An enticing new story

Continuing with the thoughts from the last post.  What is a new and enticing story for us to start telling that does not involve destroying the planet and as many species including each other as fast as we can...???

I have polled a few friends about this and also have just finished reading Ishmael by Daniel Quinn (more about this in my next post, it is brilliant) which dives into this subject.  Some of the answers from my friends I would like to share: we need to move towards a more service based economy, so as some friends have said we can continue to do more we just need to redefine what more is.  More art, yoga, music, games, home made food, time with family and friends and maybe less plane tickets around the world, burning of hydrocarbons to the tune of 90 million barrels per day and war...  to be extremely general and trivial.  Another friend suggests to help people become more aware with their emotional needs and that money does not fill this need.  The Beatles sang something about money and love I think...  Another friend shared this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cryjgChC2WE a Regina Spector song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSOzx5Ra4Fc&feature=related) people are just people, you'd think the world was ending right now, maybe you should just drink less coffee and never watch the 10oclock news...  :).  Super cute.  People are just people.  If you are looking for a little lift I recommend watching these!  Simple, poetic in an off key kind of way, and beautiful.  Finally another friend said it is very important that this new story excites people and is about a world that is amazing and that people could not envision living any other way...

When I think about sustainability and a new story to tell ourselves, maybe one where humans don't dominate over nature, one where humans live and respect natural rules and boundaries of the earth and ecosystems and consider supply and demand and all the other species when making decisions, one where ecosystem services are valued, when I think about this I get really overwhelmed, how do we move away from the ideas we have been born with and constantly told and tell new stories and what should these stories begin to look like...  

What stories are being told in our workplaces, on our televisions, in our news, in our schools, on the internet, and on the radio?  What are people talking about in the lunchroom, the change room at the YMCA, and other public places?  What dialogue are we having about these important issues and who is involved in it?  I have often wondered the feasibility of a "good news for a change (borrowed from Suzuki)" news channel from around the world that covers issues like: Pay it Forward, children at play, ducks being rescued from sewer grates, stories about first romances and not from celebrities, stories about grandparents, gardening, salsa'ing (both the dance and the act of harvesting tomatoes from your garden and preparing them into salsa with family and friends) and all the wonderful things that are happening every moment all around us, why is that stuff not news worthy, what impact would some "good news for a change" on the o'clock news have on the world??  I know in Saskatchewan if the Rough-riders win there is a distinct positive mood in the province, I know when the NHL missed a season their was a small baby boom (not because we need a baby boom, but love is certainly a good thing.)

I know I rambled, I usually do, more on Ishmael next post, read it, also as a minimum the song link is worth watching, :)

cd