on moving forward

As I download my digital photos and unpack a travel bag filled with receipts and brochures recalling eco-friendly promises from unnamed product reps, I am reminded of days past in which my soul moved ever so closer to understanding my continued response to a lifelong choice...

...what to do with the time we are given.

Last Thursday night, I found myself at a conference social. I had arrived late do to my conscious, yet regrettable, decision to relax in my hotel room earlier in the evening whilst watching Catwoman. Nevertheless, the social was housed in an old theatre in downtown Atlanta known as The Tabernacle. After an hour or so of people-watching from various vantage points, I concluded that it was time to depart. Upon moving toward the entrance, I happened upon a young black woman behind a table signing and selling cd's for $20. Intrigued, first because I was no longer the primary source of diversity in the room, and second, because I realized that she must have been the headliner at the function.

Her name was Leela James and she was a small, pleasant, smiling young woman with a blow-out afro. I told her that I had not seen her perform, but that I was interested in her cd.

She turned to her assistant and said, "He didn't even get a chance to hear me sing and he wants to buy the album. Give it to him for $10. "

An unprompted, simple, and kind gesture.

I gave her assistant $20 anyway. She signed the CD and handed it to me. In that brief moment, I started to get it.

What was the true lesson of this green building conference? What is this true meaning of this buzz term "biophillia?"(loosely defined as a passion for all living things) Why did I stumble unto this encounter with Leela?

I leaned close to her and said: "You have very kind eyes... and I am sure your voice is equally as kind. I wish you well in everything you do." And then I turned and walked out of the building.

You don't get it yet, do you?

We are all in this boat together. Our fate, sink or swim, is a collective fate.

I go to GREENBUILD because I get a chance to connect with likeminded folks that... get it. I sit through mind blowing lectures about the impact of the built environment on the real environment because I understand its importance and I need to connect with people that can energize me to choose wisely when I ask myself what to do with the time I am given.

I leaned in to speak thoughtfully to Leela, because...

We cannot be ashamed to be profound.

Galvanizing people to move towards being more comfortable with each other, with the need to think collectively, and with the challenge to be stewards of the environment in which we all exist will happen one kind conversation at a time... one unprompted kind gesture at a time...one blog entry at a time... one blog entry comment at a time.

get it?

biophilic likemindedness

I'm currently in atlanta, georgia attending the GREENBUILD Conference. I have been to a few lectures and I'm about to head over to the exhibit hall, BUT before I do so... I just want to put it out there that if the remaining days of this conference are as inspiring as I hope it will be, I will have a multitude of new insights to explore with you. For example:

Quieting Human Cleverness

prisoner's dilemma

So as I was listening to the Lyfe Jennings album, I had a thought recently about the prison system and the disproportionate amount of young black males populating said system. Not so much about the folks that keep going into prisons, but moreso the folks coming out of prisons. For every ten guys that come out of incarceration more hardened criminals, I'm sure there is one cat that just wants to straighten up and never go back, right? So according to Lyfe, it's very tricky to keep on the straight and narrow once you get out, because no one will give you a shot doing anything worth while. I've heard that story many a time before, but I started thinking about what role growahouse could take in the future to consider such a large and needy portion of the community as just that... part of the community. I have an idea for a program that would take 4 or 5 young non-violent, at risk, recently paroled, minority men or women and train them to build. When I say build, I'm not just thinking construction, I'm thinking holistically. I'm thinking... building homes, building relationships, building wealth, building personal health, building confidence, building responsibility...... building opportunities. Let me be clear, I am not interested in a halfway house program that tries to re-acclimate folks into society. I don't think that is what we should go for here. I want to think larger. I'm talking LLC. I'm talking one person is learning how to set the wood framing and pour concrete footers, one person is holding a community meeting to discuss the impact of the project on its surroundings, one person is securing venture capital, one person is at the zoning office filing for permits, and the other is coordinating everybody else.... you understand what I'm saying?

I think that in order to truly bridge the gap between growing a house and growing a village, we will have to elevate the manner in which we conceive of everything.