‘my spectacles on’, a much better bet than ‘The Other Two’…Those, ‘Most’ and ‘second most’ unpopular candidates ever’!

Chatting to a few people about it later, it seems that they didn’t really know about the Green Party, or either had strong preconceptions from years back that have meant that they haven’t taken the time to see the party’s latest proposition and how it fits with the current seemingly unpalatable options. Anyway I pulled this Ecological Pillar (One of their Four Pillars) from their Policy Page on their website  and was amazed how it fitted with a One Point Zero vision. Here is what it says:

“Human societies must operate with the understanding that we are part of nature, not separate from nature. We must maintain an ecological balance and live within the ecological and resource limits of our communities and our planet. We support a sustainable society which utilizes resources in such a way that future generations will benefit and not suffer from the practices of our generation. To this end we must practice agriculture which replenishes the soil; move to an energy efficient economy; and live in ways that respect the integrity of natural systems.”

Obviously I’m in no position to make informed views but I thought in sharing this with you if you are an American may just make you stop and think about things a bit broader than you have. I can see how this Green Party would be a ‘Red Party’ to a strong Capitalist mind, but as you have I’m sure picked up: I (Howard) do believe we are at the time where there is a need for Revolutionary Change, and more of the same will continue the annihilation of the human soul!  There we go…:  From the heart of a patriotically disconnected activist who is genuinely concerned about ALL global humanity!

Out of interest I’ve now delayed my departure from Spokane to attend Jill Stein talk this Wednesday night. (17^th August). As a foreigner, yet understanding who crucial this election is for the whole world, this should be a very interesting experience, and I’ll ‘report back’ the whole experience in a subsequent blog! )

Now and again I can’t help myself and have to re-live my old consumer days and stroll into an outdoor shop!! North Face have a big outlet downtown and after a lecture to myself that I WILL NOT get tempted into retail therapy, I strolled in for a look, see and maybe talk experience. They had an Mt Everest climbing suit, the real thing and I have to say I spent time at it, felt it and then felt what happened inside and thought to myself: “I wonder whether I will ever do ‘That Conquest’ before I die? That still to do before I die, brought up thoughts and strong emotional pangs of sailing to Cape Horn and Antarctica, This was the reason why I bought Allone, who is hopefully still gently bobbing around waiting for me in Nelson, NZ. I thought to myself: Man this activist journey has really beaten me up….and the ‘The Crowd’ will be ‘The Crowd’ and I’m just a little boy ‘The Crowd’ doesn’t want to hear!

Fatefully, before I moved down the wrong path, a sales person, by the name of Dane came up and asked me if I needed assistance. I said to him: “No man, not buying anything today, got too much stuff already!”  He seemed to totally understand that and then asked me if I was from Australia? Perceptive man, and it turns out he has family there and so we then started chatting freely. He moved from San Diego 7 year ago, put himself through Bio Chemistry degree, and know had two jobs, this North Face one and then his core Laboratory, Bio Chemist one.

An avid climber, the rock face type, he was going to climb El Capitan in Yosemite in a few weeks. With a more experienced buddy, they were hoping to do the difficult climb in 32 hours. We spoke about One Point Zero, and he was totally aware of the issues and the severity of the problem. When we moved to the question of what Nature is to him and whether he thinks we humans are an integral part of Nature, or disconnected and separate, or higher than Nature, the guy was so quick in his response that fits with the main motive to be One Point Zero: We are part of Nature, and should work within that restraint, but we aren’t. I saw a focused young guy, probably 25 years old, and although he clearly understood the picture he had his plan for working around society’s problem. In him I saw a younger version of me when I was 40, and realised I needed to use the system to get out of the system. He like me was at the same time enjoying the adventure that that involved, and like me he had urgency! Maybe that is still the best way forward in this world that won’t change it anthropocentric view and aim for a One Point Zero vision? I sense if I was a young person facing the chaos of today I’d do just the very same…. That made me sad, as it goes against a One Point Zero path, but then if the powers that be and Richard Branson (See his pathetic Pledge)  doesn’t really care, then it’s each for themselves, and like me Dane’s strategy is a good one for his optimal preservation…!  I actually congratulated him on his focus, beliefs, Nature orientation and as best as he can be sustainable way of life! Good one Dane!

Next stop was a coffee shop called ‘Indaba’! That is a Zulu or Xhosa (African) word that means important community meeting. I sensed it must have South African roots and walked in to meet Nate who picked up my South African accent straight away and was almost excited to have met someone through who he could live his lengthy and clearly memorable trip to South Africa. Turns out the Spokane based owner of Indaba was so taken back by South Africa that on his return he started Indaba!  Knowing the full intent of the word makes it the perfect name for a Coffee Meeting place!

Nate and I discussed the African philosophy of Ubuntu:  ‘Without Others I am Nothing’ in the context of the ever strengthening Western culture of ‘Without Me You are Nothing’ and how this election is truly bringing out the bad side of that… Not being able to help myself I said we desperately need the next level philosophy: ’Without Nature we are Nothing’, where we humans all have one highest level Goal!

So there we go, just a bit of my time in Spokane: Quite diverse and ‘multi-cultural’: In fact the most multicultural open I have had since being in the USA, and good for this ‘Stock Taking’ time of mine!

Continuing the Hydroelectric Power topic from above, I have included some really interesting facts and history about Spokane and Washington State’s amazing Renewable Power achievements in a document called ‘Humans Solving Natures Failures‘, here.

Also included are some thought provoking reflections on the role of infrastructure development projects that seem to solve ‘Nature’s Failures’……

Read it here for this some though provoking stuff!

 

I had a serious distraction from my Stock-taking day, that I must share with you!:

In the background of writing the blogs, I am working on my comprehensive vision for a One Point Zero World: Given the overcrowded Parks and that most of ‘The Crowd’ are people who live high consumption Many Point Zero lifestyles, the lifestyles that are in conflict with Nature, an important question is:  Who should be ‘allowed’ to visit Nature’s Special Wilderness areas?

Hmmm, now that’s a controversial question hey??? Many will say Freedom is my country’s value, the Park is my Country, and so all citizens should have a right to visit.

To which I’d say:  Surely it should be for people who deserve it: People who respect Nature and work with Nature to help keep our planet vibrant and working for our ongoing human life, not against Nature. ie People who are living One Point Zero lifestyles or are seriously striving to live them.

How can we let those who are making Nature’s ‘job’ harder then go and use Nature’s ‘wilderness energy’ just for their selfish ‘meditative injection’.

Should it just be money that buys one a ticket into these special places? Maybe there are people who can’t afford a whole trip, but deserve it more than all of us?

Well in a One Point Zero world these questions will be key, and I’m having a lot of fun debating them all with myself as I put together my One Point Zero world vision. That is many months in the making, and for now I read this New York Times article today that just got my heckles up:

 An excerpt from that NYT article of today, Sunday 14 August, 2016:

“……The notion of nodding off under the stars to the crackle of a fire in the shadow of ancient ponderosa pines sounds dreamy. Here’s the catch. Though I love communing with nature, I detest discomfort. This includes interacting with moist soil and insects as well as partaking in tiresome camp chores like tent pitching, fire making, food schlepping and foraging for makeshift, leave-no-trace toilets. 

Sleeping on the cold, dank ground? Not happening. I paid my dues slogging it out in summer sleep-away camp where I felt transcendental meditation (of the pediatric variety) was required to endure itchy nights within a soggy, Saran Wrap-thin tent that doubled as a cafeteria for red ants……….” (click for full article at the end of this Post.)

Now, may I ask?:  Should ‘someone like this’ even be allowed into Nature’s special wilderness areas?

In my view her attitude sucks, and she is not looking for a full Nature experience, but rather, one on her precious terms. This is so anthropocentric, arrogant and so far away from a mind-set of belonging with Nature that it makes me angry! (I’m an activist and allowed to get angry with a fellow human, where they are using more than their share of OUR planet! Ha-ha!)

This is all about money and money trying to buy just the ‘happiness part of Nature’! “Happiness” for the wealthy being hedonistic luxury, free of hardship and restraint. The worst thing is that these luxury expeditions are so footprint heavy it is criminal! This attitude will be totally ‘unfashionable’ in One Point Zero world. Can you see why the wealthy don’t want to even think about One Point Zero? That won’t know who they are without the luxury clothing, and Nature doesn’t care!

Read the whole ‘sad’ New York Times article  Here

The issue of Personal Freedom / Autonomy is a big one in the One Point Zero World vision, and for one of the Biggest Freedom mongers, Howard Fairbank, I’m enjoying the intellectual challenge, and Trumped by Nature is delivering the hands on learning!

At 7am yesterday morning I was sitting on the banks of Middle Fork Flathead River, that marks the southern border of Glacier National Park. It was a foggy morning, and I was deeply moved by what the past 24 hours had delivered.

I should have been camping out somewhere remote in the Park, just me, my bike and tent, but there I was with a rental car, in the car park, with my unused bicycle dismantled in the trunk. Rather than a natural tent site in the wilderness I had to overnight in a soulless motel in West Glacier with the sound of trains passing through the night. I had decided to leave at first light and try and find some wild nature solitude before handing the car back at East Glacier. (West Glacier is 50 miles from East Glacier on the other side of the Park, where I’d disembarked from the train two days before)

At the river, I was enjoying the first real peace and tranquillity of the Park area, even though I’d arrived at East Glacier those two days earlier. Why had my plans all changed, and what was going on inside me?

As I looked up the river I was hopeful for some wildlife, but my thoughts drifted back to 2012, and my amazing three months in really wild Siberia: How different that had been, and how truly lucky I was to have been there almost always in uncontrolled wilderness, mostly just me and raw Nature. There were no maps, no brochures, no permits needed, no campsites, and most of all no RV’s, SUV’s, and Harley Davidsons…!

I felt this urgent need to go back there before it’s too late and The Crowds get there too….It really hit me that the world is changing so very fast, and that our 7.6 billion is evidence all around us each and every day. And yes I am also one of those 7.6 billion, with no more rights than any other!   I reminded myself that I wasn’t in Siberia, I was here in Montana on some serious work!  So Howard, what happened to cause all these 48 hour changes?

Well, immediately on arrival at East Glacier Amtrak station the curtains for a nightmare movie started opening: I hate planning ahead, and America requires you to plan ahead, and so I knew I’d be battling up current but I’d rely on the ‘Howard Fairbank’ resilience and ability to make a home and have a bed ‘anywhere’, to somehow get me through. A huge number of us got off the train including to my surprise a big Amish group complete with digital cameras! I found out that there were just coming for two days, with a drive in drive out park experience! So there we go the Amish are also pushing through the One Point Zero code!  Haha, these were a less fundamental bunch! To meet the train there were lots of hotel / motel pickup vehicles at the station, and passengers (except me) eager to find their waiting transport!  I enquired with the one lady about accommodation and she said everything is full at least for the next week or so, other than maybe the main lodge which she said goes for “over $500 a night”!  Fortunately I had phoned ahead to confirm there was a place that offered ‘basic campsites in the forest’. As I left the station on the bike, I could feel I was in a busy tourist place and I’d need to move to my maximum resilience and ‘thankful beggar’ mode.

I set up my little one person tent between two RV’s, the one guy not very friendly with ‘lesser being’ tenters, and the other coming out and saying:  “Do you really sleep in that small ‘thing’?”  I replied: “Of course, I have just spent 14 continuous days living in it, and love it!” Haha, I have had so many experiences with USA RV people who are shocked when I say “I retired 12 years ago, and choose to do it this way, I don’t have to!” I have proved beyond doubt that this shatters the tenets of living the American good life dream. Herein lies a huge One Point Zero challenge for Americans: Minimalism and Simplicity is not Success.

 

Anyway the unfriendly guy’s RV Camper electric heater cut in and out all night as he sought to create the same home environment he’d left in the city, and I stayed snugly tucked up in my comfy two square metre, One Point Zero friendly, house and non-electrified sleeping bag! I love the freedom of that simplicity, and just wish more could find the wonders of this fashion!

The weather wasn’t great the first day, and I decided to spend two nights there as although I had my specific bicycling plan, I wanted to talk to people about the conditions, restrictions, best routes and trails etc…. East Glacier is a busy place and I just couldn’t believe the number of cars being rented from the place where I was camping. The woman in charge was dealing with the conflict of being record busy and huge business but not having a life of her own! Many times I thought back to the friendliness of a place like this in New Zealand and how difference this almost capitalist mind set here was….  It was clearly a very ‘sunny time’ and there was only time for haymaking, no ‘small talk’!

Well, as I spoke to more people, and read the park brochures etc, a very unpalatable picture started developing:  This culminated with a dinner with a 30 year old guy, Justin, I bumped into who had ridden ‘his Harley’ at 80 mph from’ all the way from Wisconsin where I had been with Imi. The previous day he had done the ‘Going to the Sun’ road, through the park route I had planned, and had slept out ‘illegally’ in the park. Just a normal young testosterone filled male, he had taken a week’s break from working on his family’s dairy farm, and wanted to ‘do the park’. I asked him: “What’s the purpose mate?”  He said to me: “Spiritual, man, spiritual! But the only thing that was a problem was that it rained in the night and I got wet and that spoilt my spiritual experience!” I suggested to him that ‘be naked’ dealing with wild Nature and the rain or whatever comes up on the bike is wherein the spiritual experience lies! We spoke for hours, switching between modern farm life, and his park ride: All the time the picture confirmed that the park roads were heavy with traffic, queues, all the campsites full, and then finally he said the roads were real narrow and not so good for cars and bicycles, particularly when the cars are big RV’s . Later back in my tent I read further that there were restriction times for bicycles on two parts of the Pass. Hmmm, going to sleep that night I had to be honest with myself that I was not fired up about the cycling days ahead, but was just stoically still committed to completing cycling my plan. Not a good frame of mind for what lay ahead!

On waking I questioned myself as to why I was doing this, and what this whole trip really was about?  Was the truth that I hadn’t done as much planning as I should have, or was this just not the place to be for what I was looking for? Flashes of openness of The Boundary Waters came up, and I thought to myself: “Your soul is rebelling mate, listen to it, and don’t just plough on ahead because of heroic commitments!” I’d packed up the tent, bike was loaded up, and decided to have a final decision over coffee:  Well as I was having coffee, recalling that the purpose of this trip is One Point Zero exploring, I saw a bicycle support vehicle from the biggest national cycle touring company pass by and realised that they too would be running part of the route with their normal, twenty or so, paid cyclists. So the road would be busy with other cyclists too… Hmmm! That was it: my soul took over and said: “Over your dead body, are you going ahead with this, it will destroy ‘us’, mate!”

So not to cycle was decided but now how best to use my situation ‘in paradise’ for One Point Zero exploring? After lots of to-ing and fro-ing I decided I could justify a one day car rental, and ‘do the Park’, as a One Point Zero research exercise. I worked out that with all my simple tent living, and train riding I still had some footprint credit and the park research would be invaluable.

So there we go, I joined the rest of America in their cars, RV’s SUV’s, and Harley’s….  Was I a hypocrite and just another contributor to the huge traffic problem? Well, I did make the assumption that probably I was the only one, or one of a very, very small number who were mindful of the footprint decision and doing One Point Zero research, so I wasn’t!

Well the rest is history, and without trying to justify my decision, in hindsight I was so, so thankful that firstly, I never put myself through what would have clearly been a miserable cycling ordeal, and then secondly the valuable research I obtained. It was actually fun being one of The Crowd, yet not one of them with my investigative journalist hat on!

I found out that Glacier Park traffic is up 19% on last year.  An astounding average of 11 400 people went through the West Gate entrance each day of the past month! There is still the East Gate Park entrance, so who knows how many people went through in total? The traffic and congestion on the road inside showed that the park was overloaded. All the campsites were full, almost all the side pull off view spots were full, and it was clear that if one wanted to do a hike from one of the many trails that start from the main road one would be done together with lots of other hikers. The road was very narrow and windy, and I did come across two cyclists and truly felt sorry for them as the traffic had to consciously move around them, backing up sometimes as oncoming traffic prevented them passing! Somehow traffic like that and National Park wilderness should be mutually exclusive, but maybe I’m in the very minority and what everyone was getting, was exactly what they wanted…?? There were many groups of Harley bikers, and the big thumper sound obviously tuned up a few decibels just for the trip and communicating with the wild life! It’s a free country America so whatever one wants goes, and nobody shalt stop ya!

The sad thing was that I could see a magnificent park, and the potential for amazing wild Nature experiences, but sadly the remoteness of Siberia, or even the naturalness of The Boundary Waters will never be experienced by maybe other than a very few who managed to plan deeper remote expeditions deeper into the park, away from the crowds.  I had to remind myself that this Trumped by Nature 3 months was not a normal Howard Fairbank remote, passionate, full on adventure, and that I in fact in my minimal planning I had set myself up to be a ‘normal tourist’, so maybe I’m being unfair in my views and expectation?

I stopped at the various refreshment/ lodge stops along the way, I did try and talk to people and find out what they felt and whether they were ‘enjoying their time in the Park? I tried to explore whether they thought they deserved to be here in ‘special Nature’? How they saw Nature? Was Nature just there for our human enjoyment, to use without thought of whether we are helping Nature’s cause or defying Nature’s cause?  Mostly there were blank looks at my attempted serious engagement, and our talks were filtered back to superficial niceties and supporting the lies of how wonderful the Park’s Nature experience was…! I got a feeling that most were just on their summer vacation and it was what it was, and as such there was not much more to chat about….

The gasoline price is at the lowest it’s been since the highs of 2011, and reading the New York Times, I was made aware that people are moving from smaller cars, back to larger SUV’s and this summer is seeing American’s get back on the road travelling in their automobiles for their vacations. The article went as far as saying that USA vehicle emission commitments will not be met because of the move away from smaller and hybrid vehicles back to the bigger gas guzzlers. This is all evidence that the US system wants consumption ahead of reducing carbon footprint. I have often wondered why the gasoline price is not fixed at a cost to the environment, but know that the answer is that that goes against market forces and will reduce economic growth. So the final conclusion is that ‘everybody’ is happy that the Park has had record traffic, and that the traffic is made up of a bigger gasoline consuming vehicle than last year.  All this did make me feel bad about my one day car rental, and my potentially hypocritical behaviour, but having only done 150 miles in the one day rental, I sense I’m being a bit over sensitive….???

Going back to yesterday, as I sat on the bank of the Middle Fork Flathead River reflecting on all of this I had so many different thoughts coming through me. This confusion and conflict with society is happening all the time now, as I move from seeing the whole picture so clearly, understanding the mind-set change that is needed for a new One Point Zero fashion, and then realising that that mind-set change is so far away from where we currently are, and people don’t seem at all interested. I got back to East Glacier dropped the car off and was in a café where the TV showed Hillary Clinton blasting away saying that if she wins she will make America the leader of the global powers in Green Energy!  Firstly this sounds very honourable, but a huge and very costly goal for the USA, but more importantly for me, it says nothing (very little) about One Point Zero. Basically she is saying to the public that ‘you’ can carrying on travelling, carry on consuming, and me at the top will just change the fuels you use and all will be OK under me! Consumption is the biggie, and there is never any mention of what the consumers need to do, and how the whole fashion of ‘smoking’ (consumption, ‘more and more’)  has to change. The reason is because she would have to change her big elitist lifestyle in a very inconvenient way…! “I don’t want to do that Howard! I could never live simply and happily like you do! So just go away with your One Point Zero stuff, OK!!  Wow, at least she responded! Haha! ”

Then the TV programme host said Trump’s plan would cause energy usage to ‘skyrocket’… We know that, so it looks like another 4 maybe 8 years of ever widening Chasm by the most powerful nation on this Earth!  I find this very difficult to deal with… But I guess I’m just a ‘little nobody, boy!

A number of people have sent me emails not understanding the concept of The Chasm, and how Western society is one side of the ever widening chasm and Nature the other?  In my few talks with people in the Park this is also coming up as a foreign concept and hard to understand so I’ll be putting some more work into getting this very important concept across to followers. How we see Nature, what Nature means to you, and how the whole planet and its bio-capacity works, is key to understanding why we need One Point Zero. While it can be seen to be a very sustainability and scientific focused approach, I see it as being a spiritual issue: How we humans belong to the planet and how we fit into the grand scheme of our world with all its other diverse creatures of Nature.

If you haven’t already, you may want to read my page on ‘Smoking and The Chasm‘? You can read it here

OK, I’m in Spokane, Wa for 3 or 4 days, and am using every possible moment to find new inspiration for One Point Zero.  I’m reading three fascinating books that may help… Haha, they say: That boy, needs a lot of help!!! :

1. Crystallizing Public Opinion: Edward Bernays
2. The Persuaders; The hidden Industry that wants to Change you… James Garvey
3. The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind! Gustave Le Bon (A classic!)

More soon….

 

 

Apologies for the broken link first time around!!!!

Here is the 1st paper in answering the question:

What the ‘hell’ can ‘we’ do to get to One Point Zero?

I have also Posted a new post from the Train to Montana so read that one too….

Here I am 3 hours away from the town of East Glacier Park, named for its location near the entrance to The Glacier National Park. I’ll be getting off the train there, and planning about a 400 mile (680 km) bicycle exploration through the park and then down to the university town of Missoula. The ride should be spectacular and I’m looking forward to exploring this West Montana country, wildlife and culture.

I’ve only been in South Montana when visiting Yellowstone just across the border, back in 1984, and have just listened to a semi local tell some fellow passenger Park visitors that Yellowstone is much bigger and better than  Glacier, and they must go there ‘next time’! ! So there we go, a real sensitive fellow passenger ‘inspiring’ us in telling us that we have made the wrong choice!  Ha-ha, I’m confident that Glacier National Park will be fantastic, and being a little off the main tourist track, hopefully won’t be as crowded.

It’s been 18 hours since leaving the city of St Paul, MN, yesterday, and after miles and miles of the flat northern mid-west farmlands from Minnesota through North Dakota, the mountains that divide Montana are just appearing on the front horizon: The amazing Rockies that divide this huge country into the west and mid and changes landscape, weather, peoples, places and cultures: A true divide.

Whether it was the whole change of getting back to full on civilisation or saying goodbye to Imi, I’m today going through a One Point Zero low patch today. These hours on the rain have been useful for reflecting on my One Point Zero objectives and how things are going? This feeling of hopelessness with the cause comes up from time to time, and is normally followed with renewed inspiration as I reflect on what has been achieved and the barely 3 months that the initiative is been going now. This low patch is related to the huge awareness gap I’m seeing in the USA, and then adding to the gap is what seems like a total disregard for the One Point Zero case. Here we are travelling through an area of pretty open nature, in that there are no big cities just lots of open space and a few rural towns, yet as I explore with people on the train the concept of Nature and how we humans fit in / relate to Nature appears to be something they haven’t even thought about. Those going to Glacier National Park say they love Nature and can’t wait to get to the Park seemingly like they are going for their annual ‘dose of Nature’.  When I explore with them that Nature is with us everywhere and not just in National Parks, they seem a bit confused. I explore further by saying I believe we humans are truly part of Nature and ‘Without Nature we are Nothing’, the huge gap in our human belonging context is exposed. Discussions around One Point Zero usually get met with an almost fobbing off comment of “I yes, I know about Global Warming, but I read somewhere that it’s not true, so I don’t know if there is a problem?”  I always say that One Point Zero is not about Global Warming, it’s about how we are using up the Planet’s resources and overloading Nature’s regenerative systems. The fact that if everyone on this earth lived like the average USA consumer we would needs almost 3 plus planets seems to just pass through their thoughts without any guilt, shock, or tell me more reaction.

To add to my low, I’m reading for a second time a great book: Sustainable Consumption and The Good Life, Interdisciplinary Perspectives, published by Rutledge).  They quote French philosopher Michel Serres as saying:  Individual activism through walking the talk (as I am doing), “has as much effect on the world as a butterfly in the Australian desert, except for the rarest exceptions….”  Hah-ha, I hope I am one of those rare exceptions!  I knew this would be a difficult path, and over the years of being the challenging outsider, I have experienced these same low patches, and so had prepared myself for these lows, and I am standing back and taking on all the information seeing what needs to change?  This ‘Trumped by Nature’ expedition still has 35 days to go and I gave myself the 3 months to check the lay of the land and then go back to plotting the next steps. I only mention all this as you the follower maybe going through your own One Point Zero challenge, and it would be great to hear more from those that are having strange things happen within them….

From my own experience this whole journey has been as if the iconic tiger has bolted and I just have it by the tail and am hanging on for dear life…..! I move between my own life and what I need to be doing to follow my One Point Zero goals, to then exploring all the many areas of society and how things need to change, or will or could evolve?  I sometimes go through a bad patch when I think why I am one of the few (maybe only) one of my socio-economic class trying to live a One Point Zero life?

I can see why those still needing to work for a living have more of a survival focus, and can almost be ‘excused’, but I’m trying to understand the mind set of those who have enough, and yet still continue making more to consume more and more, rather than look at become explorers, for a new One Point Zero life?

Maybe they are cleverer than me and know that butterflies don’t survive in the Australian desert! In the past week I have been surprised at the deviation my thinking has sometimes tried to take: I never doubted that I should stand next to all other humans on this planet and only take my equal share of Nature’s very scarce bio capacity as my One Point Zero goal, but I had some doubts come up: I started asking myself why care, you didn’t decide to be born, and you haven’t had kids, so the whole population problem has nothing to do with you ‘boy’, just live the life you think is ethical and morally right for YOU, that’s all you have to do.”

That led me to asking what that ethical and morally right would be, and I went straight back to the One Point Zero goal I have already got and was very peaceful confirming that that is the only ethical and moral goal concluding: “So just get on and do it, your soul needs it….!”  It is just difficult sometimes when it seems like all around me I see nobody really cares, and is even trying! I know that’s not true, there are a whole bunch of Amish people on this train too, and they don’t even discuss these issues, they are lucky as they just live it every day without question…  It’s us ‘contaminated people’ who struggle! “Contaminated” because we have tasted the Good Life, the way over One Point Zero one, and don’t know how ‘we’ could be ‘happy’ with any other one, and see the Amish as “Not a life I remotely want to live…!” This is all tough stuff because somehow ‘we’ the average westerner ‘has to’ move much closer to that ‘simple Good Life’.

Yeah, going solo with my customised One Point Zero life solution is ‘easy’ when you don’t have all these new life purpose / community issues to think about and change to fit into… The first stage is ‘Acceptance’; Accepting ‘The Chasm’ has to be crossed for one’s soul and then plotting your own Chasm crossing is the easiest and most liberating! (Read my article on The Chasm, between Western Society and Nature All interesting thoughts hey!here.)

I do realise that it is much easier to be a solo One Point Zero-er than getting a whole family, or community to buy into change. This is where the challenge lies, to take my personal learning of living a One Point Zero life and applying it to smaller groups, communities, nations and then the whole of humanity. I don’t know if you have worked through all those levels, but as one moves higher up to bigger communities that change that is needed becomes monumental and radical.

As I ponder life once I get back to New Zealand in mid-September I have choices that involve belonging with a community in Nelson, South Island that is very One Point Zero enlightened but still a 2.0 or more society, OR staying as a solo One Point Zero-er and living outside any Planet over user Earth society? Do I accept the society’s goodwill and ecological footprint intent and try becoming involved in the change? Do I just cop out that Nelson is as good as it gets, and accept that this is just the world, and One Point Zero is just an idealists dream? Or do I continue to try and live where One Point Zero is a real possibility. What do I do?  The next five weeks will bring the answer?

Many of you may be making or going to make significant life decisions in the future, and I wonder how much trying to get to a One Point Zero lifestyle will come into the thinking. If like me, you let One Point Zero become a non-negotiable, it is amazing how one is then led to decisions one had never dreamed about….  The time of making big life decisions is the perfect time to include a radical move towards One Point Zero, and become a leader of evolving New fashion.

Anyway, I wanted to share with you my inner journey, and all the stuff I go through not just the positives! I know I have to move beyond these thoughts, and that they are very necessary for keeping me on track even if the track has to change, they provide input to the change.

Thanks for listening to me on this ‘vent off’…. Tomorrow is another day and Glacier Park will no doubt bring unplanned inspirations!

 

Here is the 1st paper in answering the question:

What the ‘hell’ can ‘we’ do to get to One Point Zero?

 

 

August 8, 2016 is the day we, as all the humans on this planet, have now used the whole of 2016’s bio capacity that Nature has left to ‘offer us’ to help clean up our wastes and emissions. I say left to offer us, as we all know how we have just devastated the natural resources, and still are doing so….

For the next 4.8 months we are are essentially relying on credit from Nature, when Nature hasn’t any credit and isn’t a credit provider……

Today is called ‘Earth Overshoot’ day, and I’d really encourage you to read more and try and understand what this really means here  There is a great education section.

This Overshoot Day site is part of the Global Footprint Network’s site and their great work……