Sunday, August 30, 2009

The Crux of Ecojoy

The crux of Ecojoy, the really important point is that it is not necessary to change peoples' minds, or convince them to be nice. That change will happen effortlessly, automatically, when the relationships between people change from hierarchical to heterarchical. People will hardly be aware it is happening. And the changes in those relationships between people from hierarchical to heterarchical are fostered and encouraged by the Internet.

But remember, the Internet, be it email, blog, instant message, twitter, and so on, is only the connecting pipe. The relationship needs to be between people. That means you and I need to follow through and talk with others. Start by envisioning yourself as the wise, gentle, loving person you are. Then seek out the myths and bust them - but gently. Give people room to grow - don't pin them to the wall.

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

What Ecojoy is About

There are so many problems in the world, war, poverty, hunger, injustice. We can change the way the world works by changing the interactions between people. If we find the humanity in everyone we deal with, if we treat the people we interact with on an equal level, the world will change. I call those kinds of relationships partnership, after Riane Eisler's work, and heterarchical

If we can ease the war, poverty, hunger and injustice in the world, we will feel better, and more of the wealth we create can be applied in positive ways. But joy is not just about feeling good. In our current culture, simply feeling good is not seen as practical. We are healthier and more productive when we are joyful. We create more wealth when we are joyful.

And we have some media working in a way that fosters and encourages partnership connections with each other. Electronic communications like the telephone and the Internet, with email, the World Wide Web, blogs, personally produced videos on YouTube, and social networking sites model heterarchical connections with each other. This change is already happening all around us, without our having to do anything to affect it. No groups to join - no money to send.

So we really can change the world by learning about the power of joy as motivation and the value of heterarchical or partnership relations with each other. It seems too simple, too easy.

It isn't easy just to change. We'll have to re-thing how we raise our children, how we live as families, how we deal with crime and punishment, the worlds of work, politics and international relations. The Ecology of Joy philosophy scales well from the personal to the political. It is not naive, it is practical, productive and satisfying.

Monday, August 03, 2009

On Vacation in Door County

I'm on vacation at Bjorklunden in Door County. Danielle and Jennie are taking a watercolor course, and I am catching up with a bunch of Ecojoy posts in the queue.

We're right on Lake Michigan, and the sound of the waves is glorious. And the cell phone coverage is poor. There are no phones or televisions in the rooms. The WiFi is pretty good, so I can surf and blog to my heart's content.

The Happiness Project

When I ran across The Happiness Project, I knew I had to post it here on Ecojoy! Here's blogger Gretchen Rubin's "about me":
I'm Gretchen Rubin.

I started out as a lawyer. At Yale Law School, I was editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal and won a writing prize. I went on to clerk for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on the U.S. Supreme Court.

I had a great experience in law, but I realized that what I really wanted to do was to write. Since making the switch, I’ve published four books. I’m currently working on The Happiness Project. It will hit the shelves in January 2010 (Harper)...

As an Ecojoy reader, you know about joy being the most powerful human motivator. The Happiness Project explores happiness.

1000 Awesome Things

I saw 1000 Awesome Things on the Happiness Blog, and found it a good fit with Ecojoy.