COMMON GROUND CONSULTING LLC

Climate Change is Real (Rick Perry!)

As many of you know, I've been working with the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) for many years now. Today, my friend (and their president) George Hamilton, released an important letter about climate change. Please read his note and check out the video.

Dear Friends,

There has been much debate in the media lately about whether or not the extreme weather events we’ve been having are caused by climate change.

I say it doesn’t matter.

 

This year, record-breaking rainfall, drought,  and wildfires followed record-breaking floods, landslides, and tornadoes which followed record-breaking snowfall. All over the world.

The fact is 97% of publishing climate scientists agree that climate change is occurring and is caused primarily by human activities. And a changing climate will mean more frequent and more cataclysmic weather events for all of us.

So whether or not the overwhelming drought in Russia, the catastrophic tornadoes in Missouri, the intense wildfires in Texas, or the devastating floods in my home state of Vermont were each caused by climate change doesn’t really matter.

This is just a sample of what our future will look like if we don’t take action today.

Tomorrow, the Climate Reality Project is inviting people all over the world to share the reality of the climate crisis. People living with the impacts of climate change will tell their story through a presentation created by Al Gore and delivered once an hour for 24 hours, in every time zone around the globe. You can watch at 7pm in your time zone atwww.climaterealityproject.org.

I hope you’ll join me in telling the world that we know climate change is real – and that we can do something about it. We can reduce the impact by taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We can help communities adapt and become more resilient to climate impacts. We can think and act creatively to turn this challenge into an opportunityto build a better world for future generations.  Local action matters.

Let's go do it.

Warmly,

George Hamilton

President, the Institute for Sustainable Communities

Glimpse Correspondents Program

The Glimpse Correspondents Program is for talented writers and photographers with a passion for storytelling and a knack for finding truly unique stories. The program is open to anyone who will be working, volunteering, or studying outside of their home country for at least 10 weeks.

And it is super cool!

Glimpse believes that independent travelers, particularly those who spend significant time abroad, have a unique and often overlooked opportunity to effect positive change around the world. This begins with bearing witness to place, people, culture, and especially the stories and struggles that might otherwise go unrecorded.

Glimpse is a worldwide program powered by Matador and supported in part by the National Geographic Society. Glimpse connects young writers, journalists, photographers, and filmmakers with professional editors who help them develop their storytelling voice and media skills.

Correspondents receive the following benefits:

• $600 stipend
• Support from a team of professional editors
• Career training in writing and photography
• Guaranteed publication on Glimpse.org and Matador Network

To learn more about the Correspondents Program, check out the program requirements, frequently asked questions, and the program dates and deadlines .

Applications for the Fall 2011 Correspondents Program are now open! You can apply here for the program.

The Shift Movie

Many of you have have watched the trailer for The Shift Movie in one of my workshops or during a during a keynote speech I've given.

Derrick Ashong is one of the stars of that film. He and his band Soulfège are launching an inaugural contest event, the "Fight On" Campaign named for the final track or their album Take Back the Mic, a "song for all the people who FIGHT ON in a world that doesn't see them..."

They have partnered with The Huffington Post to host the contest.

All are invited to Submit Music Videos for "Fight On" to compete for a $4,500 prize. Video submission as well as user voting will take place online.

You can see the invitation video and the full contest rules on Huffington Post.

• The "Fight On" Campaign is an interactive music video competition that gives young people the opportunity to share their own voices.
• HuffPost readers have been invited to remix and re-imagine the music video to "Fight On".
• Entries will be evaluated by HuffPost readers -- voting closes February 20, 2011.
• The Top 5 videos will then be graded by celebrity guest judges, and the winner will receive $4,500! See the full contest rules here.

To learn more about entering the contest and voting: Cick Here!

"Daily Practices" and "Disruptive Thoughts"

Last week, I wrote about PhilosophersNotes, a great new resource an old friend told me that I would love. He was right!

The work was created by Brian Johnson, who calls himself a lover of wisdom (aka a “Philosopher”) and a passionate student of life. On his website, he explains that he is committed to inspiring and empowering millions of people to live their greatest lives as he studies, embodies and shares the universal truths of optimal living.

I don't know the guy (yet), but I think we have a lot in common.

In the first three months of 2010, Common Ground's social justice/positive change mission will have me working on the road 77 out of 90 days. I'll be in Bolivia and Afghanistan and half a dozen states in the U.S. One of the things that I have come to know about me, is that I need daily practices in my life in order to maintain my health and peace of mind. Here's how I define that

DAILY PRACTICE: A quick little thing that I can do every day to maintain the balance in my life.

A quick (20 minutes max) little thing (e.g., writing a thank you note or sweeping the sidewalk, not getting married or earning a degree) that I can do every day to maintain the balance (the relationship between my work and my life, who I am to other people and who I am inside, and who I want to be in relation to what I need to do) in my life.

I have to admit, I could have been better at this in 2009. So, without beating myself up too much, I'm gonna do better this year!

In addition to working even harder to strengthen and nurture my relationships with family and friends and live a healthier life, I am going to participate in the PhilosophersNotes Challenge (You can also click here to read what you're sent after you sign-up).

For me, the Challenge represents a daily practice that is all about slowing down, cultivating curiosity, learning something new, and practicing the balance that I know I need in order to grow in my passion and commitment to social justice.

For the skeptics out there, I understand that this particular daily practice is like reading the CliffsNotes versions of these great authors' brilliant works. The point (for me) is not finding a shortcut to the learning—it's about the ritual, the self-discovery, and cultivating my curiosity. It isn't replacing the other reading that i do at all. In fact, I'll bet I read more books this year than I have since college!

Everyday, I'll listen to the audio version of the PhilosophersNotes summary and I'll read the PDF. I'll also write a post for the blog, uploading them whenever I have internet access (in some of the places I'll be, this might not be possible everyday).

The posts I write will focus on the things that mess with my head a little bit or those things that cause me to react out loud with an A-Ha, Uh-Oh, or Oh-No! I'll specifically reflect on the ideas that disrupt what I think I know about myself, my community, or the world. Let's define these ideas this way:

DISRUPTIVE THOUGHT: An idea that causes you to have a visceral reaction and forces you to pause and consider what it means in the context of your life.

An idea that causes you (your mind, heart, body or spirit) to have a visceral reaction (something intuitive, instinctive, or emotional that manifests itself through a physical reaction—a gasp, a shudder or a laugh) and forces you to pause (an idea that jars you enough to stop what you're doing) and consider what it means in the context of your life (what does this mean for me, right now).

I like having these kind of moments. They remind me to live life on the edge of my comfort zone.

Cool? That's my plan. I'd love to hear what you think about all of this—especially how I'm defining and using the ideas of "Daily Practice" and "Disruptive Thoughts." I imagine these ideas will really be influencing the work I do with all of Common Ground's clients. Your help will be appreciated.

Inspiration: Invictus

I saw Invictus starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon over the holidays. It got me even more excited for this summer's FIFA World Cup.

Here's the inspring poem, Invictus (Latin for "unconquered"), from which the movie got its name:

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

- William Ernest Henley

Happy New Year!

I hope that 2010 fills your life with love, your heart with hope & our world with peace.

Happy New Year!

The SHIFT Movie

A Movie Being Made By A Movement

Hey Everyone, I love this project and it features several of my friends, including the amazing Lynne Twist (one of my mentors and a person I talk about in many of my workshops). Thanks to my buddy Jeff in Atlanta for reminding me to tell you all about it!

This movie is about a paradigm shift in how we live together in an ever-changing world. It is a way of believing and acting that honors our oneness.

Echoing Green Announces 2009 Fellows

I'm proud to have been a part of the selection process for this year's Echoing Green fellows. Check out their press release and the video below:

From Echoing Green: "This is our favorite day of the year -- the day we announce the newest class of Echoing Green Fellows. We simply can't wait to tell the world about the extraordinary work of these promising social entrepreneurs.

More than six months ago, we received almost 1,000 applications for the 2009 Echoing Green Fellowship. Five grueling stages later, with the assistance of more than 200 experts and supporters, we are ready to announce seventeen fellows who are launching fourteen social change organizations.  They will join Echoing Green's network of nearly 500 social entrepreneurs who are working to solve social, economic, and environmental problems throughout the world.

Meet Our Esteemed 2009 Echoing Green Fellows:

Our 2009 Echoing Green Fellows are ready to spark change around the world, in areas such as civil and human rights, education and youth leadership, health, and public service. See our complete list of 2009 Echoing Green Fellows to read more about these extraordinary changemakers!

We hope that after learning about the 2009 Echoing Green Fellows, you will help us in passing on the good word about their outstanding hopes and dreams."

[From Echoing Green Announces 2009 Fellows | Echoing Green]