Disposing of our future

We all have items we can't leave the house without: keys, wallet, phone, lip balm, hip flask, brain. My essential item (although many of the aforementioned also apply) is my water bottle, constantly at the ready to rehydrate me during the day when the occasion arises. I could swear that sometimes just "knowing" it's in my bag keeps the thirst away. So you can imagine my parched distress when said bottle goes missing and I no longer have this amazing thirst-quenching device at my disposal! The key word here and the point I am eventually getting to is "disposal" and more specifically the issue of disposable plastic. You may be forgiven for thinking that this item which I am so clearly very fond of and attached to was one of those beautiful, shiny, stainless steel drinking vessels (which I have every intention of buying... one day), but no, the missing drink bottle was nothing more than a disposable plastic bottle which I buy and refill and eventually (as I had to do again today), replace.

Pictured above: Artist, Chris Jordan's depiction of the 2 million plastic bottles used in the US every five minutes.

 Did you know that almost every piece of plastic EVER made still exists today? The average plastic bottle takes 50-80 years to decompose, so the remnants of the first plastic bottle ever created are still somewhere on our planet as I'm typing this. Plastic bottles came onto the market in the late 60s and whilst I haven't been able to get my hands on an estimation of the number which have been produced and disposed of since then, I can tell you that in America alone 2,500,000 plastic bottles are used every hour with three quarters of them being discarded after one use. I can't even begin to fathom what the damage would be over 40 odd years on a global scale but you get my drift?  

"The plastic from a single one litre bottle could break down into enough fragments to put one fragment on every mile of beach in the entire world." - Qamar Schuyler

What's worse is that a frightening amount of this plastic waste (6 million tonnes per year) is ending up in our planet's vital life source, our oceans. The effects on our marine life are devastating (reason enough to make a change) but what many people also don't realise is that the consequences are transferable, the toxins from this pollution is moving up the food chain so we are simultaneously disposing of our environment and our health.

So what's the moral to this story? I don't think I need to spell it out for you but I can tell you this, tomorrow I'm going to buy that beautiful, shiny, stainless steel drinking vessel I've been dreaming of.
 

Seek and You Shall Find

Every day provides an opportunity for a new discovery and today I feel as if I have stumbled on a goldmine! I was browsing the web looking for a little inspiration when I remembered a friend telling me about an amazing social consciousness/kindness event called "Wake Up Sydney" which was held in Town Hall last year. I was only really hoping to find out if they were holding another one this year (which they are - numerous actually!) but in doing so, discovered not only a bounty of inspiring events I can attend, but even more exciting, an amazing community of creative Sydney-based individuals who are dedicated to inspiring a "kindness revolution through art, beauty and wisdom" and wait for it... have a vision to make Sydney the 'kindness capital of the world! Sounds like my kind of people!

And just when I thought it couldn't get any better the Wake Up Sydney website offered me a free gift of 'kindness cards' which I am very happy to report will shortly be arriving in my mailbox so I can unleash my kindness on more unsuspecting Sydneysiders and hopefully contribute to the Pay It Forward movement.

I look forward to sharing some of my Wake Up Sydney experiences with you soon!

Confessions of a Conscience

Today's post is on little more of a personal note than usual, a long overdue self-critique of the conscience if you will, which I am afraid to say falls somewhat short of my own expectations. It's been a little quiet on the blogging front over the past week. You know how it is; work, assignments, a little cold and flu and before I knew it I was feeling completely drained with nothing left to give. I know this isn't unusual, most of us lead extremely busy lives and at the end of the week you want to keep what little time and energy leftover you have for yourself.

I got up this morning and all I wanted to do was draw the curtains, put on a dvd and spend the day vegetating on the couch but much to my dismay, not long after I picked up the remote, the little voice in the back of my head started: "Really? You have a whole day at your disposal, you don't feel sick anymore, there are no assignment deadlines hanging over your head or pressing engagements and you're just going to sit here and do absolutely nothing?!". I then started thinking about this blog and wondering why I wasn't feeling more motivated to make up for lost time when all week I'd been wishing for this exact opportunity to devote myself to the cause which I usually feel so passionately about. Then it hit me, I was avoiding it. But not due to a lack of interest or passion. I was only avoiding the blog because I wanted to avoid myself.

With each post I publish (whether it is always evident or not) I examine my own social conscience and this week that means examining the lack of it. That is not to say of course that this week I have conducted myself with absolutely no consideration of the world around me. I have smiled at strangers, I have stopped to let people in during peak hour traffic, I have taken my family Easter gifts, I have stood up on the bus to let others sit down, I have recycled. However, none of these things were very out of the ordinary, they took no real extra effort and considering the purpose of this endeavour is to step outside my comfort zone and really push my social conscience to a higher level, I feel as if this week I have failed. But...

"There is no failure except in no longer trying." - Elbert Hubbard

So this is my confession: this week I have not done all that I can and I have not been the best that I can be. I am not perfect, but that is okay. To move forward I think it is important to let go of the guilt (which I never find a very productive emotion) and get up and start again. So I am clearing my conscience right here and right now and starting fresh.  I think sometimes we all get a little weighed down with feelings of inadequacy and there's no time like the present to acknowledge it, shake it off and make a change. I am so grateful that I have a new minute, a new hour, a new day and a new week to try again.

Online Activism: can we REALLY make a difference?

 "The medium is the message." - Marshall McLuhan

You're going to have to forgive my Cultural Studies background! It's not enough for me to simply jump online, express my thoughts on the social conscience (as promised) and log out as I have a plethora of noisy theorists whom, during the course of my studies, have lodged themselves within the quiet recesses of my brain and cannot be silenced! As a result, each time I begin typing one of these entries a theorist pops up and begins his/her musings and I can't help but to start unpacking the cultural processes of communication and the roles they play in the production of meaning. However, I do think this is relevant (even to those who aren't Media/Cultural studies nerds such as myself) so bear with me!

It seems only fitting that in this online exposition of my social conscience I also consider the medium which provides the platform for my expression (it's a "Cultural Studies thing"). Where (or what) would my message be without this blog and the network of social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, email etc) that enable me to share it? Marshall McLuhan was a communication theorist (among other things) and was well known for coining the idiom quoted above in which he is basically asserting that the medium and the message cannot be separated. According to his assumption my musings on the social conscience (message) and this blog (medium) are inextricably linked, therefore the way in which you are receiving this blog post (via email, twitter link, facebook post etc) will ultimately influence the way you interpret the message.

Still with me? So taking this into account, the issue I really want to explore is how social media platforms and networks are influencing and enabling online activism on a global scale. What is the potential power of social media as a medium to communicate messages of activism in meaningful ways which bring about REAL positive change? I could unleash a torrent of theory upon you now but instead I think I'll pass over to Gina Bianchini (CEO and co founder of Ning) in her interview for the BBC Series, The Virtual Revolution, discussing the potential of social technology to change humanity...

The rewards of connecting through kindness

CONNECTION leads to INSPIRATION leads to MOTIVATION leads to ACTION.

Inspired by online movements for "random acts of kindness" I today joined a "smile group" at Help Others.org. Membership to the group entitles me to read and post stories of kindness within the "Australian Smile Group", as well as give and receive 'smiles' and 'karma bucks'.  Whilst it may not seem like much I think it's a great way to connect, stay motivated and turn intention into action.

I was really surprised with the positive feedback (comments, smiles and karma bucks) I received in response to my "kindness story" which was simply "making an effort to smile and say good morning to everybody I passed whilst walking my dog today". Not only was it gratifying to be praised for my small act of kindness but it was also extremely motivating, both to continue my own acts of kindness, as well as to praise others for theirs.

Connecting with others is a huge part of our humanity and whatever the motivations (eg. psychological egoism) I think the outcomes are largely positive. When we connect through kindness we all win.

What moves us: motivation for good

Nine years ago, an 18 year old version of myself was driving to work in my beastly, red, Ford Telstar when much to my horror the engine overheated and my not so trust worthy car died a smoky death on the middle of a bridge in bumper-to-bumper, peak hour traffic. My first reaction was to lock the doors of my corpse of a car and bawl my eyes out but my common sense prevailed and instead I got out began trying to push and steer the car over the bridge while numerous, disgruntled drivers manoeuvred around me. Whilst I'm sure the lifetime of pushing I felt I undertook was probably more like a couple of minutes in reality it was no doubt magnified by the large amount of cars which overtook me and just kept on going. By the time somebody finally came to my aid I had almost given up on anybody helping me and the generous soul who offered me the kindness of getting me and my beast off that bridge was met with a complete breakdown on my part. I could barely get the words "thank you" out through the flood of tears that ensued his kind offer to push while I steered. He was a middle aged man, also on his way to work and not only did he get me off that bridge but also offered to help me call a tow truck and following making those arrangements and waiting with me, drove me the rest of the way to work (which was a massive detour from his destination).

This particular story came to mind this morning while I was pondering the question "what motivates us to be good?". Why did that man stop and help me when so many others drove right on by? Moral philosophy (see previous post: Foundations for the "greater good": moral philosophy) attempts to answer this question in exploring the psychological issues within metaethics which motivate us to be moral. Within this area of metaethics they explore both psychological egoism and psychological altruism as drivers for our moral actions (or inaction as the case may be). According to psychological egoism, the man that stopped to help me did so because it served his own self-interest (eg. seeking the praise of onlookers, gratitude from said damsel in distress or the self satisfaction of knowing he did a good deed). However, psychological altruism asserts that whilst factors of egoism may provide some motivation, that we as humans also have an inherent psychological capacity to show compassion and kindness to others. In my saviour's case I would tend to lead towards altruism but unfortunately I was too traumatised by the whole event to ask that question at that time or even exchange details so I guess I will never really know.

What I do know is that not everybody that passed me that day was motivated to help. Whether it's egoism or altruism that moves us morally to perform an act of kindness there are still those that do not seem to be moved at all. Whilst these musings interest me immensely, personally I don't think it matters what a person's motivation is for helping another, as long as they're helping what's the difference? I know my personal motivations vary and whilst I would love to advocate being a pure altruist, the truth is that helping also makes me happy, undoubtedly providing added incentive! And what's wrong with that? When I "feel good" I'm more motivated to "do good" and in a way I think it can act as a beautiful circle, happy people are more helpful people and helpful people are more happy people. For proof see "Making Australia Happy" an amazing documentary and social experiment into the art of happiness. Of particular interest is Dr Tony Grant's "positive psychology" exercises, employing strategies of kindness to increase happiness levels.

"Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others." - Plato

A lesson in kindness

"It's a spark of energy that you're transferring from yourself to another"- 'high five girl' (on kindness). 

Through the maze of madness that is social media (Twitter - Website - YouTube) I came across this short clip, Kindness 101, through the Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) Foundation. My first response to the clip was the 'high five girl' is a complete loon but who am I to judge? Everybody has their own kindness style. High fives obviously work for her and I must admit, it's actually pretty impressive, I definitely cracked a smile more than once. I love that with each high five given there was an almost automatic smile reaction from the recipient. Mission accomplished! However, I think I'll stick to my baby steps; eye contact and smiles, just for now...

Random Acts of Kindness: Keep it simple

The one reoccurring issue I've come across when exploring the social conscience, both mine and that of others is that we all have a desire to help but we become so overwhelmed with the problems of the world that we don't know where to start. Do I help homeless people in Australia or starving people in Africa? Do I save the whales or save the rainforests? Do I donate money or time? And what if I don't have enough of either to make a difference? Of course all or any of these are good but it's okay to take baby steps too. As Chris Abani muses in the video from my last post:

"The world is never saved in grand messianic gestures but in the simple accumulation of gentle, soft, almost invisible acts of compassion, everyday acts of compassion". 

For me this translates into a phrase that I know many people are familiar with: 'random acts of kindness'. No matter your circumstances, employed, unemployed, rich, poor, young or old, we all have the capacity to participate in random acts of kindness every day.  Many people already do this subconsciously but imagine if we all started making a conscious effort to do something selfless on a daily basis to improve the circumstances of another person, animal or the environment.

The beauty of it is it can be as simple as a smile. How many people do you pass on the street everyday? How many do you make eye contact with and smile at? This is a simple act of kindness that we could all practice a hundred times a day: connect with people on the street (in the shopping centre, on the beach, at the gym, in the ocean, on the train) and acknowledge our shared humanity by making eye contact and smiling.

Now I must admit, as "simple" as this gesture seems, it doesn't always come easily. For someone like me who is inherently a little shy, the act of making eye contact and smiling at a stranger can be somewhat daunting and definitely takes a conscious effort to manufacture. But I figure what have I got to lose? What is the worst that could happen? Somebody could tell me to "Piss off, keep walking!" (as the local homeless man often says to a friend of mine)? I think I'm going to take my chances, I'm going to put myself out on the proverbial 'limb' in the hope that it just might brighten someone elses day.

"We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” - Aristotle

I want to excel in random acts of kindness and this is my commitment to myself and anybody reading. I'm going to endeavour (step by step) to integrate random acts of kindness into my day to day life with the hope of one day reaching a point where it becomes so deeply ingrained in my being that I don't even think about it anymore. I know I am joining a kindness community of many and I hope that many more will continue to join. If we all start taking baby steps each and every day we could leave one massive footprint of kindness on the planet.

Rachel
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