Two incredible opportunities

8 October, 2014

In two weeks, I am starting an amazing journey courtesy of a remarkable cause leader, the founder of the Slow School of Business, Carolyn Tate. Tate’s latest initiative is a four week course: Is there a TED talk in you?

In these weeks, I will find a way to communicate my dream. I want to be the woman who creates the garden and build a community and communicates the journey. I want to forge an easy path for anyone who cares to follow me on this journey because I truly believe that changing this planet is about individuals, and not just about experts. (The experts are terrific – they research what works and what does not and we need them too.)

But each of us needs to find a path to our own contribution that is not just about separating our rubbish – but about finding a place in our community, one of connection, collaboration and personal power.

My blog is the start to my efforts, but I want to be able to spread the word in an inspiring way – and to use my journalistic skills to join the dots between all the amazing people working for change across the world. That would be great as one of those maps of activity, wouldn’t it? To see the activity points grow and spread to cover all the continents and islands across the whole world.

This includes people like small-scale sustainable developer Eugenie Stockmann, as well as People for Public Spaces. I don’t need to write it all because some are already writing it, but I can be the repository of publishing it all on my Dream Planet website, or collection.

I am documenting my journey, so that others can learn from my efforts and my errors. But I want to also capture a way of doing it well, and easily. After all, I know from behavioural expert Bri Williams that if we want to change a habit, we have to make it easy.

I want to make it easy for people to be connected. I need to find the word that describes what we all want to be in the context of our cities. What is it? (If you can think of a word, please let me know!)

It is about freedom. It is about connection. The connected citizen. The citizen urbanist? Who wants to be that (expect me). Community sounds too dinky. It is more powerful than that.

Super Citizen? Citizen is a nice word because it implies being part of a whole. Power Citizen? I don’t know.

I will start, however, by listing all that I know and have learned so far, and take it to my TED talk course.

My second incredible opportunity

Today, I am having coffee with S to discuss the garden.

Without my Dream Garden project, would I be making the time for that simple connection?

We are looking at some books together. Bri suggested I start with a little group of pots, and I have a number that I want to get out of my garden, so I think that is a good idea. It might be easier to start with. We could group them over with the table and chairs near the mandarin tree. And we can repot the mandarin in some proper potting mix, especially for citrus. Perhaps we can buy another fruit tree because I have that big pot that could hold it.

I am looking forward to talking with S. I hope it is fun.