According to www.dictionary.com, evolution is defined as any process of formation or growth; development and revolution is an overthrow or repudiation and the thorough replacement of an established government or political system by the people governed.

In my work over the last bunch of years, I have come to the conclusion that my role is that of a (r)evolutionary, which , as I define it, is about adding the element necessary to speed a natural evolution.  In this case, I'm that element you won't find on the periodic table...let's call it (r).  Therefore, I'm putting the (r) in evolution. 

Find your local (r)evolutionaries and support them in any way you can.  The world you save may be your own.

rg

We had our big meeting with the Manor Education Foundation yesterday and, as a result, we are preparing a Memorandum of Understanding as the next step in going forward to do our part to add to the STELLAR campus vision...in other words, iCREATE is one step closer to having a home!  

After 4 years, 5 months and 2 days...we're almost at Emerald City, lol.

rg

...is a big day in the iCREATE journey.   Wish me luck.

rg

I want to shift the consciousness of the world from win/lose to win/win in 4 generations...about 100 years. The countdown clock began ticking on 4/17/02 so the elapsed time is 4 years and 5 months today. Many people are doing the work, we just need to all work together and make it happen.

rg

When did people stop being of service to others? I'm not talking about the kinds of people I feature in this blog or, most likely, the people who are reading it. I'm talking about people who don't pick up a piece of litter because it's not 'theirs' or can't be bothered seek out even the tiniest way to improve the environment around them because they didn't personally create whatever needs to be 'fixed'. It's not about who caused the problem...it's about being the one who provides a solution. Although it may seem from the people I feature in this blog that the big vision is the way to go, we really don't have to do massive things to change the world. Support someone else's vision, contribute to something that doesn't directly benefit you, share the opportunity with those who aren't aware of it. This message was reinforced when I had the opportunity to meet a Mayan shaman last year who came to Austin to discuss the Mayan Prophecy and what can be done to change that predicted outcome. He said it wasn't just about how big an impact you can make, it's about what you do everyday that raises the positive energy in your world. Smile at someone, open the door, yield in traffic...move beyond yourself to expand the happiness in someone else's world and it will benefit all of us. The bottom line: each of us just needs to give back at the level we've received...plus a bit more. Give more than you get, you'll love the results.

My friend Elin Oftedal is on the committee to create 2007 the International Conference on Technology Policy & Innovation to be held in Stavanger. The choice of the Stavanger 2007 theme, “Energy and Sustainability” was an outcome of the The “Greece 2006” conference, which concluded with the need to concentrate on the specifically on technology development in these increasingly important topics. The focus of the ICTPI conference has always been technology and innovation as a prerequisite for addressing regional economic development on one hand and poverty on the other hand. This, in turn, is closely linked to energy availability and to sustainability such as protection of natural resources, climate changes and population issues as economic growth, social progress, and environmental protection are three central pillars of sustainable development. She has contacted Al Gore to be the keynote speaker and show his film An Inconvenient Truth. If you can help make this happen, please drop Elin an email: Elin.Oftedal@greaterstavanger.com rg

Yesterday I was contemplating my bracelet again. The comment I get from most people is something along the lines of "you are so brave to follow this vision & risk so much to make it happen...you've earned the right to wear that bracelet." 

And, there are certainly moments that I agree with them.  Without a doubt I've been a complete failure by ordinary measures...gained weight, lost my financial strength and my house.  All the markers we're taught to seek to prove ourselves as successful fell away as I moved farther along this path.  While my choices may look risky to others, for me they were just what needed to happen to gain the knowledge I needed to better articulate this message.   [I in no way encourage or endorse the idea that one should simply walk away from cumbersome responsibilities to follow a vision.  In fact I've kept records of the dollar costs of my choices and committed to repaying all of them when I'm back on track financially.]
 
However, from my perspective 4+ years down this path, those who risk nothing are truly risking it all.  Material things can be replaced and weight can be lost [or not... to tell the truth in many ways I'm happier with my body now than when I lived in weight-obsessed Los Angeles!].  The experience & knowledge I've gained is mine to keep forever; I can share it with people but can never lose it completely.  The greatest thing about having the opportunity to share this vision & message over the years is the true connections made with people.  Each of them has added words, sentences and chapters  to the story that I do my best to tell as it grows. 

There's a reason that we have to undergo the journey to reach the destination.  Much like Frodo in www.lordoftherings.net if I had any idea of the scope of this journey before I said 'yes' on April 17, 2002 I'm not sure I would have begun it at all. 

Which is probably why they call that kind of impulsive YES a leap of faith...and why so many people believe I've 'earned the right' to wear a bracelet with the bold declaration RISK IT ALL. 

rg

One of the more interesting questions I've gotten about why I do what I do came from a business man I know. Upon hearing of the scope of the iCREATE vision--which by year four I easily deliver with a mixture of matter-of-fact statements and unbridled passion--my friend asked me if I was "an heiress or something". I laughed and said "don't I wish?" and we moved on to the next phase of our conversation.

I thought about his question as I drove away and after being provided with quite a few meditative moments in traffic it occurred to me that in a way I was an heiress...but without the cash reserves.

On my mother's side, I'm 39th in descent from Lady Godiva and a wide range of revolutionary female ancestors who worked as abolitionists to get slaves out of the south, busted up bars with Carrie Nation and did things like chain themselves to the gates of City Hall to promote women's right to vote. Without a doubt I inherited my strength of vision and willingness to take action to promote that vision from that side of the family. On my dad's side, I've got the determination of the Scottish working class who persevered & survived against incredible odds to preserve a cultural identity. The Glendinning contribution had to do with a bit of thievery...in fact they were known as the horse thieves of Scotland which may be where I got my philosophy that it was sometimes necessary to break a few rules for the promotion of the greater good!

So, after a bit of thought, I guess that if my friend asked me the same question today I'd have to answer YES.

What I ask of you, dear reader, is what you've inherited...and how are you using these gifts to move the world forward?

rg

As I watched the images on the screen on 9/11/01, I was reminded of another tragic explosion out of the clear blue that occurred on January 28, 1986.  I was in a completely different life, living in the Caribbean working on a sailboat & waitressing.  I happened to stop into a little cafe on my way to the beach where the morning news was on TV.  Since I didn't have a television, it was a rare treat to actually watch TV.  The morning news was on and the Challenger shuttle lifted off and, several seconds later, exploded.  I stared at the screen not believing what I just saw...and then looked outside at the beautiful clear blue sky and tried to process the tragedy I just saw in the context of paradise.  Surreal & visceral.

Five years later I watched as the planes crashed into the World Trade Center towers.  I had friends in NY who had either worked in those buildings themselves or were connected to the life within those towers in some way.  A few years before, I had been to the upper decks to see the world laid out before me and could imagine how seeing a huge plane coming out of the clear blue sky would be impossible to process.  Surreal & visceral.

Fast forward to now. 

I, and many others across the globe, have spent the last five years actively working to create the spaces in which all kinds of people can reconnect to purpose and reactivate the hope that we're all born with...and that has taken some tough hits of late. 

Some of them are virtual like www.zaadz.com and Jeff Skoll's amazing vision www.skollfoundation.org; others you can visit in person, like the www.buildingartscollege.us in South Carolina and www.thecrucible.org in Berkeley.  The range of these projects is immense, their power to create change in the world is infinite.  And you won't see this stuff on TV.  All real...still visceral.

I don't have a neat way to end this.  I'm just glad it's been begun.

rg

The Texas Legacy Arts Incubator (TLAI) is an architectural artisan-based economic development model designed to incubate micro-enterprise in Texas.  It is a far-reaching enterprise that will increase the kind and number of people who participate in the economic development of the larger community.  In addition to the economic value TLAI will provide to the community, we will bring a wide variety of educational opportunities with the architectural artisan tradecrafts education and apprenticeship programs, which will be taught by well-known masters located in Central Texas and beyond.  The programs are primarily targeted at at-risk youth and historically disadvantaged populations.

The TLAI will provide opportunities for cultural preservation, micro-business growth and development and workforce training.  The first level of the TLAI architectural artisan tradecrafts training and apprenticeships will include:
• Stone:  masonry, carving
• Metal:  blacksmithing, metal work
• Wood:  furniture making, master carpentry
• Clay:  master craft tile work, ceramics

Over the last 4-1/2 years, our research has shown that there is a large [and growing] adult population interested in acquiring these job skills as well.  Based on the iCREATE values of accessibility, education, community, connectivity, and collaboration, the TLAI is committed to providing participation opportunities to a diverse cross section of the population who want to learn artisan tradecrafts, develop talent and critical thinking skills, develop confidence and self esteem, and grow their economic value. The TLAI allows all participants to share a common language, based on artistic creation, which helps to bridge the socio-economic divide.


When I first began thinking about the purpose of this project the target market was at-risk kids; as the economic downturn in Austin deepened, it expanded to at-risk adults.  And, after this long journey spent meeting people and learning about what the community needs to feel hope about life moving forward, I'm sure that it's really about anyone who is at-risk of not fulfilling potential...no matter what the age.

rg