I have always been a word-oriented person.  I love to read, novels, self-help, poetry, news, etc.  A picture is a static image of realty and can be quite enjoyable. However, reality is anything but static, which is why “pictures” are not really, well, real.  We see photos of these beautiful people plastered on signs and in magazines…but while there is an art to making someone look almost perfect, that representation of reality is at best fictitious.  Note the scandal whenever a ”paparazzi” from a ”reputable” rag like the National Inquirer is able to capture a famous celebrity in less than flattering conditions.  It seems these days young people are so bombarded with pictures, on television, the internet, and other media outlets, that the written word doesn’t receive its just due. In turn, they are given a false impression of reality. There is no fuller or more poignant description of North America than Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, or Latin America as Neruda’s Canto General.  Yet, we seem to have become all too accustomed to relying only on images to convey meaning that those static representations of reality fall far short of conveying.  A picture can never capture the grandeur of Machu Picchu as the words of Neruda, in Spanish or English.  A picture cannot capture the fluidness of life the way that words only can.  It has often been said that a picture is worth a thousand words.  I believe that phrase must have been coined by Kodak.  I would rather believe that it is the other way around….that a word is worth a thousand pictures.

In the movie Forest Gump, Tom Hanks ran because, well, “he just felt like running.”  In real life, Bob Hentzen, founder of the CFCA, or Christian Foundation for Children and Aging, walks, but he has a definite purpose for doing so.  That purpose is to help the poorest children and elderly of Central and South America, as well as other far reaching locations of the globe, have a better chance at life.  He walks in order to identify with their plight, to put himself in their shoes.  I learned about Mr. Hentzen from an article that appeared in La Nación’s weekend section, Proa.  Seems that right now Bob is in Costa Rica.  He is no stranger here, as the organization he founded some 30 years ago has been in this country helping the poor for 26 years.  There are 6,700 individuals in Costa Rica that have been sponsored and serve as testimonies to Bob’s compassion.  In all, Bob’s organization has helped over 300,000 in places like Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras and right here in Costa Rica.  The article described how Hentzen grew up very poor, the son of itinerant farmers in Kansas.  He was one of a family of 14 brothers and sisters.  The CFCA he founded with his three brothers and two close friends in 1981 is a Catholic lay organization, but their mission is in no way to proselytize those they seek to help.  In fact, the mission respects all differences of religion and seeks only to elevate the lives of children and the elderly, not to convert them to a different faith.  That is refreshing, as all too often Christian organizations seem to be more concerned with conversion than with compassion.  You can read more about the mission of the CFCA from this video that appears on their web site.  I was greatly touched by this man’s philosophy of life and his heartfelt desire to help others.  Bob Hentzen, in my opinion, is truly 1 in a 100.

People enter into this world and exit it, yet time goes on.  From a religious perspective the end of life on earth signals the beginning of eternity, or a time without end.  So what is all the talk these days about the end of time, or the end of this world as we know it?  Some say the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile demonstrate that things are quickly coming to an end.  There is even a scientific theory that the Chilean quake tilted earth’s axis and actually shortened time!  There is much talk about the Mayan calendar prediction that the world will end in 2012.  There was even a silly movie on that theme.  Whenever I hear people talk about the world coming to an end it really irritates me.  First of all, no one has the slightest clue when, or even if, that will happen.  Secondly, what purpose does it serve?  If you believe the world is coming to an end, why work to preserve things, or make them better for future generations?  It is a pessimistic and darkly hued mindset that generates nothing but despair and disillusion.  No matter how many end of time movies Hollywood can make to dazzle our senses with sensational special effects, it doesn’t change the fact that time goes on.  It may serve to rock us from our daily boredom of life, but talk of these things serves no other real purpose.  I remember when everyone predicted that the world would end at midnight January 1, 2000, but it didn’t.  I even had friends storing up “provisions” for the coming apocalypse brought on by the worldwide computer crash, but all they ended up with were garages and pantries full of bottled water and canned goods…nothing happened out of the ordinary, absolutely nothing.  I refuse to get caught up in the sensation because I prefer to view time as being filled with potential rather than disastrous predictions of doom.  That is, the potential to do something to make the world a better place now and for the future.  For in my view, time does not end, for me or for you, it just changes in dimension, from temporal to eternal.  I would prefer to be able to look back at my time on earth in the eternity to come and feel some sense of accomplishment, some sense of leaving a legacy for others who will enjoy the privilege of life once time has shifted for me to that eternal dimension.  Just remember, usually no one wins in games of “what if.”

Recently watched the movie Invictus.  If you haven’t seen it, you should.  It is one of those inspirational movies that Hollywood doesn’t make that often, but when they do it proves why movies can matter.  The story is of Nelson Mandela and his ascension from 27 years as a political prisoner on Robben Island to the presidency of South Africa and end to apartheid.  Well, in actuality, his being elected president didn’t end it.  In the minds of white and black South Africans, it surely still existed.  Just as deep-seated prejudice still exists in the U.S., despite the election of the first African-American as president of that country.  In the movie, Mandela uses sport, specifically Rugby, to overcome the fear and separation that was evident in the attitudes of blacks and whites.  He integrates his own security detail in an attempt to directly confront that fear and anxiety.  Mandela was driven by purpose and therefore was without fear, while all around him fear of an uncertain future racked his nation.  His attempt to use the uniting force of sports to overcome those fears actually worked, at least in the movie, which does mirror real life events (Mandela really did present the championship trophy to Francois Pienaar when the Springboks won against New Zealand in the 1995 Rugby World Cup). What struck me about Mandela, played by the great black actor Morgan Freeman, more than anything else was his fearlessness.  His ability to walk out in front of a crowd of thousands who hated him and would rather see him dead, wearing a smile of reconciliation towards those whose hatred kept him imprisoned for the better part of three decades.  How?  I think it comes down mainly to one word…purpose.  Those without purpose in life go through the gyrations of their daily existence floundering and fearful.  They have no idea what they want so the wind blows them whereever it may and every little twist of fate is magnified to imponderable proportions.  In the movie Mandela recites the poem Invictus, which was also chosen as the title of the flick.  I have cited below the poem by William Ernest Henley.  Read it and you can see why Mandela clung to it as a constant reaffirmation of purpose during his darkest days in Robben Island prison.

Invictus

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.

I have commented before that ticos, or Costa Ricans, are the nicest, most gentle people, until they get behind the wheel of an automobile.  The government of Costa Rica seems to share my view as it is now proposing that there be a psychological test administered to each applicant in order to get a Costa Rican driver’s license. An illustrative case in point is that when turning left across busy traffic, a tico will be oblivious to what is going on around him and will cross just slow enough so that the person behind, who is also trying to cross, gets smashed to bits by an oncoming bus!  It’s probably just part and parcel of the “event focused-ness” that I shared a good while back in one of my posts.  After all the event in the mind of the driver is their crossing and they will do it at their leisure, consequences to others be damned!  This actually happened to me yesterday and the whole episode sparked a thought.  And that thought is this…if you want to move up in life, it is always better to take the “high road.”  What do I mean by that?  Well, it means taking into account how your actions might effect other people.  It kind of goes along the lines of sustainability as I discussed in a recent post, you know, managing interactions and impacts.  These days it seems folks are so wrapped up in themselves that thinking of others just doesn’t come naturally.  Oh sure, there are the so-called “common courtesies” and those are important.  But when it comes to really taking note of how what we do affects the world around us, we seem often to develop a glaring blind spot.  I don’t mean to pick on the ticos, but when they are behind the wheel of a car, it seems they have the hardest time seeing what impact they are having on the world around them…that is, until the crash occurs.  In my mind taking the high road is the opposite of retaliation, which is all too often our initial reaction.  This mindset of “one-up-ed-ness” stifles the ability to move forward, to make progress.  It may give you a fleeting moment of satisfaction, but once that moment fades where are you?  Taking the high road is about focusing on that “pause” between stimulus and response and in that brief moment deciding to do the right thing, even if it results in the other person “getting away” with some perceived injustice.  In the end, you will be better off, the world will be better off and “they” perhaps will learn a valuable lesson…the lesson of the high road.

I used to think I knew what “poor” meant.  In the U.S., if you do not have as much as others in your community, you may say to yourself, or to your loved ones, I (or we) are poor.  I heard that a few too many times when growing up.  Then I began spending a lot of time in Central America and my previous perceptions of poorness where shattered.  I am working on a project with the indigenous of Costa Rica.  It will ultimately be a web site that offers original Costa Rican indigenous art.  In the process of creating the site we are roaming around the country shooting video and pictures and meeting with the various indigenous groups.  This past weekend found us in the extreme southern zone of Costa Rica, remote and beautiful areas deep in the Talamancas like Brujo, Boruca and Limoncito.  We visited with the Brunka tribe, who are known for their hideous, yet artistically beautiful, masks that are traditionally used to celebrate the Festival de los Diablitos.  The festival is in remembrance of the struggle between the Indians and the Spanish.  The masks are carved from balsa or cedar into devilish forms that are meant to scare the Spanish back across the sea.  The timeless tradition of carving these intricately ordained  masks is still carried on in this tiny pueblo deep in the heart of Costa Rica’s southern zone.  The head of community association, Doña Margarita, explained to us that not too long ago the Brunkas lived in extreme poverty.  But due to restoration of their crafts, both the mask-making and cloth-making, coupled with the general rise in tourism in Costa Rica, their situation had dramatically improved.  And the evidence of that could be seen throughout the small community, where everyone was involved in some form in craft-making.  Next we ventured deeper into the mountains, on the highway towards the beautiful little town of San Vito.  We exited the main road and took a dirt road to an area known as Limoncito, specifically to the community center of the Guaymi Indians, known as La Casona.  On the way there we passed by a few Guaymi Indian women wearing their traditional colorful full length dresses.  We then knew we were on the right track.  When we arrived at La Casona there was no one present.  We saw a little pulperia (or small community store) where a Guaymi girl was playing a form of pinball machine that is common in Costa Rica.  We told her why we were there and she said she could take us to a lady that sold crafts in the area.  So we all got into the car and ventured deeper into the mountains…down a road that challenged even my healthy sense of adventure.  We crossed rickety wooden bridges that made me hold my breath as they creaked under the weight of La Poderosa.  Teodora, our Guaymi guide, assured us that other cars cross the bridges, but her declarations did not provide a great deal of comfort.  We arrived at a point where the car just couldn’t venture further due to the incredibly poor quality of the road and set out on foot. A while later we arrived at the home of the crafts-lady.  It was readily apparent that the living conditions of the Guaymis were at a far more depressed level than the Brunkas.  In fact, while I have seen what I would consider poor, in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama, this was a level of poor that challenged my imagination. Nevertheless we were greeted warmly and indeed found what we were looking for.  These days when everyone is pouting about their economic predicament, it is good to remember that as bad as you think you have it, there are those who live at a level of economic lack that you could not even imagine, let alone experience.  Just remember that and also that the pathway out of impoverishment is paved with empathy.

Costa Rican Artisans Videos: Featuring Brunkas and Guaymis

Recently during our bi-weekly team meeting at Package Costa Rica, one of my employees nailed me for having certain non-sustainable habits…like leaving the office and forgetting to turn off the lights.  He’s right, there’s no doubting that.  Sustainability, if you’ll remember, is about managing our interactions and impacts and it requires focused thought until you can engage in sustainable actions as unconscious habits.  I admit I am not there yet, not anywhere close, but I am working on it.  In the meantime, it helps to be surrounded by sustainability experts, since I am hardly one.  I write about this topic not from a position of expertise, but from a deep love of nature that I have carried with me all of my life and I believe a sense of what is right…and sustainability is the right thing to do.  I heard Obama speaking the other day about his goal to move the U.S. towards more of a “green economy,” or one in which economic activity related to creating a more sustainable world becomes a significant GDP component.  He said he just felt it was the right thing to do.  I agree.  But as I am more successful at becoming sustainable, one thing I do not want to become is judgemental. I would never want to be one of those people who throws blood on Hollywood celebrities as they exit fancy restaurants wearing animal hide or fur.  Being judgemental never wins converts, but generally only inspires rebellion.  People think for themselves, well usually, and don’t really want you doing their thinking for them.  They must choose to be sustainable in their own way, or else it just doesn’t matter.  Sustainability is not about competition, but rather the antithesis of that concept…it is about being in harmony, with nature and with other people.  Jesus, for example, was a decidedly sustainable fellow.  He lived a low consumption lifestyle and was a pretty nature loving kind of guy….at least from biblical accounts.  Yet he was never judgemental.  In fact he admonished his followers whenever they began to criticize and compete.  It is that critical and competitive spirit that has the world in the mess it is in.  In our rush to be better, prettier, faster, stronger, richer and to have our backpacks more overloaded with useless stuff that we have become completely unsustainable.  Much more of that and, well, who knows, but the outlook isn’t too great.  I believe sustainability should be completely non-judgemental. It should be influential, but by example primarily.  Walk the walk and others may just follow in line.  I am glad to have employees who help me to do so.

Lily and I celebrated this Valentine’s Day weekend in Monteverde.  Among other things, we took a guided tour into the Cloud Forest Reserve.  Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and displayed a passion and love for nature that was inspiring.  While discussing the peculiar sexual habits of colibris (or hummingbirds) he made a statement that really got the wheels of thought grinding.  He said, to paraphrase and translate, “in the jungle there is no right, nor wrong, but just the natural order of things.”  His quip made me ask myself why is it that there exists this great separation between us (humans, that is) and nature that only extends to our side the often perplexing dilemma of moral judgement.  To make matters worse we have religious codes popping up all over the place that claim to have the definite answer to these issues…while the colibris are busy enjoying their rampant sexual promiscuity without the slightest whim of regret or guilt.  What is really going on here?  I am not at all suggesting that humans throw off all moral limitations and go around copulating like hummingbirds.  But I am questioning the whole issue of morality…where it originates and why it is only relevant when it comes to us.  Is it merely a coincidence of a more highly evolved brain and capacity for thought?  A capacity that actually enables us to be cruel and therefore gives rise to the need for some moral standard that acts as a governor against our own self-destructiveness?  Could be?  Of course, if you believe in a created world, as opposed to one that just happened by accident, then you would probably think there is a reason for this curious line of demarcation that separates human beings from the vast balance of the created world.  We are just a tiny part of it, yet a very special part.  A part that is endowed with attributes that maybe our creator possesses and therefore decided, possibly for his (her or its) own amusement, to grant to us.  One thing is for sure, this capacity to do either “good” or “bad” carries with it a great responsibility.  We have the capacity to interfere with the natural order of things…the way things were meant to be, the way they were created to be.  Maybe the truest concept of morality is in judging our actions in this light…rather than according to some contrived religious code.  These religious codes often have more to do with the “after” life than the current one and therefore really don’t place much, if any, relevance to sustaining what they claim to be a fallen and sinful world.  Maybe a better way of judging morality is in questioning whether or not what we do is destructive of the natural order of things…destructive of life, our own as well as all the living things that make up the environment in which we have the privilege to live.  In that sense, morality and sustainability (as I defined for myself in a previous post) begin to take on strikingly similar qualities.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez is Colombian and his magnum opus, Cien años de soledad, is likewise as Colombian as arepas y aguardiente antioqueño.  How would I know?  Because the lady in my life, Lily, is likewise conclusively Colombian.  While reading the book what struck me were the metaphorical similarities between the Buendia family and Lily’s family, which has become my adopted family in Costa Rica. Perhaps tame by Buendia standards, her family is quite loco according to my own.  But crazy in a good way.  A way that makes life much more colorful and interesting.  It is an existence that stubbornly refuses to succumb to boredom and when it begins to creep in, drastic measures are taken to “shake things up” a bit.  There is a certain revelry of life that characterizes the Colombian mindset.  Life that takes on dramatic, loud, boisterous and exotic qualities.  I guess that is a good description of the country as a whole, at least the part that I know.  Colombia is a land of great folklore and legend. Colombians celebrate their strange and tumultuous history and this novel about the mythical city of Macondo and its founding Buendia family seems to reflect all that is Colombian….in fact, all that is Latino.  I guess Colombia is as pure Latino as one can get, with all the danger, romance, adventure, toil and strife and moments of extreme ecstasy that marks life in Latin America.  The book does tend to reflect at least the flavor of my current existence and I believe it has helped me to realize on a deeper level what draws me like an “imán de Melquíades” to this mysterious place that is so remarkably different from where I was borne and raised.  In many ways I have been “borne again,” but this time as a product of Latino culture and conscience, thankfully without the “cola de cerdo.”

My last post addressed, or attempted to address, my personal definition of what it means to act sustainable.  However, what is the goal, or the ultimate aim of sustainability?  I believe only in knowing that can one truly bend the bow, release that arrow of ardent action and hit the true target.  This post will therefore focus on the overriding question of “what is the goal of sustainability?”  One thing is for sure, sustainability is not maintenance.  It seems we are much more focused on “sustaining” inanimate objects that we are on living things.  I would rather call actions geared towards sustaining the inanimate (the “Stuff” that was referred to in my “backpack” post) maintenance.  Being a sustainability guy is not the same thing as being a “maintenance man.”  If you are a spiritual person with a belief in a higher power who is the author of all things living, you probably also hold a belief that things were created to be beautiful…to be healthy.  Often human interaction and impact tends to diminish the healthy state that the creator had in mind.  Why doesn’t he (or she or it) just intervene?  Let’s leave that for a different post. Sustainability then becomes an attempt at managing our interactions and impacts in a way that promotes the health of living things…a healthy environment, a healthy body, healthy relationships…get the picture?  Of course, if you are not at all spiritual and would rather hold fast to a “survival of the fittest” kind of philosophy of life, then you probably don’t feel much of a need to act sustainable.  Because sustainability recognizes that the created world is connected and every part must play a role in sustaining it.  You cannot just sit back and expect that living things will sustain themselves and if they fall short, well it was just meant to be. That all that really matters is my own personal level of comfort and the fact that people are starving, animals are becoming extinct, rain forests are disappearing, and the planet is overheating (yes, even despite the current cold snap in the Northeast) just doesn’t enter into my personal picture.  But the hard fact to realize is that oh yes it will, eventually!  If that’s the way you see things, then fine…I am not here to judge, but just to make a point.  And the point is that sustainability is about being concerned that our interactions and impacts promote the health of living things.  And in so doing our spiritual health is also dramatically improved.