I have a coworker who is somewhat of an astrology expert. He has informed me that the stars are indicating that we are in a time of turbulence and change that will continue through about mid-August. I have mixed feelings about such things, but turbulence is certainly here and doesn't seem to be fading any time soon. Celebrities are dying left and right, but that is nothing compared to what is going on in the world. Election violence in Iran, ethnic violence in China, a coup in Honduras, the health care debate is moving more and more to the forefront of our collective consciousness, a governor has resigned for no apparent reason, what is going on?!
I don't have an answer to all these questions, but I do know that part of the turbulence I've noticed is that our communities and our lives are falling apart! We've forgotten what's important to us! I'm pretty sure I've hinted at this before, but it's so true so I'm saying it again. In addition, I've always felt that it is important to give back to the community and get involved. While I was home at my parents' house for 4th of July, the local newspaper had a 3-page long obituary for a former resident who had had a significant impact on the city during his life. He hadn't even lived in Cypress for the last 3 years of his life, and yet he had been important enough to warrant a 3-page obituary! I remember him from playing soccer w/ his daughter, but he was involved in practically every aspect of the community that didn't involve election. Soccer, grad nite, the Cypress Community Festival, various organizational boards--what an inspiration! Very few people would have the ability to be so involved in their community, but couldn't we all aspire to have an impact? I tip my hat off to you, Nick Eighmy. Our President is also encouraging us to all become more involved in our communities, and why shouldn't we? All of us who have experienced success of any kind in life owe that success to the various opportunities we've been exposed to, which we owe in large part to the people in our lives.
Fast forward to today:
I started this post many months ago, and couldn't finish it for some unknown reason. A lot has changed since then. I no longer have a coworker who is an astrology expert, seeing as I was laid off 2 months ago. The health care debate is now practically all-consuming. There's been additional election turmoil in Afghanistan. And politicians never cease to amaze. But the idea of "revolution" has still been on my mind quite frequently. For anybody who cares, Wikipedia has revolution down as "a fundamental change in power or organization structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time." Bingo. I think it turned out that I think everything we've come to know about the world is being turned upside down, and the whole idea just seemed too big. Let it be known that I don't necessarily think a little revolution is a bad thing. I've been saying for a while now that we are going through a "re-set" in the way we shop, the way we interact with our communities, the way we sell, in the same sort of way that economists talk about markets re-setting. And then this guy, John Gerzema, came along and did a talk at TEDxKC, essentially on this very topic, but he said it so much better than I could ever hope to!
So now I realize that I can't simply write a post about this, because this is essentially what my whole blog is about! And hopefully I'll post things more frequently now that I'm past this particular hurdle.
Please watch the video and enjoy, and explore other TED talks as well. Truly inspiring.
(Not-so-secretly hoping I can figure out a way to get invited to TED and pay the $4400 price tag so I can experience this brilliance live and in-person...)
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