Opinion

Not Normal

This year with 2020 vision I am thinking about what is normal.

When people say “I can’t wait to get back to normal”, I think what they’re really saying is “I’m fantasizing about pre-coronovirus life when I could do anything I wanted without having to think too hard about it.”

However, I can’t help but think about how our lives before coronovirus was a world where so much of what we considered normal was actually pretty fucked up.

It was a world where racism and inequality was normal. 

Where greed and hoarding was normal.  

Where exploitation and the rape of the world was normal.

Where being disconnected and lonely was normal.

Where scarcity and hunger was normal.

Where rage and hate were normal.

Where competition for basic necessities was normal. 

Where poisoning and dismantling our life support system was normal.

We were getting damn too good at normalizing.

And I for one do not have any desire to go back to “normal”.

Because we can do better than that. 

Much better than that.  

We Are better than that.  

Buckminster Fuller gave us the roadmap back in the ’50’s, plain as day. He said:

“It is now highly feasible to take care of everybody on Earth at a higher standard of living than any have ever known.  It no longer has to be you or me. Selfishness is unnecessary. War is obsolete. It is a matter of converting our high technology from WEAPONRY to LIVINGRY.”

How long will we the people accept being part of a machine that kills people instead of creating a system that nurtures… us?

I believe we are capable of implementing a circular economy instead of an extractive growth obsessed economy, and implementing all of the technology that works with and for the earth and mothball all of the technology that works against it.  

It really boils down to a choice we are making, every single day.

We need to Defund War. 

The War on People. The War on Intelligence. The War on Dignity.  

The War on the Earth. 

This is the true task at hand. 

I for one will settle for nothing less than Livingry.  

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Tuesdays Tales v1e2

Tuesday’s Tales! v1e2

My occasional collection of climate crises inspired ways forward using the arts and creativity to nurture community, awareness, and action.

Something that has inspired me recently:

I’ve become increasingly aware of more and more communities coming to their senses all around the planet and formally acknowledging the climate crises. 

Climate emergency declarations in 1,195 jurisdictions and local governments cover 545 million citizens

Combined with the growing momentum of youth-led climate protests, and a growing crises awareness in general, it speaks of movement in the right direction ~ our steady march towards the active participation of 3.5% of the population is well underway. People are waking up and I believe it’s a tide that can’t be turned. Another exciting development this week was the announcement of World War Zero, the campaign spearheaded by former Secretary of State John Kerry to align numerous celebrities, military brass, politicians, and other prominent personalities to draw as much attention to our collective crises as possible. It will be interesting to see what kind of traction they can gain.

World War Zero Home

What I’ve been reading:

The Uninhabitable Earth, by David Wallace-Wells

This might very well be the heaviest book ever written. It’s certainly one of the most terrifying because everything in it is real. But it also might very well be one of the most important books ever written and should be required reading for anyone with a heartbeat.  I’ve read psychological articles about how just bombarding people with horror stories about climate isn’t a productive approach as it just shuts us down, we feel overwhelmed by the enormity of it all, and we convince ourselves that there’s nothing we can do.  Wallace-Wells approach is dramatically different. He uses prose to vividly depict the world we live in and where we’re heading, and somehow also motivates and activates us away from our complacency and towards a functional interaction with our plight.  I’ll say it again ~ this should be required reading.

The Guardian’s book review:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/feb/27/the-uninhabitable-earth-review-david-wallace-wells

What I’m listening to:

Sona Jobarteh ~ Fasiya

I can’t get enough of her voice. I love that I don’t understand a word she sings because then it’s easy to just let it wash through me and I just experience her music in a very heartfelt way. And it feels like the wisdom of the Earth is somehow being vocalized by this profound being. There’s passion, love, caring, and compassion in her music, plus it just makes me want to move. 

What I’m working on:

Small Craft Advisory ~ The Spoken Word Music of Eric Geoffrey

I’ve been diligently working in my studio to polish off the collection of spoken word pieces that I’ve set to music, because I am looking forward to sharing them very much.  Stay tuned for releases coming very soon!! They’re almost done…

Quote of the Week:

“…underneath all of this is the real truth we have been avoiding: climate change isn’t an “issue” to add to the list of things to worry about, next to health care and taxes. It is a civilizational wake-up call. A powerful message—spoken in the language of fires, floods, droughts, and extinctions—telling us that we need an entirely new economic model and a new way of sharing this planet. Telling us that we need to evolve.”

― Naomi Klein

Share this with your friends and anyone you think would be inspired by it! You can also get this delivered directly to your inbox if you sign up for the newsletter.  I am always open to feedback, suggestions, collaborative propositions, and simple Yo Eric how you doin type reaching out and connecting.  Because Life is too precious and precarious to not make the most of every single day.

I hope you have an empowered and creative week ~ Onwards Team Human!

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