Can Capital Help Shape A Better Humanity?
I’ve noticed that ideas alone do not change anything substantial but alongside the experience of awareness they stand a chance
A Brand New Film
I imagine us to require an evolution in awareness. A conscious change in where we are caused to act from, and for whom we are caused to act for. I imagine that we now require a world that considers the well being of all. It is time.
Awareness, and such a world is the focus of my camera.
I work in many arenas in which the underlying predicament is similar. Without the deep experience of awareness we do not travel the significant distance required to translate a good idea into the demonstrable action that will transform the fabric of the world. Impact Investing is one such arena. It is the focus of this monochrome film. I believe it to be important in a wider sense in that it reveals something of the underlying challenge we face.
In many arenas I’ve noticed that ideas alone do not change anything substantial. However, alongside the experience of awareness they stand a chance.
This eight minute film was made in conjunction with Gratitude Railroad and is playing on nic askew dot com. There is a fuller introduction to the film there.
Click the play button.
note: unusually Gratitude Railroad’s name was in part inspired by a Soul Biography a decade ago (Amo La Vida with its focus on gratitude).
It Started On A Stage
The making of this film started on a stage at an Investment Conference. The (un)usual Inner View speaking experience delivered in film, portrait sequences, words read aloud and filming live on stage with large scale projection. All seeking to reach somewhere deep beyond the mind, the place we realize what may be possible for the collective.
These words read out loud became central. Originally written about the experience of bystanders in the face of school bullying, but are so obviously relevant to the reflective pattern of all bystanders and the dark consequence of their turning the other way.
Bystanders And The End Of The World
When good people
become aware
yet do nothing
for fear of
the trouble
it may cause,
the fabric of
this life
tears a
little further.
And this might
just cause
the end of
the World.
As I watched the video, I was reminded of something I read from a book written by Thich Nhat Hahn, a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk. (Disclaimer...I am not a Buddhist, I simply loved learning from him and have read many of his books.) I recall him describing the concept of 'right livelihood', which is basically, being mindful of one's choice of career and its impact on the environment and/or other people. If what one is choosing for an occupation harms the environment and/or humans, then it is not 'right livelihood'. Which, at the time, was a wonderful idea to consider! Many people are taught in school that profit is power, it's important. And may seek occupations based entirely on how much money they will earn. Some even take advantage of others in order to obtain that money.
Thich Nhat Hahn also gave suggestions for people who felt trapped in an occupation that was harming environment and/or humans because it was their only source of livelihood, and they had bills to pay and families to provide for. He suggested the person continue in their current occupation while planning to look for something else that did not harm others or the environment.
This film has that same feeling. Not everyone can just up and quit what they are currently doing, but with some awareness and simple exposure to these new ideas, a shift in consciousness can be experienced that has the power to help people make better choices, including where they are investing their resources.