SOS Asheville

This is one of my favorite lines from Rumi, the Persian/Sufi ecstatic poet who has become so popular of late. He often speaks in riddles, like so many wisdom figures—the riddle is meant to awaken us from our sleepwalking stupor into life. So, while the sentiment of this line seems pretty clear to me, I am really open to hearing other interpretations.
Mine is this: Life is not about what we do, but the beauty we are in the doing. It is so easy to get righteous, judgmental, indignant, or even angry when we give ourselves to a “cause” like sustainability. But, if we succumb to such states, then the beauty we are expressing in the NOW gets lost. So, too, if we are always working toward a “future” sustainability and beauty, rather than acknowelging that which already exists within and around us.
For some reason I feel compelled to add this: In all of the interviews, commentaries, and analyses I’ve heard in the last few weeks on the Lebanese/Islraeli war, this one has struck me the most: A Lebanese man, commenting on Hizballah, said (paraphrased): “What hurts me the most is that their hatred for Israel seems to be stronger than their love of their own children.”
I invite us all to focus on loving their “children,” whatever they might be, rather than on hating those who seem to be destroying those children or their future.

A continuation of “Beauty in My Neighborhood.”
In “Ask and It Is Given,” Abraham says something like this: Imagine the most beautiful, livable town you can. It is filled with beautiful things to look at, great places to hike, wonderful people, a plethora of ethnic restaurants, and lots of interesting things to do. It is easy to get around in it, whether on foot, by bike, public transporatation, or car, and there is never a rush hour. There’s just this one, teensy little problem—there’s an enormous pothole on 6th Street. (Notice, he did not say Main Street.)
Now the question is: What are you now focused on—all the wonders of this charming town, or the gigantic pothole on a street which you never need to travel on anyway? It is very easy to fall into the “pothole” of focusing on the “beep-beeps” in my neighborhood, rather than the birds singing, the flowers my neighbors have planted, the quickness of getting almost anywhere in this town from where I am, and the beautiful mountains I can see in the distance from where I stand to wash my dishes.
There is a philosophy which says that you get more of what you focus on, so I am actively training myself to focus on the beauty, because that is what sustains me.

At SOS Clare Hanrahan shared information about the Buddhist Peace Walkers who walk from Atlanta through Asheville to the Oak Ridge weapons plant in Tennessee.  Details below from Clare about ways to participate & support (including with your feet!) on Sunday and Monday.  ~ cw

This weekend: Meet and greet Buddhist Peace Walkers. Join us at Asheville Friends Meeting, (227 Edgewood) Sunday, July 30, at 6 p.m. for vegetarian POT LUCK and showing of video Stop the Bombs! Join us at Vance Monument 8 a.m. Monday, July 31st to send the Walkers off, or to walk with them any distance toward Weaverville and Hot Springs. Follow car for support and return to Asheville. Questions? Concerns? Call Clare 828-285-0010 Walk schedule: www.peacepagoda.org/SmokyMountain/

The date for the opening discernment & formation meeting of the Asheville SOS Council is Thursday, August 3rd from 6pm to 9pm at Lotus Lodge in Candler.  RSVP to chris@springbranch.us ~ I’ll send you an email confirmation & directions.

~ Chris

This just in from Peter Waskiewicz!  -cw

South East Ecological Design [S.E.E.D.] is proud to announce to a grassroots movement that will spread like wildflowers. A series of events that combine the teaching of ecological urban design with service learning opportunities to improve the quality of our lives, inspire cooperation and empower the sustainable future of our city.

The First Event:
September 9-10th, 9:00 a.m.-6:30 p.m
“Design and Installation of Public Spaces”
A two day introduction to urban Permaculture Design, will be held at the N.C. School of Holistic Herbalism, 1 Westwood Ave. West Asheville N.C. While learning the ethics and principles of Permaculture/Ecological design we will create a master plan for the Westwood/Waynesville intersection and the surrounding business and residences. Elements of the plan include a community health clinic/ resource center and teahouse. The Placement of edible, medicinal and sculpture gardens, benches, bike racks and a neighborhood information kiosk. The Re-design of the parking lot will support a farmers market, barter fair and increase public gathering space. We will also Re-design the street intersection to beautify slow traffic, creatively deal with storm water, and promote safer bicycle and pedestrian usage. The instructors of the event will be Chuck Marsh of Cultures Edge and Earthaven, Peter Waskiewicz of S.E.E.D. and Christopher Mello of gnomon arts. In an effort to make the workshop more accessible it is priced on a sliding scale of $65. to $120. Scholarships will also be available for work trade and interns. Saturday and Sunday starting at 3:30 the event will be free and open to the public beginning with Service projects [installing elements of the new design], then, form strategy committees/ networking tabling by local non profits and businesses. Saturday at 7:00 will be a potluck, community celebration and open mic rant. Sunday at 6:30 will be the first meeting of the W.N.C. Permaculture Designers Guild. We ask that you walk or ride your bike if possible, bring your own table service and lunches. Please leave the dogs at home. Contact: peterwask@hotmail.com

Hi SOS Asheville Friends,

Below is a copy of an email I sent out to the people who expressed interest in the SOS Council during our event in June.  If you are not in that group but are interested in this opportunity, please send me an email.  I am very excited about how our leadership Council is unfolding.  We will soon be announcing the dates for our September SOS event, to be held at a large venue in the center of town.  Cheers!

Dear Friends,

I am sending this message to those of you who expressed interest in serving on the Asheville SOS Council, to provide leadership for future SOS events (including the next one in September) and for the SOS Asheville weblog.

The SOS Council will hold its first meeting next week.  This is a discernment meeting, which means that nobody has made a commitment to serving on the SOS Council, and one purpose of the meeting is for each person who comes to decide whether he/she wishes to serve on the Council or not.

Raphael Peter has offered to host us at Lotus Lodge in Candler for the meeting, which will be three hours long.  There are two possible dates/times.  If you are interested in attending, I invite you to send me an email by Friday at noon letting me know which of the following times is your preference:

THURSDAY, AUGUST 3RD, 6:00 to 9:00 pm; OR
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4TH, 2:00 to 5:00 pm.

We will choose the date that meets the most people’s needs and I will email you the date this Friday at noon.

At the meeting, I will introduce some givens for the SOS Council, and we will spend time reflectively and interactively exploring SOS Asheville’s purpose, leadership, vision, community, and practical responsibilities.

At this time I will share an overview of what the SOS Council is, to help you to decide if it is appealing to you or not.

The SOS Council is a collaborative leadership council for SOS Asheville.  All Council members will be equal participants.  (This means that by initiating the SOS Council, I am stepping out of my current individual leadership role and passing leadership responsibilities to the Council as an entity).

In general, the SOS Council as an entity does not concern itself with the content of sustainability initiatives.  (This of course does not preclude individuals who serve on the Council from being active in the content of initiatives).  The SOS Council as an entity focuses on cultivating and offering SOS Asheville as a process container for the transformation to a local sustainable culture, through hosting seasonal SOS Asheville events using Open Space Technology, and through maintaining and developing the weblog for online collaboration.  The SOS Council is responsible for planning, implementing, and debriefing SOS events.  The SOS Council is also responsible for the ongoing inviting of people to the SOS events and to the weblog, which includes proactive outreach to a diversity of sectors in our local community.

The SOS Council does not have a corporate (including non-profit) structure.  It is a service-based entity ~ nobody gets paid for their time (although rich non-monetary benefits are anticipated).  The SOS Council will operate as a Conscious Open Space Organization, fulfilling its purpose and manifesting its vision with maximum freedom bounded by a set of Givens, which will include some methodologies for meetings and for collaborative decision-making.  The SOS Council will also create a State of Grace Document with contributions from each individual Council member, to assist us in working together in a conscious, responsive, holistic way.My best estimate of the time commitment of serving on the SOS Council is one 3-to-4-hour meeting each month, plus a few hours of work on necessary tasks each season, and participation in a full-weekend SOS event each season.

That’s enough for now!  Thank you for sending input as to the meeting date/time choice.  If you plan to come, please RSVP to me by email.  If you are interested in serving on the Council but are unable to attend either meeting time, let me know that too, and we will discuss other possible arrangements.

Blessings,
Chris

Beauty Blog 070506

I was hiking in Dupont Forest this weekend, and accidentally found my way into the section which formerly housed AGFA. This is a beautiful section of land, complete with a lake and sandy beach, turtle habitat, and some toxic waste. Eventually this land is meant to join Dupont Forest and be available to the public for hiking purposes, but right now it is posted as private land, apparently for liability reasons. I invite everyone to join me in sending loving thoughts to this parcel of land, and/or any other which calls to you; see them in your mind’s eye as being once again a pristine and safe habitat for all who enter the area. Let’s see what a little unified energy can do.

7/13/06
Of course, one needn’t travel very far to encounter opportunities for beautification. I walked around my neighborhood in Haw Creek this morning, where the peace and quiet I moved into the area for are now often punctuated with the beep-beeps of heavy earth movers backing up—a new set of condominiums is going in just on the other side of the ridge from me. Perhaps in response to this, a number of my neighbors have dug up large sections of lawn and put in shrubs and flowers. It definitely took my mind off what my ears were hearing.

It strikes me that a lot of people are currently focusing on “survival,” and how to do this in their own back yards. I am grateful for the notion of “sustainability”; in my mind it carries a much more positive outlook. And, for me, part of that sustainability is beauty in all forms. This past weekend I was at a Sufi Peace Dance Camp where I got to experience the beauty of the land, both in cultivated and wild forms; but I was more taken with the beauty of all the myriad people who showed up for this experience—even the locals who came out late at night to honk at the “Moonies.” If we are to survive well, with any kind of sustainability, it seems to me that it just might require seeing the beauty in each and every person who crosses our path. “Light comes in all forms,” said a friend, smiling as she explained about the locals.

Part of this feature of sustainability is, for me, knowing that I now know all of these people spread out all over the eastern half of the United States, and that we created some kind of energetic net this weekend, to add to all the other nets being created. I am awed and delighted.
Namaste,
Laurel

Hey SOS Friends ~  The post below is from Mike Lanier in Raleigh.  Is there a BALLE chapter yet in WNC?  ~Chris 

Recently, a few others from the Chapel Hill area and I attended the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) conference in Burlington, VT. This conference was truly inspiring and certainly measured up to Bill McKibben’s assessment that “the room we were gathered in was the most important room in the country”.

The BALLE philosophy (http://www.livingeconomies.org) of relocalizing economies so that business owners must pay their employees living wages, must take care of the environment where they live among family and friends, cannot extort money from local governments over relocation threats, and keep much higher levels of accumulated wealth in the local community, has the potential to bring much needed change quickly, while making our communities much more sustainable and self-reliant.

Making all this happen may seem like a monumental effort, but one of the conference’s presenters, Michelle Long from Bellingham, Washington and her organization, Sustainable Connections (http://www.sustainableconnections.org) has accomplished incredible things in just four years.

Please, take the time to read through this website and I think you will be amazed at things this organization has been able to accomplish. There is interest in starting a BALLE network in the Chapel Hill/Durham area. If any of you are local business owners who have an interest in this or if you have and interest and are interested in community organizing, please let me know and I will connect you with this group.

Environmental activism has had many successes over the last 30-40 years, but I think that the BALLE approach may get us to where we all want to go much sooner. Sustainably, Mike Lanier Agricultural Economic Development NC Cooperative Extension 919/245-2063

Kerry shares with us by email today the wonderful website for the Project for Public Spaces, which connects to the Beauty and Ashevillage Building Convergence ideas.  Note the Great Cities Initiative link on the PPS homepage & the emphasis on Christopher Alexander’s work (Check it out, Elizabeth!).

Thanks Kerry!  ~ Chris

The Beauty Blog for Asheville’s Sustainability Open Space group:
6/28/06
We met for the first time June 26th/27th at Warren Wilson College and, for the life of me, I don’t know why I even offered the topic, as opposed to sustainable health, which would seem to be more connected to what I have been focusing on in my work life. But I think Kerry was right when he observed that many of our championed topics from this gathering have interwoven threads with each other, and beauty certainly needs to be a part of health care. (I recently met an Australian architect who, with his psycho/color therapist wife create sacred healing spaces for living and working. See: http://www.arcoessence.com.au/)

I see BEAUTY (one of Ken Wilber’s big three, Kerry reminded me) as absolutely necessary to human sustainability on this planet. In some respects it doesn’t really need a champion, as it will bubble up in the most unexpected ways/places (like in concentration camps). At the same time, I think the more consciously we intend/expect this to be a factor in both public and private decision-making, the more it will be included. Charlotte Anthony is working on a story for Spirit in the Smokies highlighting an example of this for us, and which will include an invitation to readers to join us in this venture.

For those who are new to the group, I will reiterate two experiences which led me to championing this topic:
1. I was at the Getty Center in L.A., meditating in the gardens, and had this thought: “What if everyone on the planet had access to this level (or higher) of beauty at least once a week; would we see an end to war?” (For those who haven’t seen it, it is one of the most beautiful man-made settings—both buildings and gardens—that I have ever seen; you can check it out at these various websites:
http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/getty/index.htm
http://academic.reed.edu/getty/
http://academic.reed.edu/getty/image_textchoices.html
http://academic.reed.edu/getty/category.html
http://academic.reed.edu/getty/category.html
2. PBS special with Yo-Yo Ma, who had been commissioned to help create a “music garden” (for Totonto); the paths themselves were musical, the plants evoked a feeling of music, and there were to be speakers at various places playing Bach’s music performed by Yo-Yo Ma. (You can see the garden at: http://www.toronto.ca/parks/music_index.htm)

Apparently BEAUTY is a state of mind as much as anything, because as I drove along Swannanoa River Road this morning, absolutely everything looked beautiful to me! Now, two hours later and about to drive back the same way, I’m not sure it will still be true. I’ll let you know.