At the heart of every problem
The problems of our world are seeded in the human heart and what we cherish. It is within that same heart, however, that solutions await to be found.
About Mother Nature, a bit of Buddhism, and design.
Nature
In my years of studying to become a Biologist, I got engaged in Coral Reef Conservation projects. And yes, I could say that my life then looked pretty much like a national geographic documentary. What a blessing it is to actually experience the subject of your study firsthand, to see it with your own eyes and touch it with your own hands.
I had the privilege of studying Life at the doorstep of The Rain forest of Central America and the Coral Reefs of the Caribbean Sea. I got to encounter, and experience Life hands-on; adventuring into places so pure that you could see their hallo when approaching
When you experience the infinite of Nature you understand there is no point in being pessimistic about our future, but likewise, as you encounter Human’s blueprint neither can you continue being blindly optimistic.
A bit of Buddhism
“Ignorance is the root of all evil,” Buddhist precept.
What I came to understand after all my years of study is that: at the heart of all of our systems, whether political, social, or economic; lies a human being.
Then most of the problems we encounter in the world have their root in how we, as humans, experience our environment, which then conditions what we most value, which directly shapes the systems we build.
The ignorance Buddhism points at; is to experience life from a fear-based perspective, anticipating only threats coming from the outside, from the environment.
With time, the threats we perceive had also evolved. They first came from predators, then other tribes, then other countries; from war, competition, and nowadays more likely from our bosses, the bank, neighbors, and even friends.
So we naturally build fences, territories, weapons, and more subtle forms of control like legislations, position, and titles.
Our primary response to fear is to react to it, whether to fly, fight, or hide; we usually then strategize to try to control the environment and to rule it, so it becomes less scary, more predictable so we can feel safe.
Other than Buddhism; traditional Martial Arts also teach us that when we try to operate from fear, our reactions inevitably create the next threat. If we react, we cannot fix our problems, our reactions become the cause of our next problem.
And in this endless loop, we find ourselves living in a system that is mostly the projection of our fears and threat reactions. And where there is fear, there cannot be creativity.
The good news, according to Buddhism and many other traditions, is that it only takes a moment of experiencing the True nature of life to know better… to see beyond fear into a more realistic nature.
What is called a higher perspective, from which we experience life as Love, abundance, and emptiness of threats.
Well, I think that today in the year 2021 you and I know a little better and that we should embrace the problems of the world instead of running, fighting, or hiding. We know better so we can get ourselves happily to work, a more and more creative type of work, one that is fully connected with what we truly value.
After all, who on earth would like the oceans to be full of garbage, or to have children dying from hunger? The truth is, none of us do.
Art & Design
“Art is the highest form of hope” Gerhard Ritcher
“Art is the world’s ability to investigate and have an intimate relationship with itself” Olafur Eliasson
Humans are the problem, and humans are the solution.
The universe of values and desires we have within is reflected in our world, that’s why there are so many different realities that you can find in the world canvas: the shades, the darkness, but also the light, and the light some people are capable of bringing through their work.
Against fear and the dark pallet of massive media and false believes, we ought to transpose Art, Music, Contemplation, Science, Fearless Friendship, and all that can sublime and add light to our lives and hearts.
Time to become more artists and designers, to explore and investigate our world; to come up with creative prototypes for our problems and the problems of our communities, which are the problems of our planet.
Whatever the field, is up to us to bring our fearless creative, the one that will embrace a problem to design and test a solution. The one that knows that real solutions can only be found when putting people’s needs, the personae, at the heart of the equation.
Recover your relationship with the elements of nature and use them.
Use the light of the sky above you, the sound of your language, the colors of your city to design the bridges that we need, knowing that when you put people at the heart of your concern you are helping to design a better world.
