I wrote a post years ago about “becoming a revolutionary.” In it I describe how living in Latin America has changed my world view.
Well, it has to some extent, but then again, maybe not so much…
A Little Background…
I have always been an empathetic soul. I just have. Don’t really know why exactly. I just wasn’t a mean kid. And I didn’t grow up to be a mean adult. There are many other areas where I have severe deficits…but I am thankful that I am not, nor have I ever been, mean. I just don’t believe that it is cool, or strong to be mean…I think it is just stupid to be mean.
I have always had an affinity for nature. Maybe it stems from my connection with the ocean. My wife is deathly afraid to even put one of her toes in the sea. A raging river, no problem, but even a calm and tranquil ocean, forget about it. She always marvels that as soon as I reach the shore, I immediately enter and then stay submerged for most of the duration of our time on the beach. It is just the way I am.
My fondest memories when my kids were very young are those of camping in the Appalachian mountains of western North Carolina. I especially loved Looking Glass trail. I was enthralled, mesmerized, lustfully in love?, with nature. And I still am.
When I was about to make the jump out of a legal career and into the world of entrepreneurship, I remember seeing one of those old infomercials for the Tony Robbins Personal Power program. I ordered it and then embarked on a Tony Robbins immersion phase that lasted many years and that did produce changes in my life. I was at the famous event in Hawaii when the planes struck the twin towers on 9-11.
One of the things Tony stressed was the need to cure the financial issue once and for all…to reach a stage he called Absolute Financial Freedom, which could serve as a platform for greater life impacts. So, I went for it. But something about doing so just didn’t fit. That especially became apparent once I was exposed in an intimate way to Latin America. It seemed folks here had a deeper sense of happiness without ever coming near the level of wealth that Absolute Financial Freedom suggests.
Then I began blogging. I blogged about this place that I had fallen in love with…mainly the natural beauty of it. I blogged about the need to protect that, not just here in Costa Rica, but everywhere. I even fashioned my own private definition for living a sustainable life…one in which impacts are managed to facilitate ecological endurance (impact mindfulness is in there…can you see it?). I adopted habits to put my ideas in practice in my life. That led me to my current passion for hydroponic gardening and eco-tourism.
But even as I was thinking environmental sustainability, in the back of my mind there was this idea that sustainability meant much more than that. To live a “sustainable” life means more than simply living green…but what exactly seemed beyond my capacity to cogently express. The realm of impacts had to be more far reaching.
Inspiration Hits
I am not sure where or when the idea of impact mindfulness hit me…I believe I was walking (everyone should walk). It is now apparent to me that I have been writing around the edges of it for many years. The term itself came to me as I was considering how to focus my blog on something that would be inspirational. I love to be inspired and I would hallucinate that there are many others that do as well (why Frank Capra’s movies have been so popular for decades).
I believe we were created for positive impact. It is our destiny. And our impact is much more important than self-interest. It is living for something larger than one’s self…and that concept is and always has been inspiring to me.
I believe we were created for positive impact. It is our destiny. And our impact is much more important than self-interest. It is living for something larger than one’s self…and that concept is and always has been inspiring to me.
I have never understood exclusion. I have been excluded…it doesn’t feel nice. It is mean to exclude. And as I stated above, I am not mean. I believe the essence of empathy comes in recognizing our sameness, not in dramatizing our differences. I believe the greatest impacts can be made when we embrace the commonality of humanity. That’s what will prevent us from destroying our species and all the others along with it.
I have sought hard and long (and continue to do so) for truth. As Bertrand Russell advised in the video I recently posted, I have always asked what are the facts. Sure I have followed some proverbial rabbit holes…only to discover that even while they claimed to have a hold on the truth, the facts just didn’t jibe. So I continued searching.
I am not anti-religious faith. I have such faith. I believe Jesus was the ultimate impact mindfulness teacher (I believe I will post on that…soon!). I believe one can adhere to faith without being dogmatic…religious dogma is one of the most insidious “impact blinders.”
You see, I believe that as soon as we adopt the stance of having it all right…and that means everyone else has it all wrong…we dramatically decrease our potential for impact. We no longer pay any attention to truth when it flies in the face of our “ism”, or dogma. We ignore any situation outside of its realm. It is sad, but most people live this way and think this way. It is destructive because it decreases the human potential for positive impact. And positive impact is what we need…now more than ever.
You see, I believe that as soon as we adopt the stance of having it all right…and that means everyone else has it all wrong…we dramatically decrease our potential for impact.
I wanted this post to be an explanation offered on my reasoning for impact mindfulness and how it merges with the personality of this wacko who calls himself, Costa Rica Guy. That the concept is, truly is, what I am about. It is not just some platitude. It is an expression of my character. I long to make an impact and I believe the facts bear out that the best way to do so is impact mindfulness.
Maybe articulating the concept in an inspirational way is my destiny…who knows, but maybe…