Cultural Upheaval

(Also posted on Anastasia The Storyteller)

Individuals, relationships and families, as well as nations, are built upon the scripts they develop as blueprints for carrying out the essential tasks of life. When these scripts or life blueprints are disrupted upheaval results, be it personal or cultural, bringing with this disturbance an existential void – and – the accompanying panic that one’s very mortal survival is at risk.

Scripts are naturally created to aid humans in resolving basic existential challenges; most fundamentally these involve answering core questions such as:

1. Who am I?

2. Who are you?

3. What is everybody doing here?

4. And, of singular importance – “What am I supposed to do in a place like this, with people like you?

Future Shock, as Alvin Toffler wrote of it more than forty years ago, predicted the existential void we humans would encounter when our traditions, even the minimal ones practiced in a new country such as the U.S.A., would be threatened into demise by the fast moving pace of our lives.

“Future shock” is no longer off in the future. Future shock is now! And, it is driving us into an an insane way of life. One of the key symptoms of this malaise is the “othering” that we do when we join in with the prevalent cultural practice I call “othering.”

I do it. You do it. We all do it, even when we, oftentimes, consciously believe we do not. Othering is the opposite of “happening to one another” (a topic you might begin exploring here.) Beyond the cost to the individual is the enormous cost to our society, as a collective, and beyond that, again, even to the death and destruction carried forth over this entire planet that “othering” breeds.

Do, please, join me this week as I host the Possible Society In Motion Show and explore this issue with our “Consciously choosing to travel with “others” topic.

This show has as its intent the generating of engaging community conversations, along with storytelling, to help, collectively, pave the way to awe.

Awe meaning, at least, win-win problem solving which, frequently, begins with letting go of our “othering.”

Check it out, the Possible Society In Motion Show.
Thursday, 6:30 p.m

Odyssey

The fog outside my window is so thick at this moment that one can barely see one’s own hand. Let alone a tree or the road to drive upon.

In some ways the fog outside is as enveloping in its limited visibility as is my ability to recount where I have been these past weeks and months; it all feels somewhat hazy to me.

The fog in my mind rolled in with Hurricane Sandy and it has yet to clear. Hurricane Sandy sent me away from my home for fear of what the storm might do; high winds especially threatened to endanger a few of our already tenuously held trees that could potentially fall and hit the house.

Back home, after the storm hit, the cold state of our eerily-abandoned house took some time to heat and bring things right again; to unpack the emergency provisions so hastily gathered in the leave-taking. In the meantime, the Overcoming The Polarization of Politics event that had been scheduled for the evening Sandy hit had by then been  cancelled; the other organizers and myself adrift in a turbulent sea of end of election campaign hoopla, election day and night and the after elections blame games and so forth, as our once-again elected president emerged victorious.

By the time all of this had passed and our event had been rescheduled with its resultant loss of momentum, coming off after the election as opposed to before it as originally planned, predictions of the end of the world was the big news, scheduled for late December. This, too, somehow also soon faded away and the tragic deaths of the many children who had so innocently lost their lives at Newtown took over both the world of cyberspace and painful reality.

On the heels of these twists and turns, New Horizons, of which I am both Founder and Executive Director,  determined that it was time to create an expanded venue for up-to-date reports on our Possible Human, Possible Society Study and our collection of good works in the area of community development, by offering, not one but two new radio shows. So off I was sent to Blog Talk Radio University to learn new skills for a new kind of radio of which I had never heard before.

Alongside of this happening, my collaborator of close to seven years, Sue deVeer, moved out of state, leaving me somewhat behind. So is it any surprise that as I awoke this morning to the fog surrounding me outside that I felt called to wonder, as I looked out at the pea-soup, if there was, indeed, anything familiar left beyond my bedroom walls?

The dear ones I’ve left behind on this almost five month trek through my odyssey are no more or less intact than I, having been hit by most of the same influences. Yet, adrenalin-infused days of world-level upheaval, crisis and chaos have become so much the norm, people barely notice it. But, I, sensitized by blindness to a heightened sense of feeling and inner seeing, do.

So this is our brave new world; the Future Shock Alvin Toffler predicted in the early 1970s. Days, weeks and lives whiz by so rapidly a person can barely find themselves genuinely standing in the same place from moment to moment. Thus that which had become the normal human adjusting to change is barely realistic.

This is our brave new world!

I think it rather frightening, but have little time for fear before the next wave of turbulence hits. How about you?

On my side, expect to hear more and more from New Horizons and myself about the importance of our human connections; on my two radio shows and here.

After all, a human life does, typically, while not lasting as long as an elephant, last somewhat longer than the latest internet promoted scandal or horror.

So I tend to think of people as being amongst the most valued of investments.

Time Out, Time In

Radio Show Commentary

Our still new radio show, the Possible Society In Motion Show, is now two and one-half months old, going on three.  In the early days, weeks and months in the life of a newborn, we tend to carefully watch growth and movements. The slightest change is noted.

We are excited, easily roused to concern. Sometimes fearful, reacting to innocuous events as though mortal danger lurks. No wonder the parents of newborns need the grant of maternity leave.

Dishes pile up in the sink. Laundry, other than the barest of essentials, is ignored. Time flies by, with whole days gone before one knows it -- and -- if the newcomer is the first in its family, so much more the challenge.

So goes my time these days; mother to a “newborn” radio show; something different each day that, sometimes, only a mother can see. Or the closest and most devoted of family and friends (i.e. my loyal board members and our growing volunteer team).

If and when you hear our stories of this time, you, too, will appreciate the steadfastness of those helping to birth this new project so that we can provide and you can benefit from our treasure trove of gifts for you. Some of which are --

·         Possible Human, Possible Society Study updates;

 

·         Small “Zones of Peace” principles you can apply to your own personal and community   development projects;

 

·         Tips  to refine your active efforts in the areas of society and politics and conflict resolution;

 

·         New Horizons’ program developments in progress.

The Possible Society In Motion Show

Thursday, March 14, 6:30 – 7:30 pm.

Topic: Consciously Choosing To Travel With Others

On-air and conference call-in discussion or after on podcast.

 (See Blog Talk Radio links on the right hand of this page for podcasts.)

Hosted by: Anastasia Rosen-Jones

Beyond Beyonce, Beyond Ego, Beyond Self-Interest

Possible Society In Motion Show Announcement for Thursday, February 21

Shipwrecks and other travel challenges offer real life depictions of what it can mean for fellow journeyers to choose to be for one another (i.e. altruism) or invested in their own self-interest. Beyond emergency airplane landings, cruise ship fires and other such unexpected crises what might it mean for strangers in our strange land of twenty-first century America to choose, on purpose, to be for one another, across the board?

What does it mean to be
a possible society in motion?

Building, once again, on previous episodes to date, also drawing upon the principle of altruism (one for all and all for one) that President Obama appeared to be promoting, to set the tone of his forthcoming second term, the question is pondered: Are Americans genuinely ready to truly invest in the value of being one for all and all for one (i.e. altruism) as a high priority?  

Or, are other crises such as “9/11” and other mass murders still needed to bring home the point that “survival of the fittest” may, ultimately, demand that we develop a commitment to practicing this value.

Ben Franklin urged that “We must all hang together, lest we each hang alone.” However, we seem unable and unwilling to heed this notion, unless and except in times of crisis. Is this a state of affairs we should simply accept or are we overlooking a key challenge that must be addressed as a part of a national solution to gun violence and other social ills?

7:00 p.m.-- 7:30 p.m., following the on-air broadcast, we again, takes our discussion topic to a deeper, more personal level with a call-in audience at:

Conference call dial-in: 712.432.0600, access code 640883 (also recorded).

Would you travel this line, if you knew?

Anastasia commenting on "Why you don't want to travel with me."

Without doubt a Carnival cruise ship would not get your reservation right now, after its tragic fire of last week. But what about a New Horizons’ Bus Ride Story Adventure?

Sail away. Sail away.

If you knew ahead of time that a week long-distance bus ride  would call forth an invitation to fill your days on the trip with an interactive social game to pass the time, constructively, with fellow travelers, would you agree to it?

(You can hear a podcast (February 7) of our story here. Or read the story for yourself online here.)

I think the latter might serve you better as reports tell me that the February show was somewhat boring though the content important.

Two weeks ago on our Possible Society In Motion Show I introduced our New Horizons’ Bus Ride Story Adventure, knowing full well that for any group of people, contained or not, for a time, the sacrifices asked of committing to in-depth, meaningful conversation for any period of time, short or extended, would rapidly invite resistance of all sorts, especially with strangers.

Thus I knew, ahead of time, that I also would need to invite out the voices of resistance to such an idea as an immediate follow-up. I did this on "Why don't you want to travel with me? Part II" on February 14. 

This is a an important show that I do suggest you listen to on podcast.

In Writing To Change The World, Mary Pipher writes that “The two most radical things you can do in America are to slow down and talk to one another.”  In President Obama’s State of the Union address he took the position that Americans need to look out for one another.  Both Pipher and Obama are suggesting extreme social and cultural change, I believe.

In assessing the impact of Obama’s address in “How the State of the Union Worked,” (Huffington Post) George Lakoff, Professor of Cognitive Science and Linguistics at the University of California at Berkeley suggested that Obama effectively shifted the public discourse with this address in such a way as to inspire us.

Well, maybe we will continue to become more and more vocal in our complaints about our government and politics. But to be more for one another? Personally, I think not, but time will tell.

Our Possible Human, Possible Society Study and related events, to date, have shown us, most tellingly so far, that the majority of citizens of this country resist efforts to willingly expend any significant amount of time or energy interacting with those who are different than them. In other words, their willingness is -- almost nil.

So what about travelers on our imaginary bus ride adventure? Or, you, personally, if you imagine yourself to be one of them. Or even more pointedly were, seriously, afforded the opportunity to purposefully, participate in an adventure of this sort; a seven day-long trip to a destination of your choice that would include intentionally building a sense of community with strangers, as a part of the package.

Would you sign on for the trip?

Here are a few of the points I offered to our Possible Society In Motion Show listeners, addressing some of the issues of resistance, having to do with “why”, in practice, most people are unwilling to actively build bridges with dissimilar others (who most of the time, albeit unconsciously, remain the “other).”

I am sure you can think of many more.

Read our Bus Ride Story Adventure online. Or, listen to it on the podcast of our Possible Society In Motion Show and draw your own conclusions.

I invite you to consider the issues that would be of concern for you.  My offerings are --

·         Could any group of strangers on a long distance journey truly become a community by merely agreeing to be nice to one another for the duration?

·         What if you, yourself, are pledged to the game but someone else isn’t so dedicated?

·         Or, decides, after all, that the plan isn’t such a good idea? In fact it’s a bad idea game and wants out, midway? 

Join us this week and in the weeks to come as our Bus Ride Story Adventure (and other happenings) unfold on our Possible Society In Motion Show. Thursday evenings, 6:30 p.m.

The Bus Ride Story Adventure Is Now In Motion

Now we’ve got it!  Endurance* pays off.
 
It is going on almost one year since Sue and I first introduced our Bus Ride Story Adventure at last year’s Abkhazian Dinner event. We knew we were on the right road with this program to being able to offer with it a, more or less, tangible product for those interested in our brand of community development/peace action training.

We want to travel with you!
The Bus Ride Story Adventure

However, the adventure needed polish in order to be able to achieve its objectives.

During the spring and summer we invited supporters to participate in our rehearsals for taking this show on the road.

Still we knew we were not yet quite ready and able to spark the inspiration this personal and collective transformative journey can achieve.  So back to the drawing board we/it went.

Then, lo and behold, along came our new Possible Society In Motion Radio Show. Our proper vehicle for this adventure had been discovered.

Now we’ve got it. 

Get on board with us, as our progress unfolds: destination “Awe.”

Join us as our adventure progresses and develops.

The “official” journey has only just begun, but it is already ripe for adventure.

Endurance* pays off.  We’ve got it and you can have it too -- with endurance.

*Endurance as defined by Murat Yagan, New Horizons’ community development mentor: the ability to hold out, to undergo a difficulty without giving way, to withstand prolonged strain.

Here is how you can participate --

New Horizons’ Bus Ride Story Adventure is now in motion on our weekly radio show, the Possible Society In Motion Show.

Thursday evenings: 6:30 p.m. (Audience dial in number (allows you to listen to our show from your phone):  347.237.5351

Conference call-in discussion (follows immediately after radio show broadcast): 7 to 7:30 p.m.

Conference call-in number: 712.432.0600. Access code: 640883

Get on board!

We want to travel with you!

The Bus Ride Story Adventure: Now on-air!

Radio show commentary

Check it out!

New Horizons’ Bus Ride Story Adventure is now in motion on  our weekly radio show, the Possible Society InMotion Show.

We want to travel with you!
Bus Ride Story Adventure.

Thursday evenings: 6:30 p.m.

(Audience dial in number (allows you to listen to our show from your phone):  347.237.5351

Conference call-in discussion (follows immediately after radio show broadcast: 7 to 7:30 p.m.

Conference call-in number: 712.432.0600
Access code: 640883

Get on board! We want to travel with you!

Join us for this new possible society in motion journey; building exceptional community on-air.

New Horizon’s Bus Ride Story Adventure

Coming Soon!

Possible Human, Possible Society Study participants as guests and panelists on --

The PossibleSociety In Motion Show

Thursday evenings: 6:30 p.m. – 347.237.5351