Sunday, May 25, 2008

Mindless wisdom

A few days ago I went for a new experience: Barack Obama was in the area and I decided to go and see him. Well, I decided to go and see - what a such an event looks like, since I hadn't been to similar events before. I went as an ethnographer: to experience the venue, the people, the energy, the faces, what happens while people wait, the logistics, who attends, the colors, the noises, the smells, even the temperature, and of course, also him as he appeared. But what I actually wanted to share here was what happened before and after. I parked my car and as soon as I had to go out of the car a tropical storm fell over us in full force. I grabbed a big golfing umbrella and could not really see where I was walking, because of the wind and me trying to divert the rain coming from different directions. As a result- I didn't really know where I left the car. I was a bit concerned by this, but my main goal was to arrive at the building. During the time attending the event I kept thinking how I would find my car again. I left a bit early to avoid the crowd, and fortunately the rain had stopped. But I had no clue where I had come from! And the huge parking area, criss-crossed with roads and diagonals, sprinkled with palm trees here and there, was keeping safe thousands of cars. There was no way I could possibly know where I had left it. So I thought that since I had no clues, signs or recollection in my mind, I had two options. One was to wait until the evening, when everyone had left. The other was to give up on trying to find the direction with my mind, and let my unconscious guide me. I don't think I have ever done this purposely before, but I tried it. I said to myself: I'm not going to try to find my car, I will just let go, and simply walk, wherever my feet take me. May be they know, or may be there is a level of knowledge inside my body tht my mind cannot reach. Guess what!? Within three minutes of virtually mindless walking, I saw a car that looked like mine. And yes, that was it. This episode impacted me deeply. I am now reflecting how many other times could I use that mindless knowledge to guide me in the right direction. How many time we all could.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

From awareness to action

A couple of days ago I learned about the Complaint Free World campaign. This campaign is designed to help people become aware of the habit of complaining, and to realize that complaints are not really changing anything in a positive way, they are only creating an unhappy environment for self and others. To help create awareness there is a purple rubber bracelet, that you put on your other arm each time you catch yourself complaining. The funds collected from the bracelets are donated in turn to several causes. I found it a great initiative - practical, simple, and with potential for impact on many people's life. Because awareness is the first step. Then I personally would suggest to convert the complaint into a creative act, for example a suggestion, a request, an offer that addresses the reason for the complaint. I already like the world I envision, with an expanding virus of lightness and better feelings, as we stop complaining and feel actors that can impact the world, in our little, daily ways...!