I read a lot, some might say, too much (sorry, honey!)...
Came across the 10 Top Paying Companies article on Yahoo! Finance. I noticed that 5 of the top 10 are law firms. Interesting, but not that surprising - most acknowledge that we are a litigious society, so, no biggy, we are just trying to protect ourselves, let the lawyers fight it out, right? But then I remembered an article a while back that mentioned who the largest employer in the United States was. GE, no. Walmart, no. Bank of America, no. The Department of Defense, si. Here is a blurb from the front page of the DOD web site:
Today, the Department, headed by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, is not only in charge of the military, but it also employs a civilian force of thousands. With over 1.3 million men and women on active duty, and 684,000 civilian personnel, we are the nation's largest employer. Another 1.1 million serve in the National Guard and Reserve forces. More than 2 million military retirees and their family members receive benefits.
So, literally millions of the most talented American citizens employed in defense/war/protection/the business of killing....whatever you want to call it. Hmmmm, more fighting.
Which brings me to another article I read in Forbes a couple of months ago titled America's Best Colleges 2009. So, who was on top? Harvard, no. Princeton, no. MIT, no. Yale, no. CALTECH, no.....West Point????, yes! WOW, more fighting!
So, are we what we continually do?
And if so, what the hell are we doing fighting so much? We need to make some changes folks!
In honor of Blog Action Day, let's start creating a world where social enterprises make up 5 of the 10 highest paying firms and "piece" Point becomes the most sought after educational experience. As a start, why doesn't President Obama make the largest employer in the U.S. the largest social enterprise in the world by giving them new marching orders. Same pay and benefits, just come to work tomorrow but instead of figuring out how to nuke the world, figure out how to nurture it. On the short list of jobs:
A: Crack the code on natural energy and get us off fossil fuels - lasso the sun, the currents in the water, the wind in the air, etc. and let's be done with it already. With the brilliant minds we have at DOD the natural energy mission should take until noon. So, after lunch work on:
B: Fostering the next industrial revolution where every-thing industry does and every product that is manufactured creates no waste and actually nurtures the enviroment - just like nature does. Nature produces zero waste, in fact, waste equals food. Last time I checked, humans were a part of nature, we should start acting like it.
So, by close of business tomorrow, climate change, done.
All that said, on October 16th, 2009, the U.S. will be able to say, what we "CONTINUALLY DO" is nurture the environment with millions of the brightest minds in our country who all work in the largest social enterprise on the planet, that said, we "ARE" a nation of "piece" full people, how about you?
The "piece" movement & "piece" sign acknowledge that we are a "piece" of an interconnected universe and should act that way by serving people, the planet and prosperity in each moment. You can join the "piece" movement for every generation at our web site: www.piecemovement.org
So, been wandering around lately with a renewed sense of "consciousness". I finally "get it". The song by the Police - "Every Breath You Take" kinda sums it up, if I tweek it a little (which I will) - see below:
Every breath you take
Every move you make
Every bond you break
Every step you take
Has an impact
Every single day
Every word you say
Every game you play
Every night you stay
Has an impact
Every move you make
Every vow you break
Every smile you fake
Every claim you stake
HAS AN IMPACT
So, I am trying to make sure my impact is a nurturing one for people, the planet & prosperity & I hope you will too. "piece"
We have a choice - but we have to exercise that choice!
The Age of Stupid brings to mind Carl Sagan's elegant description of the nuclear arms race. It goes something like the following. The East and the West are locked in a room together. They are awash up to their waists in gasoline. With all their bluster, bravado, shortsightedness and lunacy they are arguing over who has the most matches. Sagan goes on to say, "Except for fools and madmen, everyone knows that nuclear war would be an unprecedented human catastrophe." The Age of Stupid plainly illustrates we are on the edge of an environmental precipice, awash in gasoline, someone has already lit a match and we face a different but equally unprecedented catastrophe.
The tale of the pending ecotrastrophy is told as a docu-film. It utilizes sci-fi and sci-fact in the forms of conventional documentary methods as well as a fictional story that ties, seemingly, unrelated threads together. Those threads are the factual experiences of six very different people on the planet right now. Their individual stories could not be more different. But those differences illustrate the complexity and interrelatedness of us all.
Most documentaries offer up a dizzying array of facts that in the end become jumbled and so their importance is diminished. There are a lot of facts in this film - statistics that are frightening but unquotable. What are dizzying in The Age of Stupid are the extremes of people's opinions. Such as an idyllic community whose residents profess to be aware of and concerned about global warming and yet they resist (with deadly threat) the installation of wind turbines. Or the young African woman whose village suffers the results of violence and environmental contamination caused by an American oil company - all the while she yearns for the luxuries of America which would make life so sweet she would never want to leave the earth. There is the Shell Oil's paleontologist who lost everything in Hurricane Katrina who criticizes excessive consumption and yet vows he would do it all over again. The other stories are similarly conflicted.
The Age of Stupid is not a conventional movie. It's not a conventional documentary. It does predictably point fingers, but they point in every direction, often different directions at the same time. And so it seems difficult to grasp the point of the film. But that's exactly the point.
The film is concise in the vagaries of the issues. Each of us plays a part and each of us is conflicted. We know we shouldn't drive our SUVs, but then, industry hasn't provided us with workable or affordable options. We know we're facing a crisis but there is always contrary information from government or on-payroll scientists. We really don't want to purchase that plastic bottle of water in the theater but they won't let us bring in our own containers. We all have to live here but how can we do that responsibly with the systems, corporations, products and everything else flooding our lives?
I personally walked out of the film completely lost and feeling helpless. I had no idea my part in all this or what I could do. Then as I was walking to the parking lot, I passed a vacant restaurant for lease. The lights were all on and no one was home. I began to see. I began to feel outrage and empowerment. I took my environmentally damaging cell phone and called the leasing agent's number. I left an upbeat message and invited him to do his part for the planet and turn off the lights. And I won't stop there. I came away from this film not necessarily knowing what to do but knowing doing nothing will do nothing to ease the situation. I say to myself today, "do something, anything, act, speak up, act up if you have to - but do something, now!"
Someone lit the match in all this gasoline. It wasn't the oil companies or the corporations or governments or the entitled rich - it was each and every one of us. We fuel the fire in everything we do that requires fuel and in every choice of product that we make. Up to this moment we have been able to, with sure dumb luck and the efforts of a committed few, overt the nuclear winter Sagan warned us about. And right now in this moment we have the opportunity to dampen this fire that threatens to burn up the planet. After all, except for fools and madmen, everyone knows that global warming will be an unprecedented human catastrophe.
Note: This is a guest post by Frank Plughoff - Thank you Frank!
Wow. All I see, everywhere I go, is trash.
The very simple fact that humans are the only "piece" of nature that actually produces trash woke me up and made me conscious - which is a good thing.
I was on my way to the post office, so I pulled into to the Burger King drive-thru to get a late breakfast, mmm, Croissan'wich! As I am waiting for my grub, I look into the window and the drive-up window attendant is filling up my ice tea...but I don't see "iced tea" - all I see is a cup, a straw/wrapper and a plastic lid - none of which are even remotely "eco". Then, I see my beloved Croissan'wich, wrapped in paper, put into the bag along with napkins and the lovely, dripping with grease hash brown nuggets (also in a wrapper) - none of which are remotely "green" and I say to myself, damn, suddenly I am not hungry anymore...well, let's not go that far! But, I was saying to myself, wow, we produce, errrrr, I produce, a helluva lot of trash! No bueno!
So, I get to the post office where I am mailing some founding "piece" of "piece" tees (congrats to the new founders of the "piece" movement for this generation!) and realize that I just threw out the bag, napkins, wrapping, cup, straw and straw wrapper in a regular trash can....the horror....that stuff that I used for 7 minutes is going to end up in a land fill somewhere. I had to chew on that for a second. What a waste - all that effort, natural resources (trees, oil, chemicals, etc.), shipping, packing, unpacking, storage, etc. to manufacture that stuff only for it to be used for 7 minutes and then get picked up (more resources/impact) and buried - what a completely useless process. What a completely useless way for us to choose to live. As the Seinfeld episode so clearly stated..."I need to make some changes..."
BTW, the founding "piece" of "piece" tees are shipped ground via the USPS in the Cradle to Cradle certified packaging from the USPS - why can't Burger King, McDonalds and everyone else get their packaging Cradle to Cradle certified so I can nurture myself & nature at the same time? "piece"
Picked up my morning cup of joe at Starbuck's. Love Starbuck's, they, in general, are a great company, trying to do good things by selling coffee.
That said, we all can, and should, do better. For example, on my cup it says "Made with 10% post-consumer recycled fiber", on the sleeve it says, "this sleeve is made with 60% post-consumer fiber". So, a couple of questions:
1. What is post-consumer fiber?
2. Is 10% and/or 60% post-consumer recycled fiber "good"? Why isn't it 100%?
3. 10% is highlighted on the cup - like that is some big accomplishment - but then you look at the sleeve and it says 60%, with that context the 10% suddenly looks shabby - so why even put the 10% on the cup?
I get that companies are trying to do well by doing good or by being "less bad". That said, I don't think less bad should be good enough for greenie points. The green advertising we have today has no context wrapped around it, so, for most consumers the blurbs are not useful nor do they provide relevant information that can be remarked about. In addition, for the most part, the initiatives/products miss the mark on the reality of what "green" really is. The reality is there is only one "piece" of nature that produces trash, and that is, ummm, you guessed it, humans. The rest of nature is "naturally green" - meaning there is no trash and there is no waste. Sip on that one for a second.
We need to realize that we have created a "human green" standard that is "less bad". Only when we say, "Hey, look over here, there is no trash or waste with this product, in fact, it (and the way it was made) actually nurtures the enviroment," is the product truly "green", "eco" or "natural". The rest of the 1,000's of "green" products are just less bad and less bad/the "human green" is not the standard we should be shooting for. It is just more of the same at a slower clip.
The good news is there is a company that certifies "cradle to cradle" products i.e. "real green" products that have no waste/trash - there aren't that many right now, but if we start buying them/supporting the manufacturers of these remarkably mindful "real green" products, something tells me there will be more manufacturers lining up for those greenie points: You can check out the cradle to cradle certified products at this link, "piece". http://www.c2ccertified.com/
*"piece" 2.0 & the "piece" sign acknowledge that we are a "piece" of an interconnected universe & should act that way by consciously choosing to serve people, the planet & prosperity in each moment. You can join the "piece" movement for every generation on our web site: www.createlove.org
Thank you to the 1,000's of humans worldwide who have helped
launch the "piece" movement - the response has been overwhelming, it is clear "piece" has struck a cord and that humans are ready to live in, and vote for, a "piece" full world.
To take "piece" to the next level we are engaging every-one - the founding "pieces" of "piece" - and asking that you virally and physically start planting and spreading the seeds of the wisdom of "piece" globally. Tweet them, Digg them, Stumble them, Facebook them, wear them, plant them (the "piece" hang tag!), etc.
We developed the founding "piece" of "piece" 2.0 tee to start that process. The founding "piece" of "piece" tee is environmentally conscious from the field to the founder, the details are below and you can check out the organizations that benefit from and/or helped produce the founding "piece" of "piece" 2.0 tee by clicking on the link. If you feel the "piece" movement and the founding "piece" of "piece" 2.0 tee are remarkably mindful and serve, please purchase one (you can click on the vote for button) and as important as that, please remark about it by clicking a couple of the social networking buttons above.
"Every time you spend money, you're casting a vote for the kind of world you want."
~ Anna Lappe'
Starbucks started with the first cup of joe, Nike started with a swoosh and a shoe and "piece" 2.0 started with the remarkably mindful choice of humans to hire a founders tee that serves. One day, purchasing "piece" 2.0 products will not be so remarkable, or mindful, but until then we hope you will consciously choose to "vote" for a more "piece" full world by buying one and then joining us in helping to plant the seeds of "piece" globally by remarking about it.
To truly be environmentally conscious you need to serve every-thing, not some-things. The "piece" 2.0 founders tee does that, and that, in a nutshell, is what makes it mindful and remarkable. The founding "piece" of "piece" tee is environmentally conscious from the field to the founder...with every purchase:
1. you receive non-qualified stock options i.e. we "hire" you....just like Starbucks did when you bought that coffee & Nike did when you bought those Air Jordans....umm, you didn't get any options?....dough.... (see the Ownership page for details)
2. you donate to 1,000's of green non-profits thru 1% for the Planet, creating a more "piece" full world
3. you invest in entrepreneur's through the "piece" 2.0 lending team on Kiva, enabling a more "piece" full world
4. you help plant the seeds of the wisdom of "piece" globally, creating a more "piece" full world
5. you join other "piece" 2.0 founders in co-creating remarkably, mindful products that serve and you get a share in those revenues, creating a more "piece" full life for you and yours (see the Opportunity page)
6. you become a founding "piece" of the "piece" 2.0 movement and suddenly you are a social entrepreneur who is remarking, tweeting, blogging, Facebooking, Digging, wearing, etc. about a more "piece" full world
7. you enable & support organic farming & other eco-conscious companies by buying a 100% organic tee, creating a more "piece" full world
8. you can plant the "piece" hang tag & literally plant the seeds of "piece" (the seeds grow flowers), come on now, that is remarkable & cool
9. you help inspire other companies to follow our lead & develop remarkably mindful products that serve, creating a more "piece" full world
10. you did not spend more money on the founders tee despite doing all of the above, creating a "piece" full bank account
So, you can decide if the piece 2.0 founders tee is a remarkably mindful product that serves, if it is, consciously choose to buy one and then remark about it!
We hope the Create. Love. "piece" sign provides a meaningful symbol that can be leveraged in everyday interactions throughout the world. The challenge for humanity is to first acknowledge our connectedness with every-thing, not some-things and then to act accordingly.
There will be more "piece" 2.0 products in the near future but for now please help us change the context in which we view our "environment" by buying a (or several) "piece" 2.0 founders tees to help plant the seeds of "piece" throughout the world. You can purchase and vote for the world you want by clicking on the VOTE button above. "piece"
I am often asked, "If I adopt the "piece 2.0 lifestyle does that mean I have to be passive, mellow, and walk around in a trance saying ummmm all day?" Pretty funny question, but a valid one. The fact is the "piece" 2.0 lifestyle is the opposite of what is described above - "piece" is a call to action, not inaction. It asks each one of us to live our lives to their fullest, not be brain dead.
The best example I can give of living the piece 2.0 lifestyle is not yours truly, it is my 2 year old daughter. Check that, 2 and a half year old daughter, as she frequently reminds me.
Watching my daughter's shear fascination with everything, in every moment she is awake (we are very happy she still takes 2 naps a day) is truly inspiring. She gobbles up life and is absolutely the happiest kid you will ever meet because of it. She is living life to its fullest regardless of what others (that includes her bothers and parents) think.
She stops to admire (for long periods of time....) the plants, trees, weeds and flowers on a walk, she loves watching the bunnies, birds, squirrels, roadrunners, etc. that cruise around our yard, she laughs uncontrollably and unapologetically. She has no idea there is a clock or something called time, for her, the time is now.
She accepts and welcomes other humans and animals (and her dolls btw) without judgment and is also a great hostess. Stinky diaper, no issue, everyone poops, lets play. Dirty face, you look like you have had some fun, where's the dirt? Can we go to the dog park and play with the dogs? When is the roadrunner coming back to our house, don't be scared daddy, etc, etc, etc.
She, quite simply, is at "piece" & peace in most moments and she still sleeps like a baby - wish I did!
Now, all that said, she ain't perfect, all you have to do is try to stop her from "living in the moment" and that becomes another story completely. "We have to go do such and such", "ok, you've seen the bird house, let's move on", "play time is over", "time to go to bed", "you cannot pour 3 packs of sugar into the ice tea for the 5th time", etc. etc.- let's just say those moments are not so peaceful! So, big wow moment here - should they be? I mean, is she perfectly imperfect and am I screwing things up by trying to mold her into an ego-centric, on-time, impatient, type A human like her papa?
Jesus said, "Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven." Heraclitus (ancient thinker) said, "Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play." The Tao says to, "...foster growth without ruling..." and "One who lives in accordance with nature does not go against the way of things. He moves in harmony with the present moment, always knowing the truth of just what to do."
Given the above - who is the child? - who is at play 24/7? - who is true to herself 24/7? - and who moves in harmony with the truth of the present moment? This one's a lay up, it ain't me.
So, should I act like my 2.5 year old or mold her into society and "our" way of life? I have decided that she is the one on the right track, she lives with unabashed enthusiasm that is absolutely contagious and so should I, and btw, so should we all. Wayne Dyer put it well when he said, "...become childlike and leave behind our childish (fear, anxiety, prejudgement, & fighting) adult ways..."
Okay, I am off to get some Red Bull, I may need it to keep up with her!!!! "piece".
Stumbled upon
Change.org the other day. As you know, "piece" 2.0 is about helping humans live in "piece". That said, I thought Change.org would be a great distribution channel for "us" to help President Obama live moments in "piece". Figured it couldn't hurt to have the President of the United States living moments in "piece" and then sharing those moments with the rest of the world.
So, I set up a petition called - "Help bring "piece" into the world!" If you sign the petition, the following letter will be sent to President Obama on your/our behalf...
Dear Mr. President,
"piece" 2.0 is the peace movement of the future.
"piece" is the acknowledgement that we are all an equal "piece" of the universe and should ACT (key word here) that way by considering people, the planet and general prosperity in each moment.
As you work with people around the world please live those moments in "piece" (considering people, planet and prosperity), the result will be your own peace of mind, body and spirit and ultimately, peace on earth.
"piece"
In typical "piece" 2.0 fashion the note is short, sweet, simple and useful - it is for, not against, promotes awareness of "piece" but does not protest anything, and it is positive, not negative - bueno, "piece".
I hope the wisdom of "piece" actually makes its way to the President and that it helps him. Like every President, he has a tough gig and he can use all the help he can get.
You can sign the petition (and add any of your own comments) via the link below - please pass it on to others, post it to your blog, send it to your friends on Facebook, Tweet it, Digg it, etc., etc. "piece"
http://www.change.org/actions/view/help_bring_piece_into_the_world
We hosted a barbeque the other day with some local friends, out of town friends and some family. Beautiful night in So Cal - shrimp, salmon, tri-tip and plenty of booze, good time had by all. The topics of discussion were - dating, politics, the economy, kids, etc. - and the conversations were lively, fun and there was some good spirited jabbing going on especially when love and politics were top of mind.
Towards the end of the night, one of the out of town friends told us a story about how when he was young he left the U.S. to go back to his home country to join a rebel army to fight a government intrusion into the rights of indigenous people where his family was from. Wow. He left the comfy life in the U.S. to head for the hills to fight for an injustice in another country. Pretty amazing stuff and by most standards very heroic and something to be admired. As part of the story, it was asked whether he had actually experienced "combat", meaning, did he have to shoot and/or kill anyone. The question was never answered directly (on purpose I think), but the inference was - "yes". Another WOW moment.
After the guests had left my wife, my brother, another friend and I were having a night cap out by the fire when my brother brought up how much he admired what our out of town friend had done. I certainly did agree with him but also said I thought it was wrong that fighting and killing "as long as there is a justification for it" are OK. Meaning, war and killing is rationalized every day in our world. No bueno. I wasn't "judging" any individual for going to war, I was questioning why humans in general accept and admire that behavior as heroic and the right thing to do. You can draw on wisdom from many places on this topic but the 10 commandments say it pretty clearly - thou shall not kill. Not much interpretation needed there - so, why is fighting/killing if it is for a "good" cause acceptable? Don't both sides have a "cause, country, organization, etc." and in their minds aren't both sides on the "right" side? My brother was taken aback by my statements so he kicked it up a notch. He asked me if I would kill to defend my wife and my kids. I answered without hesitation, "No, there is never justification to kill."
Another WOW moment...for him, not me. "piece".*
*piece 2.0 is the acknowledgement that we are all an equal "piece" of the universe and should ACT (key word here) that way by considering people, the planet and prosperity in each moment. Moments lived in "piece" result in individual peace of mind, body and spirit and ultimately, peace on earth.
I was at Starbucks ordering the usual - a tall non-fat chai tea latte with a dash of cinnamon for the Mrs. and a Vente drip, room for cream for yours truly. It was fairly busy; the line was normal and moving at an acceptable pace - good Starbuck's vibe going on.
The man in front of me got his order and it was my turn, so I rattled off my order to the 20 something guy behind the counter like a true Starbuck's pro. Just as I finished, the guy who was in front of me appeared and starting yelling, yes, YELLING..."Hey, do you think you guys can give me room at the top of the cup so when I open it I don't fbombing burn myself, what the fbomb, get me another fbombing blank, blank!"
Wow. Bad vibe.
I was stunned, the rest of the line was stunned and the Starbuck's dudes were both stunned and shaken by this outburst. It was clear they were embarrassed and it was also clear they were taking a bullet for something that was completely out of their control. Last time I checked, they don't open our lids when we add cream/sugar, etc. - we are big boys & girls and we are supposed to be able to do that ourselves....
The irate guy then turned to me and apologized for butting in....I said, calmly, "...no problem, there are worse things in the world..." - hoping to put some perspective on the situation.
When the 20 something's got the irate guy his drink and then came back with mine, it was time for me to pay. The line was getting long due to the delay, the Starbuck's guy's were clearly frazzled and visibly upset by the whole thing. When I got my change, I pulled out five bucks, showed it to them and said this is for you, have a great day. Their faces went from, this sucks, to, that's cool, instantly and they found a way to smile in that moment. Suddenly, all was right with the world again. Good vibe.
The 79th Verse of the Tao says, "Someone must risk returning injury with kindness, or hostility will never turn to goodwill." I couldn't agree more and encourage everyone to be that "someone". "piece"*
Guest "piece" 2.0 bloggers welcome!
*piece is the acknowledgement that we are all an equal part of the universe and should ACT (key word here) that way by considering people, planet and prosperity in each moment. Moments lived in "piece" result in peace on earth.