1.
I met a girl in the cafe reading a book. I think it was Merit, the cafe, yeah next to the bike shop. No, that’s right it was in Charis Park. She was there with her friend under the tree. Her friend was also doing something creative, oh yeah she was painting on a framed canvas. I couldn’t see what it was. Anyways I went over to where they were and said “Excuse me do you mind if I ask you what you’re reading?” She looked up and gave me a smile and said “I’m reading the Hunger Games, part one Mocking Jay” and proceeded to tell me all about the Hunger Games series. I was interested and listened with respect.
It was a revelation to me. I had not read the Hunger Games but turns out many people have, especially the 13 - 28 year olds. It’s a perfect synthesis of romance, combat, live action, superheroes, super villains and a mythic story (I watched the movie). All these elements trigger a high degree of response among young adults. I can understood why they are so popular, they’re a part of Gen Z’s cultural psyche.
It’s a call to arms, it’s a revolutionary manifesto for teenagers who desperately need a revolution to believe in, something to rebel against. It’s a demand for change from the Z generation as they wake up and start to assume responsibility for the world. They have the wisdom and they can see it, it’s obvious. May the wisdom of the Z generation guide us home. Hey they got it from Minecraft and Mocking Jay and now they’re up to bat or atleast in the on deck circle.
2.
My friend Clayton wants to save the world or atleast make it more sustainable. Ever since I met him 6 years ago we have been talking about how to ‘make it better’ and Clayton has done more than talk, he has acquired the skills to build simple housing that is energy efficient, made from local materials and - one other thing I forget. Fireproof and durable. He has taken workshops all over the world learning about building things and growing food.
Cob construction is what I’m talking about. It’s been around for 10,000 years and people are still using it, It's estimated that half the people in the world live in some kind of cob house. It could be traditional housing in Zambia or people wanting to live a simpler, more sustainable life in Costa Rica, or it might be a summer home constructed in the Adirondacks for an insurance executive and his family from Philadelphia or a hilltop redoubt in Puerto Rico for ecology tourists learning about sustainability - which may be Clayton’s dream. I don’t know, we have talked about it. Having land and a place to share knowledge and practice sustainable living I think is his dream. Be part of the solution.
From AI. Cob is comprised of clay, sand and straw. That's it! These materials are ridiculously cheap and easy to come by almost anywhere on the planet. When properly mixed together they become incredibly strong, durable and beautiful - the perfect combination for a home.
Cob walls absorb heat during the day and release it at night, helping to keep you warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
You can go several stories high with it, make any shape you wish.
Building with cob is a slower process, though, you have to wait for the mud to get hard before you add the next layer. But that would also help you visualize and develop your house as you’re building it. Building with 2X4’s according to a blueprint you can put it up fast but it goes up exactly as planned and doesn’t smell like earth : )
Here’s an interview I did with Clayton in 2022, we’re having a conversation in the back yard. One Man’s Journey in Becoming Nothing and Gaining Everything Along the Way This is an excerpt.
”What if you had an Aladdin’s lamp and you could make any wish come true what kind of life would you like to lead. How would you visualize your life unfolding in the best possible circumstance?
”If I had an Aladdin’s lamp?
“Yes!
”Is the genie Robin Williams or is it somebody else?
”It’s a real genie. It can actually, you know . . .
”He was my favorite genie.
”He was a genie?
”Well he played a genie but he was a genie in real life too. He was a magician. He made people laugh. Umh, I don’t think I would necessarily wish anything for myself, I don’t care much for money. I don’t really believe in it. I think I would wish for humanity to wake up and realize that money is not important. It’s very backwards how our society operates. What’s important is helping people, serving people, serving our planet, being good stewards, securing a future for all species, all . . . everything. Umh, I don’t even know if I would use the 3 wishes, I would just want that one thing. If I could have anything in the world it would be for people to put our planet first before the profits.
”That’s a pretty cool response my brother . . .
Clayton is currently in North Dakota, or is it Montana acquiring new skills and building earthen projects.
3.
The Peace Education Program is a project of the Prem Rawat Foundation. Not like peace can be taught but it can be facilitated. This program is effective, seminal and massive in scope. I mean it’s up to scale, since its inception in 2007 over half a million people have participated. I have known about it for years, watched it grow, watched their documentary videos about how it’s working in different areas of the world and how it changes people’s lives.
From their website: “The Peace Education Program is an innovative series of video-based workshops that help people discover their own inner strength and personal peace.” There was a PEP at Dominguez Jail in San Antonio way back when it was just starting up. They made a movie about it, here’s the promo Inside Peace.
Some quotes from inmates who went through the program.
“An unlit candle can’t light any but one lit candle can light thousands. If I can better myself and have peace within me, clarity, happiness, be content - I need to better myself before I can help anybody else.”
“People live in the two minutes. The minute that just happened and the minute that’s on it’s way, you know, the past and the future. He teaches us to live in the third minute which is the here and the now, how to just appreciate being alive.”
“When you come to the place that you’re alright just who you are, everything else falls into place.”
The Peace Education Program is active in 58 countries, and has been translated into 43 languages. It’s been hosted by numerous organizations including educational institutions, schools, universities, community centers, senior centers, homeless shelters, drug rehabilitation facilities and prisons. I got that from the website too.
It’s a power for good that’s happening all over the world. Newest countries to join: Japan, Bolivia, Cuba, Haiti, Honduras and the Philippines.
There’s good things happening in the world, is the point of my missive. I don’t know about the violent uprising in the Hunger Games but it was the spirit of those two young women in the park that I admired. The aspiration to make it better, to find peace, is alive and well inside the human soul.
Can we talk about this? Can we work for this? Can we believe in it, can we find it in ourselves? It’s powerful, it has existed ever since there were humans, that’s what makes us human. It manifests in every corner of every culture, in people all over the world. It is our commonality. It’s something we can do or atleast try to do.
That’s what I try to do. If you think it’s impossible, all the better, that’s what superheroes do. We are the superheroes, by the way. Have you noticed that they kind of look like us usually? They kind of act like us for the most part, in an exaggerated way. They are created by us, by our imagination, because that’s what we imagine we can do. Fly and do heroic deeds and redress evil, destroy injustice, protect the innocent. Sound familiar? That’s our noblest character.
And superheroes aren’t new, they go back to ancient times, back to the old time honored traditions of the scriptures. All the religions have them. Gods and angels, Father Sky and Mother Earth, brujas and shamans, genies. Superman? The new Superman movie is out. It’s almost an ancient story.
All these stories are about us. Ourselves. The humans. Doing impossible tasks.
Some politician needs to take this on. The impossible quest and all that. Let’s live on the planet sustainably with peace and goodwill for all. If we can imagine it then we can do it. We might be able to do it. It’s not impossible. This is what we were made for.
This entire song is included at the end of the podcast. Music and lyrics by Alexia Chellun. Check out her website.
Also featuring Danielle Salvitto, Marlene Bayle, Paula Vahos and Richard Gormley. Video by Alessandro Sigismondi.
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