kindle

After all, as a fifth grader once reminded me: it is morning somewhere! And that my friends is the point of this blog. When we look beyond ourselves, beyond our borders- be they emotional, physical, financial or geographic we discover a world of people, plants and environments that are simultaneously similar and different. While we are craning our necks to discern a particular star constellation our relative in Nigeria may be  just setting out for the day to gather wood or water for his family.

In the parlance of the Bioneers family it is understood that “we are all connected, its all relative and its all alive”.

This blog will feature everyday visionary leaders, often toiling in obscurity always working willfully towards an ends that benefits many, creating a system, product or concept for the common good. The civic minded heroes featured weekly on this site will engage, inspire and at best ignite you all to better understand the unique gift you carry with you, and to light afire the passion that burns in everyone’s belly for the benefit of the everyman and the everywoman.

When Howard Thurman, the grandson of a slave, spoke it was once said, ‘filled the entire room with compassion, truth, keen intellect, and joy’. My favorite quote of his that has informed my life reads:

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive”.

Change agents, social entrepreneurs, eco-warriors, water stewards and performance activists are experiencing the dawn of a new day. As if a dark cloud has passed ahead of the rising sun. Even in the USA in the wake of fuel shortages, mortgage debacles, water scarcity, and the decline of human rights people are reporting a powerful sensation not experienced for decades. Many have suggested the era of over-indulgence is being transformed into the era of environmental awakening, marked by a return to basic values, of ‘we’ not ‘me’, of an intention to restore balance between the earth and it’s inhabitants. Some are even calling it the ‘restoration revolution’. People are increasingly becoming aware that in a world of finite natural resources one can not create linear systems (see Annie Leonard’s excellent short film: The Story of Stuff).

The pages that follow will detail the trials and triumphs of creative individuals determined to recreate a world in balance. A wizen 26 year old friend of mine, my djembe drum teacher Seth Kearns, once coined the term: “It’s Nice to be Nice”…if I succeed in this open forum chat those words will be as common as the expression “No Worries” not as a salutation but rather as a lifestyle compass giving positive direction for all to follow.

Feel free to drop a line, offering your own ideas or thoughts on how we can co-create a community, a world we all could be proud to call home. Until then: Namaste.