From ego-system to eco-system

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"Our society must move from ego-system to eco-system economics...to eco-system awareness that considers others and includes the whole." - Otto Scharmer

A notebook about how we work, learn, love and live.

Otto Scharmer has said that “the ability to shift from reacting against the past to leaning into and presencing an emerging future is probably the single most important leadership capacity today.”

This week we heaved a collective sigh of relief when Kamala Harris stepped up and reminded us that the future just might include different and very exciting ways of looking at the world. We don't have to succumb to the last gasps of a collapsing worldview that is set in the past. We have the agency and the smarts to sense and actualize, again quoting Scharmer, "the future that wants to emerge.”

What a difference a day makes.

Happy Friday.

Learning, Emergence
A vast majority of people worldwide are personally willing to sacrifice part of their income for the common good. Yet those same people also assume that others would not.

Otto Scharmer is Senior lecturer in the area of Organization Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is also the founder and director of the Presencing Institute and developer of the Theory U and the 4 levels of listening theory. Image via toolsheros.com

I was first introduced to Otto Scharmer's Theory U by my friends, colleagues and clients at Reos Partners. It was mind and heart opening to see a clear process for allowing new possibilities and futures to surface that were previously unimagined.

This week my friend Nedra Chandler pointed me to this interview that Scharmer did with Tami Simon on her Insights at the Edge podcast. The whole thing is worth listening to, and/or reading, but one thing stood out for me: he points to a recent UN report, the biggest ever standalone public opinion survey on climate change ever conducted. He cites an astonishing number, 69.

"69% of humanity today...is willing to sacrifice part of their income to address global challenges like climate change. 69%. But many of these people believe, wrongly believe, that they’re in the minority in their own communities, in their own countries.

"69%, that’s more than five billions of us. That is the biggest movement this world, this planet, has ever seen, that is not even aware of itself because it cannot see itself, because most people in this movement believe they’re in a minority."

He observes that hyper-polarization, a belief that others don't care about the future, is fed by a trillion-dollar social media industry. He posits that "how to turn these 69% into a multi-local, and multi-regional, and cross-sectoral movement, that is working towards actively bridging the ecological, the social, and the spiritual divide is one of the most timely, interesting, and also challenging opportunities of our time."

Podcast: What Future Is Wanting To Emerge Through You?

Transcription: What Future Is Wanting To Emerge Through You?

Civics, Libraries
Nothing threatens authoritarianism like a quiet place to explore knowledge.

Image by sekihan via CC

"If psychological warfare planted the seeds for the culture war, the key to ending it might lie in that history, too. In 1948, when an Army psychological operations expert produced a guide to psychological war, it included instructions on how to achieve postwar psychological disarmament. “The free circulation of books” was key.

"In the culture war, libraries with free access to a full range of books can light the way toward psychological peace. They provide us with a mental model for a public sphere in which Americans debate each other as equals to reach a resolution or compromise." - Annalee Newitz

Article: Libraries Can Help End the Culture Wars. That’s Why They’re Under Fire.

(Thanks to my friend and collaborator in supporting our local library, Jeanne Canteen, for the reference.)

Civics, Democracy
To America's founders personal self-government was a prerequisite of political self-government.

In a nation that held certain truths to be self-evident, according to George Washington “there is no truth more thoroughly established, than that there exists in the economy and course of nature, an indissoluble union between virtue and happiness.” Illustration: Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States, Howard Chandler

"In his remarkable book The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America, Jeffrey Rosen has documented the Founders’ deep understanding of virtue as an essential antecedent to human happiness."

"Rosen, the dynamic president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, devoted recent years to the study of the books the Founders read. He delved into classical works of moral philosophy from Greece, Rome, the ancient Eastern writers, the Renaissance, and the Scottish Enlightenment. It was from these works that he discovered the rich literature of virtue-based happiness that runs throughout the history of the world and that so profoundly shaped the minds of the Founders and other leading Americans over the past 250 years."

"Rosen is careful to note the ethical failures and blind spots of the Founders he profiles, especially of those who professed to stand for equality and liberty even as they enslaved fellow human beings. The Pursuit of Happiness is a catalog of people who aspired to virtue and happiness as they understood it but who sometimes lived and led in utterly contradictory ways."

"Rosen contends that we have lost touch with a classical understanding of happiness, in part because of a shift of cultural emphasis from “being good to feeling good.” Fortunately, social and behavioral psychologists have recently recovered old insights on human flourishing, though with newer vocabulary like impulse control and emotional intelligence. If this bodes well for a renewed awareness of the linkage between virtue and happiness, Rosen’s book calls us back to explore the older sources of understanding about that 'indissoluble union.'” - Hans Zeiger

Book Review: “An Indissoluble Union Between Virtue and Happiness”: A Review of The Pursuit of Happiness

Civics, Social Messaging
What happens after Election Day 2024?

"These are tough, hard times, not just here in the United States, as reactionary forces are on the rise around the world. It can be easy to lose hope, as fundamental linchpins of society are undermined by those who exploit our fears for profit and power. We know we cannot pin our hopes on one election, one person, one victory. What we can do is dig in for the struggle ahead, and Art Works provides the reminder of our rich history of art and activism, the inspiration of past struggles, and the tools for what lies in our future." - Chris Garlock

Book Review: Art Works: How Organizers and Artists Are Creating a Better World Together

"When artists and organizers combine forces, new forms of political mobilization follow—which shape lasting social change. And yet few people appreciate how much deliberate strategy often propels this vital social change work. Behind the scenes, artists, organizers, political activists, and philanthropists have worked together to hone powerful strategies for achieving the world we want and the world we need.

"In Art Works, noted movement leader Ken Grossinger chronicles these efforts for the first time, distilling lessons and insights from grassroots leaders and luminaries such as Ai Weiwei, Courtland Cox, Jackson Browne, Shepard Fairey, Jane Fonda, Elizabeth Alexander, Bill McKibben, JR, Jose Antonio Vargas, and more."

Publisher's Web Page: An Inside Look at the Organizers and Artists on the Front Lines of Political Mobilization and Social Change

Habitat, Public Spaces
A Multifunctional building for the Doig River People is one of the northern-most passive house–certified buildings in Canada.

The Doig River Cultural Centre is a 6,000-square-foot gathering place in Rose Prairie, British Columbia. It is one of the northern most Phius-certified Passive House projects and the first certified First Nations community building in the country, providing highly impactful community services within an eco-friendly structure.

Iredale Architecture’s Peter Hildebrand says that while developer clients primarily focus on a building’s performance, “indigenous clients are looking for a coherent vision, a narrative and response to their culture.”

"Passive House–certified buildings use anywhere from 40 to 90 percent less energy than conventionally built structures. To achieve Phius certification, the center was put together like a puzzle with fully recyclable cladding crafted from post-industrial polymers, a metal seamed roof, large, high-performance windows, solar power, and three-foot thick walls. The center’s air-tight envelope, which even impressed the team’s engineers with its performance upon testing, provides a comfortable interior and minimizes heat loss. Inside, wood slats with acoustical paneling warm up the sanctuary, which includes an awe-inspiring 45-foot ceiling, theater lighting, and baseboard heaters." - Lauren Jones

Article: This First Nations Cultural Center Is a Symbol of Community and Sustainability

Communication, Social Messaging
United We Vote puts political material in the hands of the people by creating posters that are free to download and edit as you please.

"Last June, the European elections took place. The vote sees residents of the 27 countries who are part of the EU have their say on who will represent them in the European parliament. But, as votes go, it’s not one with a particularly high turnout. This fact is one that concerned the photographer Clara Nebeling, especially with how much politics has changed across Europe in the last five years, and the worrying rise of the far right. And so, Clara collaborated with other photographers – 27 across the 27 countries in the EU, to be exact – to create a series of free-to-download posters pushing people to organise, and get their slips into the ballot box.

"United We Vote is a continuation of a similar project Clara initiated for the last European elections in 2019. She was compelled to start something after learning of how low youth turnout was in the elections, and she put this in part down to how much imagery in the political sphere was directed at older demographics. Alongside some of her creative colleagues, Clara created a campaign that aimed to get young people hanging up posters in their local community. This time round, while working with a similar model, Clara wanted the project to target everyone, trying to create force in numbers against extreme views." - Olivia Hingley

Article: 27 Countries, 27 Photographers: This Poster Project Aims To Get More People Voting In The Eu Elections.

Communications, Visual Identity
"This year, logos are getting boxed, chopped, dropped, liquified, and sticker-ified in the name of experimentation."

Each year LogoLounge tries to sweep new logo designs into boxes in order to name the trends that they represent. Each year the exercise becomes more and more challenging. There are so many new logos introduced into so many different markets for so many diverse audiences that one would be more successful trying to sweep back the tides.

Because of this reality the Lounge's effort is increasingly valuable. It is interesting to note that more than one new logo adopted Japan’s cuteness culture, “Kawaii,” to take on human characteristics. And I never would have noticed how many new marks rely on some interpretation of the smiley. Inspiring? Perhaps. Fun? Definitely.

Article: 2024 Logo Trend Report

One-liners

Article: A new global report finds that the world’s emotional status is actually pretty good.

Article: Sweden has launched a new law that allows grandparents to get paid parental leave while taking care of their grandchildren.

Article: Public advocacy helps musicians’ fame and fortune, new study finds

Article: A grassroots network of TikTok creators, energized by the new likely Democratic nominee, are using their skill at playful video collages to build Harris a viral political powerhouse from scratch.

Article: Washable kraft paper, which can be easily recycled, reused, and decomposed, is proving to be an effective alternative to leather and plastic.

Article: Percentage of U.S. HR officers who strongly believe that their performance-management system leads to improvement: 2

Playlist

Video: Alice Coltrane - Turiya And Ramakrishna

"Ptah, the El Daoud is the third solo album by American jazz pianist and harpist Alice Coltrane, released on Impulse! Records in September 1970. The album was recorded in the basement of her home in Dix Hills, New York, in a session on January 26, 1970.

"...All of the compositions were written by Coltrane. The title track is named the Egyptian god Ptah, 'El Daoud' meaning 'the beloved' in Arabic. Turiya was defined by Coltrane as 'a state of consciousness — the high state of Nirvana, the goal of human life', while Ramakrishna was a 19th-century Bengali Hindu mystic; the name also denotes a movement founded by his disciples." - Wikipedia

Turiya And Ramakrishna is the second track on the album. In 2011 Rosa Felix wrote: "A few years ago I listened to this wonderful music on the car's radio. When I got home I went to search about this music on the internet and found out there was almost nothing and no video on Youtube. I then decided to make this video and share it." It is lovely.

Weekly Mixtape
When angels groove.

Playlist: A Love Supreme

Image of the Week

marka_27, “Ni de aquí, ni de allá“. 84in X 36in Acrylic, Textile, Oil, mixed medium on wood panel.

"One of the few pieces I created during my time @assets4artists. This painting is dedicated to asylum seekers and indigenous peoples that came to this country for a better life. A country that has taken land from Native peoples. California, Nevada, Utah, Texas, New Mexico, most of Arizona and Colorado, and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming were once Mexico. The complexities of immigration, egregious detention centers and privatized prisons with inhumane treatment of vulnerable women and children. I witnessed my father being arrested and deported. My mother struggled to support her children while our father found his way back to us. The father holding his daughter gently with a Oaxacan ancestor as his roots shows our strength, perseverance and ambition. We will do whatever it takes to see our children succeed and live a better life. The little girl sleeps safely with a tight grip on the American dream. The intersecting identities of American and Immigrant have defined many of us. We never forget our roots but are often told we don’t truly belong. It’s our secret weapon. The ability to authentically connect to multiple cultures and create from both."

Instagram Page: Ni de aquí, ni de allá

Facebook Page: Ni de aquí, ni de allá
This page features the whole un-cropped work, plus an additional cropping.

Website: marka27.com

What's Love & Work?

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