Not So Fast!

I received this email just now, and it spoke so deeply to me that I didnt want to waste any time in sharing this message to "slow down". Maybe I feel this message so strongly living in a crazy city like São Paulo which seems to go so fast all of the time. This reflection reminded me of a video I was watching yesterday of Toke explaining the Chaordic Stepping Stones (find these videos through www.artofhosting.org) and how most of the time we rush to the "practice/action" part of the flow, without considering all of the deeper components of working together (need, purpose, people, principles, limiting assumptions, concept). As Toke said, "If you want to build a big house, you need to dig a big hole, because you will need a big foundation". But most of the time, we dont make time for the laying of such foundations, and wonder why our houses crumble in strong winds. Thanks to Cris Leal for sharing this story below...

Those of us who think the world needs saving -- from environmental destruction, rapacious greed, decaying morals, drugs, crime, racism, whatever -- keep very busy crusading for our favorite remedies. School vouchers. Carbon taxes. Campaign reform. The Endangered Species Act. A lower capital gains tax. Strong regulation. No regulation.You know. That long list of mutually inconsistent Holy Grails with which we like to hit each other over the head.

There's one solution to the world's problems, however, that I never hear the frenzied activists suggest. Slowing down. Yes, that's what I said. Slowing down. Slowing down could be the single most effective solution to the particular save-the-world struggle I immerse myself in -- the struggle for sustainability, for living harmoniously and well within the limits and laws of the earth.

Suppose we weren't in such a hurry. We could take time to walk instead of drive, to sail instead of fly. To clean up our messes. To discuss our plans throughout the whole community before we send in bulldozers to make irreversible changes. To figure out how many fish the ocean can produce before boats race out to beat other boats to whatever fish are left. Suppose we went at a slow enough pace not only to smell the flowers, but to feel our bodies, play with children, look openly, without agenda or timetable into the faces of loved ones. Suppose we stopped gulping fast food and started savoring slow food, grown, cooked, served, and eaten with care. Suppose we took time each day to sit in silence. I think, if we did those things, the world wouldn't need much saving. We could cut our energy and material use drastically, because we would get the full good out of what we use.We wouldn't have to buy so many things to save time. (Have you ever wondered, with all our time-saving paraphernalia, what happens to the time we save?)

We wouldn't make so many mistakes. We could listen more and hurt each other less. Maybe we could even take time to reason through our favorite solutions, test them, and learn what their actual effects are. Said Thomas Merton, who spent his time in a Trappist monastery: "There is a pervasive form of contemporary violence to which the idealist most easily succumbs: activism and over-work. To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many people, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to violence. The frenzy of the activist neutralizes his work for peace. It destroys the fruitfulness of his own work, because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful."

A friend in India tells me that the onslaught of Western advertising in his country is a cultural blow, not so much because of the messages of the ads, but because of their pace. The stun-the-senses barrage of all TV programming, especially ads, is antithetical to a thousands-year-old tradition of contemplation. I can imagine that. I have been driven crazy by the somnolent pace at which things get done in India. Don't these people know that time is money? What they know, actually, is that time is life, and to go zooming through it is to miss living.

Psychologist Arno Gruen says our busyness is addictive: "In order to be able to feel alive, we ... need more and more external excitation. The stimuli themselves force us into an addictive mode. Since we think that all we require is more of them in order to fill up the emptiness, our need will grow for what actually increases the void. There are numerous stimuli of this sort: loud music, large cars, glittering colors, gleaming machines. What we finally seek for our feeling of aliveness is simply the speed with which a change in stimuli takes place. The form or content of the stimulus will have scarcely any significance. In fact empty forms will be preferred, since those with content and meaning slow down the tempo of change. To find meaning in an experience requires, after all, an act of mental organization, and that takes time."

Slow. Down. Do that first. Then, quietly, carefully, think about what else might need to be done. The only problem with this cure is that I can't prescribe it forothers, because I have such trouble following it myself. It's so easy to get swept up in the hurtling pace of the world. Like most of the other world-savers I know, I'm way too busy to eat well, sit quietly, take a vacation, or even, some days, think.

Edward Abbey, the great curmudgeon of environmentalism, knew better: "It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it's still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for awhile and contemplate the precious stillness, that lovely, mysterious and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much: I promise you this one sweet victory over those desk-bound people with their hearts in a safe deposit box and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this: You will outlive the bastards."

Good advice. Too bad I don't have time to take it. I have to go save the world.

(Donella H. Meadows was an adjunct professor of environmental studies at Dartmouth College.)

musical goosebumps

on sunday luccas and i saw miss saigon (for his christmas present). we were VIPs, which just meant that we got to sit up close (which was handy since i forgot my glasses). no free champers or popcorn unfortunately.

for those who havent seen it, miss saigon is about a dramatic love story between a US soldier and a vietnamese woman during the vietnam war. of course any time everything is sung there is a sense of over-dramatization, but there were some great performances and awesome production work. i loved that feeling of the musical goosebumps that i got in those symphonic moments between the singers and the live orchestra!!! =)

oz day 2008 in são paulo

25th january was a public holiday in são paulo - celebrating the 454th anniversary of the city, but on 26th january an international group gathered in parque do aclimação to celebrate australia day!

there were vegemite sandwiches, fairy bread, lamingtons, pavlova, caramello koalas, crunchies, vegemite and cheese crackers, sarsparella and ginger beer cordial and the much coveted tim tams!!

whilst listening to aussie tunes we ate and drunk and were merry, and a few brave souls completed the aussie obstacle course (shot of sarsparella cordial concentrate, dress yourself with a c0rk hat and aussie apron, eat a dry weet-bix with peanut butter, wash it down with a shot of ginger beer cordial, thrown a frisbee through a hole and be the first to grab skippy the inflatable kangaroo!)

much fun was had by all - thank to my fellow aussie day oc members, karl and ruth. cheers mates!!

wedding #1 of 2008: ivo and emily (brazilian & canadian)

ivo is one of luccas' cousins and last weekend he married emily, a canadian. this was my first brazilian wedding and first time to meet heaps of luccas' relatives. his grandpa had 14 brothers and sisters, so he has 100 first cousins - so there are a lot of rellies to meet! and it was lovely to start the process =) in the photos you can see my hair-do, me with luccas' immediate family, luccas and i and luccas' mum and his grandma. the church was really sweet, and was different to see that all of the "god parents" had to stand up on the altar for the whole ceremony - dont get any ideas for your bridesmaids, kyles! was great that around 20 of emily's friends and family came from canada to brazil for the wedding. at first i think her parents were a bit shocked by all the hugs and kisses they were receiving from complete strangers, but it seemed that they soon warmed to the brazilian warmth and did a great dance routine that wowed the crowd. luccas and i even managed to practice a few dance moves from our first dance class ;)

grad party gatecrashers

well finally, 11 years after i started uni, i went to a graduation party! =) on saturday i went with luccas to the graduation party of some of his friends from international relations. conveniently the impressive party was held at a shopping centre which is very close to my house. yep, that is right, a shopping centre. brasilians, well at least paulistanas, LOVE shopping malls. they make a hobby out of it, and so shopping malls here not only have heaps of shops, but also art exhibitions, theatres and graduation parties! the party was very cool - live band and open bar with beer, caipirinhas and cocktails (need i say more!). so now i have officially graduated, since we did the "graduation waltz" which is a tradition here at the graduation parties.

last 3 months of 2007: quick sticks retrospective

happy new year! well i didnt make any formal new year resolutions but one thing i want to do more in 2008 is to share more of what is happening here and keep in touch more with friends and family. i also realised that in 2007 i spent too much time thinking about doing stuff and not enough time DOING stuff - so my blog that i have neglected for 3 months seems like a good place to start!

actually heaps of wonderful things happened in the last three months of last year (not including the bacterial stomach infection - also known as My Month on the Loo)!

community, children, culture, connections and criation in Chapadas Diamantina

in september i spent a week in this breathtakingly beautiful area about 6 hours drive east from salvador in the north-east of brazil, where there is a much stronger african influence . the trip was organized by a wonderful NGO called Projeto Bagagem that aims to develop networks of economic solidarity through community-based tourism that benefits the local population. with our small group we got to know the great work of a local NGO in lençóis, called Grãos de Luz e Griô, that offers development opportunities to local young people, that in turn connected us to local songs, dances, traditions and beliefs, elders (including a traditional mid-wife, ex-diamond miner, accordion player, community leader, candomblé priest) and children. most of the time we stayed in the houses of the local people and they shared with us their food, ways of life and happy spirits.

this is a photo of me at the famous Pai Inácio in the national park of chapadas diamantina and our great group of community-based travellers.

here you can see photos from the NGO, Grãos de Luz e Griô

here you can see photos from the community of Remanso - the flour mill and florest
here you can see photos from our canoe trip in Remanso
here you can see photos from capivara where we stayed at a house of Jaré (african religion)here you can see more photos from our wonderful time in Remanso
here you can see photos from lençóis
here you can see photos of the spectacular chapadas diamantina national park at sunset

meeting a wonderful guy - Luccas =)

didnt really feel like going out that saturday night in late september, but now i am happy that triinu convinced me to go with her to the bar, bom motivo (good reason), cos that is where i met luccas - the sweetest, kindest, spunkiest boyfriend ever!! we have only been together for a few months but judging by the number of our great moments together it feels like we have known each other for a lot longer! whether we are having dinner on the 41st floor of the edifício italia or japanese take away at home, drinking mojitos or coffee, accidentally discovering great french movies or watching classic aussie dvds, going to bars as ourselves or as barbara weiss and rubens nighogossian, sunbaking in the rain at the beach or touring an eco-village in the rain, volunteering cleaning computers at the bank or buying christmas presents for kids we never met - we always have a wonderful time. initially we started chatting because he lived 7 months in australia a couple of years ago, but we are discovering so many more things in common. looking forward to many more wonderful moments together =)

finishing my biopsychology course
through out the year i did an amazing course at the serenely beautiful Visão Futuro eco-park, about 2 hours out of São Paulo. in november i did the final, 8th module of the course, which focuses on a holistic approach to physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health. the course creates a bridge between the eastern approach of chakras and the modern western medicine and uses art, theatre, music and dance to engage you in a truly creative and inspiring way. i learnt a lot about myself through out the year at the park which helped to give me strength and daily practices that i had been looking for, like meditation, yoga and mantras. in our final module we went on the search for the holy grail and completed challenges to experience the determination, surrender and balance that we need on the next steps in our journey.

fiona and ernie's wedding in argentina
buenos aires may seem like an unlikely location for an aussie reunion but that is where i got to meet up with a bunch of old aussie and international friends at ernie and fiona's wedding. as my sister said when she saw a video of the wedding "wow! people are having so much fun it looks like argentina won the world cup or something!". even though unfortunately i was not able to sample any of the great argentinian wine or the daquiris it was an awesome party - and i think the crazy hats that appeared around 4am had a large role in that. highly recommend them for any wedding reception. thanks fi and ernie for a great experience in such a cool city.

triinu's birthday
there was much vodka drunk and good times had at triinu's birthday celebration. was great to celebrate the birthday of my wonderful estonian house mate. am very happy that she wowed them at natura and will be in brazil for another two years =)

xmas party in são paulo

since i spent christmas and new years in australia i threw a little party at our place to celebrate the festive season with my friends in são paulo. lots of wine was drunk, cheese was eaten and funny photos taken with this silly santa hat =)

pioneers of change and art of hosting
i have really enjoyed being involved in during the second half of 2007 with the pioneers of change network here in são paulo and helping to organise and host an Art of Hosting Meaningful and Strategic Conversations. through both of these groups i have been able to reconnect with other people who have similar visions and values and practice my hosting and facilitation which i really enjoying doing and am trying to do more of at my paid work also. it was such a great opportunity to be a part of the hosting team for the art of hosting, especially in these challenging times when something the world needs more and more of is meaningful conversation. thanks to thomas, valentine, tamara, christel and toke for all your support and encouragement. I AM TREE. I AM ME =)

christmas and new years in australia
despite an unscheduled hospital stay due to a kidney infection, i had an amazing time in australia over christmas and new years. unfortunately i had to miss out on the "andrew almost got married wine tour" in adelaide due to my hospitalization, but i managed to catch up with a lot of old friends (and lots of new babies!!) and for the first time in nearly 6 years, the Fitzgerald Family was all together!! my brother, sean, came up from melbourne with his girlfriend, michele, and we all spent countless hours together talking, drinking, eating, laughing, discussing and eating and drinking some more. (my sister also announced her upcoming wedding so i also spent several hours trying on bridesmaid dresses, but i think we found THE one. very exciting ;) it was awesome to see everyone with their partners, so grown up!! it was also interesting to see a much higher general environmental consciousness in australia than i previously remember. despite the constant rain during my whole trip (including our camping at the woodford music festival - so proud of leah surviving her first ever camping trip in the mud and rain) there are pretty strict water restrictions in place. but i took it as a fun challenge to beat the 4 minute timer that is in my parents' shower (btw i managed to wash my hair, shave my legs and wash myself in less than 4 minutes!!). was great to see my grandpa again after a long time, who managed to leave his rural property despite the current floods. was also nice to hang out with my country cuz, nichole, who also spent new years eve with us. i even learnt some new aussie slangs during the trip - will have to do some hard core training with luccas before he goes there for the wedding in october!!!

all in all 2007 was a great year, filled with lots of blessings and much to be grateful for. and now i am back in são paulo. ready for a fabulous 2008 which i will try to share!!! wishing you all peace, love and health.