Life has been extremely busy over the past month or so which made me all the more thankful for a few hours to slow down and speak from my heart with several friends about inner and outer climate change.

The conversation was held at the Ohio State University Urban Arts Space in the newly renovated LEED certified Lazurus building. I was honored to have a chance to work with Rick Livingston on hosting this event and we couldn’t think of a better space for this conversation to occur.

Who was called?

A wide net was cast for the invitation but a take-away for me in this conversation is that there is a real need for some focused invitation in the future. In attendance at the conversation were many wonderful people who had already started to explore what their inner climate change was happening in response to what they see as the global climate change crisis.

My dream for this conversations potential however would be to bring people in who do not currently feel that immediacy or crisis, or perhaps even a connection to global climate change. I believe it is important to engage with those individuals and find that place of commonality between the two sides of this issue. As one participant last night spoke, “This issue is inclusive because of its ramifications. So even if you deny the reason for climate change happening there is still room for you to participate in guiding action.”

Harvest

Even without the realization of my dream of full inclusion on this conversation there was still an amazing synergy that took place. I can’t thank the participants in this conversation enough, they were all lovely. Below I would like to share the visual harvest from the evening with you.

Something that has been discussed ad-nauseum about using social media/lifestreaming best practices is the idea of being on your best behavior while being yourself. The thing is that until living online becomes a standard social practice across the populace there will continue to be newcomers to this realm. 

For this reason I want to provide one more case study to consider.

Standing on your stage

We all have personality traits, beliefs and our own sorts of moral compasses that provide the basis for how we act and interact in society. Online these very things are amplified, err, AMPLIFIED!

You see -

• Online we are essentially on stage, given a spotlight and a microphone to speak exactly what we want to say.
• From that stage we don’t have to (and sometimes can’t) get the kind of feedback we get in an intimate, face to face setting. Anything said doesn’t have the chance to be softened by physical cues, inflection or even peer intervention.
• What we say on that stage remains constant – the internet never forgets.
• Online everything is reproducible and re-link-able meaning that, not only does the internet never forget but when you hurtle words on the internet you are not rubber, you are glue; those words stick.

Intention

A business owner who I know is often found spouting off about his extremely conservative  political viewpoints. On several occasions his posts have become divisive amongst people who follow him and care enough to comment. Like so many statements made when a core belief is attached to a “team” (in this case the Republican party) the ensuing replies are not conversational but instead controversial.

The business owner’s lifestream quickly turns into an ugly “my team is better than your team” diatribe.

I’m not picking on this business owner’s politics. We are all entitled to our beliefs. However, refer back to the internet as a stage. Choosing to use your stage and microphone to make an inflammatory statement such as, “I will keep my guns, freedom and money….you can keep your change!” will do nothing but inflame your followers.

Of course if this business owner happened to be a gun dealer then perhaps that is exactly the type of statement that would bring his clients out; that may be a good marketing plan. In this case study though the interesting twist is that this person owns a business that purports to provide environmentally friendly products in a B2B scenario.

Surely there are politically conservative individuals who support environmental ideals, right? Unfortunately  you won’t find that here. Following along the business owner’s lifestream he makes comments suggesting that his concern for the environment is less than genuine; he refers to “riding the [environmentalist] wave to make a buck.”

Honesty

As a potential client I must look at all of this information and consider the business as a whole, and the person who runs it.

Whether or not I am offended by the political statements of the business owner becomes secondary.

 I am concerned about what is at least a disingenuous attitude towards environmentalism if not out and out dishonesty. I get this by comparing what is on his lifestream and what he has his name signed to as his business mission statement and policies. If the owner is willing to be dishonest at the core intentions of his business how trusting should I be of the product he is offering?

Integrity

Living online, whether you are a business owner or just an individual, provides an amazing opportunity to engage with people you may never have had the chance with in the past – however there is a price to be paid for that opportunity.

Whatever you do online must be done with integrity and thoughtfulness. When you live recklessly online you stand to suffer repercussions.

I’d like to end this with someone who’s integrity and environmental concern I don’t believe there is much room to question, Ralph Waldo Emerson, who said; “A little integrity is better than any career.”

Are you looking for help to define responsible guidelines for living online? Whether you want to develop personal direction or organizational policy please feel free to contact Andrew Miller Consulting for a free brainstorming session.

What’s happening to the inner climate?

If you’re like us, you’ve been keeping one eye on COP15, the UN conference on global climate change, taking place in Copenhagen Dec 7 – 18, and wondering what its outcome might mean for the planet. Instead of waiting to hear the news, why not take action to help define the future?

In Copenhagen, Toke Moeller, Monica Nissen and other practitioners of the Art of Hosting Conversations that Matter will be holding a space alongside the official conference proceedings. They have also issued an open call to form “Inner Climate Learning Villages” across the world, in order to further the ripple of awareness spreading out from COP15. What is a Learning Village? “A gathering, large or small, where people come together to engage in meaningful conversation and joyful connection around how our “inner climate” is affecting what we see happening in the outer world.”

In short, whatever else happens in Copenhagen, there is an opportunity to come together in new and supportive ways to explore possibilities for a common future. Can you add your voice and wisdom to this crucial conversation? On Dec 10/17 from 5 to 7pm we’ll be gathering at the Urban Arts Space around these questions:

• What relation do you see between the inner climate and outer climate change?
• What change in the inner climate would help us to imagine a sustainable future?
• What story about sustainability are we learning to tell?

The Urban Arts Space is located in the Lazarus Building in downtown Columbus, 50 W. Town Street.

We hope that you will be able to join us for this conversation. Come beforehand for refreshments and to explore the current exhibits at the UAS; stay afterwards for the Marotta Hour, an evening of music hosted by Larry Marotta.

Please RSVP to livingston(dot)28(at)gmail(dot)com by Tuesday 12/15 so that we can arrange our space appropriately.

Looking forward to talking with you.

Rick Livingston & Andrew Miller