Margo and I had a stellar weekend before last at the inaugral "Gimps on Ice" climbing festival in Ouray, Colorado. For those thinking "ice climbing- I don't have the ---/ --- to go ice climbing", think again... http://www.climbing.com/community/events/gimpsonicerecap08/index.html
A guy called Michael Rupert turned me on to this very simple yet very powerful train on thought that I now apply to any situation I don't understand or need to understand more fully. "Show me how the money works. Who's making it; where it's going". I bring this up now; inspired by a video I want to share with you in this post. It reminded me of the times I've fought; for my independence and mobility; for the forests of Tasmania; against bureaucracy trying to treat me as a number. In all of these instances, the motivating factor was never money; far from it. I see a time coming, sooner rather than later, when some among us are going to choose to fight; indeed, many have already begun. I'm not talking about a war in another country; Rupert’s "show me how the money works" puts that in it's rightful place. No, I'm talking right here on this continent. When it begins; when the images begin to fill television screens across the nation, as indeed they always do when people protest against the IMF or the G8; stop and ask yourself; "how does the money work in this?" Do these people have anything to gain by protesting, and if not, what is driving them? Please don’t fall into the trap of thinking it's because they have nothing better to do. I had plenty better to do in my days as a front line activist; but once I'd seen the devastation being wrought on one of the world’s pristine wild places I simply could not turn away. I chose to fight. For something I believed in. For money; not likely. I had to give up well paying work to do so.
With all this being said, I have to precede this video with a disclaimer. Don't for a minute think that I'm interested in influencing how you vote. Or even suggesting that you vote. Those of you who've been reading these posts for a while will know my beliefs lie in their being much more power in how you spend each dollar, effectively voting with your wallet, than who you choose to elect as your leader.
No, the reason I'm sharing this video with you is because the message that will.i.am wants you to get is that the power to change is in your hands, nobody else’s. That this world we live in right now might be working fine for you; I know its working fine for me; but it's not working for everybody. It's not working for the families being caught in our "friendly fire" in Afghanistan and Iraq; it's not working for our soldiers coming home blown to bits if not in a box; it's not working for the children being born with AIDS throughout Africa; it's not working for the children working in sweatshops to make our cheap stuff; it's not working for those who've just defaulted on their mortgages (did you know the banks had been on selling our mortgages?); and it's not working for any of us who've lost or had a family member diagnosed with cancer.
We can change. It won't be easy; we're going to have to give up some stuff. But it’s not working; and if you think that’s ok because its working for you; think again. We're all connected. If you think that sounds airy fairy; think again. It's the biggest thing I've learnt, and if anything, my life has been all about learning. Trust me on this. We have to change, and we can. You can.
To view in higher res and read will.i.am's story about this song, go to: www.dipdive.com
Wow, this sustainability thing is really starting to get legs… (sorry, couldn’t resist thatJ). Everywhere I turn people are talking up green, which is great, but I have to admit to being a bit skeptical. If you’re doing it with integrity; great. If you’re doing it to jump on a bandwagon; forget. Myself and others will out you; we’ll make sure word gets out at your effort to deceive us. I’ve just read The Omnivore Dilemma by Michael Pollan, and have to say, I thought I was pretty switched on when it comes to food, but this book really opened my eyes to the lengths we’ll go to screw each other. Its time we educate ourselves to what is really going on; it’s a major step towards creating our own reality, and as such, putting us on a path to a sustainable future.
Wow, George Stroumboulopoulos is a popular guy! I've had lots of requests from other programs since being on Geroge's show; the next one coming up this Frdiay (Jan 25th).
I'll be talking to Sarah, Rich & Cam on the Drive This! program which airs on the Hardcore Sports Radio Channel 186 on Sirius Satellite Radio, going LIVE across North America on Friday at 5pm (ET). The show airs again Saturday morning at 7am (ET), and is then available via podcast at: http://www.hardcoresportsradio.com/podcast/
Is s strange merging of the medias, the show is also broadcast live on The Scopre television Network, Friday only at 5pm ET.
Enjoy!
Warren
For the Cannucks out there, I wanted to give you a heads up that I have just come from the CBC recording studio in Toronto doing a pre-record for "The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos". The show goes to air Monday night, January 10th 2008 at 11pm in all time zones. In case you miss it, you can check it out online at: http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/video.php?id=1883
I really enjoyed chatting with George. I like his style. Not overly dramatic. Not vapid like some of the presenters you come across; but engaging. Which was nice, because what I hoped to get across (let me now if I succeeded) is the richness life brings when we get real, when we fully engage. For me that connection has always come from the outdoors, and is still a work in progess really for everyday life inside the bubble we've built around us.
Anyway, you be the judge; let me know what you think.
For everyone who has asked, I'm happy to announce that the photo's from our recent 20 day Antarctica Unlimited trip are now up on Flickr at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/warrenmacdonald/
The trip was a huge succees with six clients (plus my Mum and Dad) joining Margo and I down south onboard a ship actually built to be down there; as opposed to the one that sank (thanks for all your emails checking in on us) which wasn't. We'll be anouncing details of a ten day trip to be run 2008/9 on: http://www.warren-macdonald.com/antarctica.html
We'd love to have you join us!
Flicking through a trashy gossip magazine this morning (don’t ask; no; I didn’t buy it) brought me to a story about Mother Theresa. Apparently, and this all comes to light in a new book about her, based primarily on letters she sent to fellow ministers and confidents. Apparently, or so the book says, she’d spent the last 50 years of her life with “an absence of god in my heart”.
Seeing as many of the most well know pictures of Mother Theresa capture her in serene prayer, this seems a startling revelation; a contradiction even. What really leapt out of the page at me though, while taking in an almost full page spread of her kneeling in prayer in a room empty but for a statue of Christ on the opposite wall, was that the fact that Mother Theresa prayed often hardly defines what she did in life. Her prayers, any of our prayers for that matter, mean jack if we don’t follow through with action. “Her prayers, her communion with God, gave her guidance” you might say. That’s great, but if we spend all of our time “being, or looking for guidance”, what do we actually get done?
Mother Theresa should be remembered for the same reason all true heroes and heroines should be remembered; she took action. More importantly, she took action; she pursued what she knew in heart was the right thing to do, when she didn’t really have to. She could have just stayed at home in Macedonia, praying long distance for the poor, sick and dying of Calcutta…
Margo and I have spent the past year looking for a place to live. To say its been a happy experience is a little inaccurate. Both of us have spent out entire lives seeking out and spending time in wild places; places where solitude and sense of space give us room to be at one with our place on the planet; our sense of self and how we fit into the world by immersing ourselves in its natural beauty. We figured the little towns and villages in the mountains, dotted along rugged coastlines and tucked away in hidden valleys would always provide refuge for those like us who’d opted to not play the game; who’d dropped out in effect through disillusionment at where our unsustainable way of life was taking us. Boy, talk about being asleep at the wheel! Recreational property, and all it brings with it, has quite literally bitten us on the ass. Prices in some of the small mountain towns have now pushed past prices for similar properties in the city. “So what”, I hear you say; “you’re just bummed because now you have to pay more.” Maybe, maybe not. What I’m bummed about is that our marauding consumer culture is now bursting out of the cities and suburbs and into the wild places I love. Places I choose to visit because I have to do on their own terms. The terms they dictate to me shape who I am. They enable me to adapt; to be creative, to live fully in the moment. Exposing yourself to those conditions is part of the deal, an accepted part of the experience. Our mountain towns are now being populated by people who want to look at the mountains, but not experience them. By people who want to live in a cute little mountain town; with a Wal-Mart and Starbucks just like they had back home. But of course they don’t want to live there full time; no that would do. You can see where this is going, and you know, I don’t want to take you on a huge rant, but let me share this with you:
Two weeks ago I spoke at a meeting for SYTA (Student Youth Travel Association) up at Whistler (2 hours north of Vancouver BC). My job was to impart the importance of travel for young people in developing tolerance and understanding of other cultures, and the enormous personal benefits of expanding our own perception of life on earth. Whilst there, something I hadn’t noticed before really, really jumped out at me. Sitting outside with my coffee, a couple in their mid fifties wheel mountain bikes past me. Not just ordinary mountain bikes though; full on downhill mountain bikes, and they are decked out with all the accompanying body armor to go with them. Problem was, it was obvious from the shape these guys were in; they weren’t even really cyclists let alone downhill mountain bikers. They’d bought into the marketing hype that says when you go to Whistler, you get to be “extreme”. I’m telling you, over the course of 3o minutes I saw at least six people either on crutches, limping, or carrying some other form of injury that had obviously occurred because they thought they were “extreme”. They’d bought into the hype; been sold on this idea that we can all buy into any lifestyle we want. We can have it all. Yeah, we can, and we can’t. I speak a lot these days on creating our own reality. I speak about the power of purpose and intent and how we can manifest incredible change in our lives. What I’ve never said is that it happens overnight, or with zero effort. To those of you I saw hobbling around whistler the other weekend, I hate to break it to you, but you are not “extreme”, I don’t care what you’ve done in the past, if you’re spending most of the time on your butt driving a desk these days, you cant expect to just go out there and start shredding up the mountain on a bike, or skis, or anything else for that matter. It takes preparation. It takes practice. It takes time. You might be able to buy the gear, and look the part, but we wee through it. You might be able to afford that big house on the ski hill, but were not buying it. The lifestyle you’re trying to buy; the one we’ve been living for the past three decades is not for sale. The gear might be; the property definitely is, but the people who created what you were so attracted to; the people who lived and breathed the mountains; they’ve moved on. They had to, because when you brought into their town what you need to survive there, you destroyed the very essence of why they went there, and why you admired them for it. Its wildness.
Don’t get me wrong; I’ve waited fifteen for us to reach the point we’re at now, all the time wondering whether we’d ever get here. “Here” is the fact we now have Wholefoods (and many others); an entire supermarket filled with organic this, vegan that, biodynamic whatyamacallit. Fifteen years ago, if you wanted to eat organic you were shopping in whole-foods stores that catered strictly to hippies, anarchists and allergy sufferers. Watching the transition has been at times incredibly frustrating, and incredibly moving. I’m not kidding you; I still remember the goosebumps and tidal wave of emotion that swept over me the first time I walked (or wheeled rather) in a Wholefoods supermarket. It had seemed a pipe dream, a nice idea way back then, but here all of a sudden it had become a reality. Let me tell you why.
We, those of us who chose to eat organic, despite the high prices, despite the looks shot to us by pimply faced checkout kids or café till jockeys that screamed “not another organic yuppie”; we created this current reality together with farmers whose principles and products we believed in. with business owners who had the guts to give shelf space to products the mass population had no interest in. With people who actually cared about us and what we ate, and the effect that producing the food had on the planet. The entire organic movement springs from a common understanding that, despite what they tell us, it doesn’t make sense to put food into our bodies that has been produced by utilizing massive amounts of chemicals. By utilizing farming practices we know are doing untold damage to our farmland. We knew in our guts it wasn’t right, and were prepared to pay more to have our food produced by people who knew there had to be a better way.
Fast forward now to September 2007. I made a prediction four years ago that within ten years we’d wee an organic McDonalds burger. Six months ago I switched my prediction to within two years. We are now so close I can almost smell it. Two days ago the “O” word appeared, for the first time in my experience, on the huge highway sign usually reserved to promote the 99c burger out the front of a generic junk food “restaurant” ( I use the term loosely). I say generic, because I wish for the life of me I could remember which one it was; it wasn’t McDonalds, but could have been Dairy Queen or A&W. It really doesn’t matter who it was, but they wanted us to know about their organic iced mocha. I know some of you are thinking “great, it’s about time McDonalds went organic”. Someone else might be thinking “don’t yuppify my McDonalds, please…” that’s fine, but please keep this in mind. McDonalds, or DQ, or A&W don’t give a flying *#@! about you or your health. They don’t give a flying *#@! about the planet. The only reason they pimping their iced mocha is because they want in on the organic gold rush that’s about to happen. I’m confident now we’ll see the organic McDonalds burger within twelve months. Before the end of 2008 we’ll have organic coke, and hell, by the decades end we might even see organic Benson and Hedges. But please remember this. That’s great that these companies have finally gone organic, but their not doing it for you or me or the state of the world. Their not doing it because it’s the right thing to do. The companies that are have been doing so for some time now, and they are the ones who deserve your support. They care; let’s show that we do to by supporting them rather than the veritable avalanche of bandwagon jumpers that are heading our way.
Here are some long time organic producers that deserve our support:
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