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sustainable | fresh | authentic | organic | balanced | inspired | real | whole heartbeat connections | 1 March 2011 | heartbeat.com.hkSubscribers > add/remove/forward below + connections@heartbeat.com.hk to your address book | ||||||
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CONTENTS : Peace, Plastic, Parks and Earth Hour 2011 | Calendar | Bits & Bytes | Fresh Connections |
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Our website suddenly disappeared the other day. Coincidentally, our wi-fi broadband connection was cut at the same time - those crazy cats. Life as we know it came to an end with disastrous consequences. Panic ensued. It was a strange experience. No lives were in danger. There was no risk of food shortage. Our shelter stood strong. Our security was not threatened. Our family and friends were still well, Our bank accounts remained untouched. The sun continued to shine, the birds were singing, the curtains danced in the cool breeze and the sky showed absolutely no signs of storm clouds. Still, a wave of panic crashed in, fueling stress and anxiety levels that signaled imminent danger. While the world around us continued unchanged, the inner landscape appeared forever changed. After a couple of quick phone calls, all was back to normal within a few hours. It took some time to recover and re-adjust back to normal. Then, an overwhelming exhaustion replaced the panic. Nothing had happened. There was no physical exertion. No fleeing or fighting was necessary. Still, we experienced a minor glitch as a major catastrophe. The experience begged further analysis. We discovered that we have become so reliant upon our technology that we feel completely dependent upon the tools. It is incredibly easy to forget how to function properly without them. As new technology and global development bring us more convenience, we ease into a lifestyle where we depend on getting what we want when we want it. Our supermarkets operate beyond the seasons to provide us with an endless supply of local produce because it's always summer somewhere in the world and local gardens have become all but obsolete. Information and entertainment streams in from the global village, steadily replacing the local community hall and picture house where neighbors and families and friends would gather to connect and share and celebrate. Our modern lifestyle is filled with errands and endless to do lists that keep us busy and occupied and distracted from the world around us. It is easy to tell ourselves that we need what we need when we need it in order to keep ahead. We feed ourselves quickly. We rush to get everywhere. We grab bytes of information on the go. We schedule quality time with loved ones into a tightly packed schedule. We never stop to think about where the materials are coming from to keep us fed and clothed and sheltered because they all come from somewhere else. All this talk about peak oil and climate change and global warming and greenhouse gases and food shortages and toxic chemicals has become little more than background noise in the soundtrack of our day. We are comfortable being comfortable as long as we can get what we want when we want it. The world of denial is a very comfortable place. Until something happens to disrupt everything. In the month ahead, we are invited to question our 21st century comfort zone by listening to people who share experience of conservation and sustainability with ideas that make sense whether or not we believe in climate change. Project Kaisei illustrates a closed loop by converting local waste plastic into fuel to watch the pink dolphins swimming in waste plastic. Women of China, Taiwan and Hong Kong tell their stories with free screenings at The Peace and Sustainable Living Documentary Film Festival, thanks to the organizers and sponsors. China also is on the agenda at Amcham and The Royal Geographical Society as they host speakers on NGO's and environment in our neighbor to the north. We are offered dress rehearsals for disruption every time we lose a mobile phone. Many of us remember our first mobile phone as a luxury. Then it became a necessity. Then we needed to text as well as talk. Then we needed to use it to take pictures. Then we needed it to check and respond to email 24/7. Then we needed it to access the internet. Then we needed it to do our banking instantly. Then we needed it to find out how to get where we're going. Then we needed it to tell our friends where we are without actually telling our friends where we are. Then we needed it to pay for our coffee. Then we needed to have it with us all the time because our children need to have one so they can reach us at any given moment. Most of us remember a time when we managed just fine without a mobile phone but we forget all that in the moment we realize it is missing. What does it take to disrupt your comfort zone of convenience ?
Listen to your own heartbeat A-Z : Community | Lifestyle | Business Published by Connections Unlimited with original photos by Kinzie Natural Connections is published every Tuesday - Submissions deadline is the previous Friday |
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This week we are experimenting with the unexpected.
