Synchronicity

With one breath,
with one flow,
you will know Synchronicity

A sleep trance,
a dream dance,
a shaped romance,
Synchronicity

A connecting principle, 

linked to the invisible, 

almost imperceptible, 

something inexpressible

Science insusceptible, 

logic so inflexible,

causally connectable,

Yet nothing is invincible

If we share this nightmare,
Then we can dream, Spiritus mundi

If you act as you think,
The missing link,
Synchronicity

We know you,
they know me,
extrasensory, Synchronicity

A star fall,
a phone call,
it joins all, Synchronicity

It's so deep,
it's so wide,
you're inside, Synchronicity

Effect without cause,
sub-atomic laws,
scientific pause,
Synchronicity

~ The Police, 1983

Synchronicity takes the coincidence of events in space and time as meaning something more than mere chance, namely, a peculiar interdependence of objective events among themselves as well as with the subjective (psychic) states of the observer or observers.

~ C. G. Jung, I Ching or The Book of Changes (Richard Wilhelm, translator)

One Thursday afternoon during 2004, our company’s management team, on deciding who to invite as the guest artist at our Company’s Tenth Anniversary, wrote down the names of three artists on a flipchart. It was our plan to contact these three artists for quotes. The following day, the Friday, I am at the airport, signing my credit card transaction for a flight to Richardsbay the weekend. I look up …and the first person whose name we had on the flipchart, PJ Powers, stood right next to me. I thought:"Wow, what a coincidence!" I signed for my ticket, looked up, and she was gone, Mmm, I thought: "Coincidence",  I flew to Richardsbay and had a very enjoyable weekend.

On the Tuesday, back in Johannesburg, I met with a dear friend, Lynn Pretorius, in Nino’s Rosebank for a light lunch. And... in walked... PJ Powers and sat at a table right next to us. Coincidence? I don’t think so…..

There is no such thing as chance; and what seem to us merest accident springs from the deepest source of destiny.

~ Friedrich Schiller 1759-1805

The same evening I flew with Kulula.com to Cape Town. For some funny reason our bags didn’t arrive and we had to wait for the next flight to bring them. At about half past eleven the bags arrived and I could start looking for a place to stay… which turned out to be a mission because it was the Argus and all hotels were fully occupied. I ended up at Ratanga Junction and the lady at the front desk phoned a friend of hers in Tygervalley to find out about a room. Half past two that night I arrived at the guest house…relieved to have found a place to sleep. I woke up at seven and went to the breakfast room….and in walked the second person whose name we had on the flip chart, Steve Hofmeyr. He sat down right in front of me…

Synchronicity is choreographed by a great, pervasive intelligence that lies at the heart of nature, and is manifest in each of us through what we call the soul.

~ Deepak Chopra, Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire

The Thursday, back in Pretoria, I phoned Yvonne Chaka Chaka, the third person on our list. That evening I dream that Yvonne sings a song about our company… which came true on the first of September when she changed the lyrics of one of her songs to sing “ITO” . Incredible!

Jung was transfixed by the idea that life was not a series of random events but rather an expression of a deeper order. This deeper order led to the insights that a person was both embedded in an orderly framework and was the focus of that orderly framework and that the realisation of this was more than just an intellectual exercise but also having elements of a spiritual awakening. From the religious perspective synchronicity shares similar characteristics of an "intervention of grace". Jung also believed that synchronicity served a similar role in a person's life to dreams with the purpose of shifting a person's egocentric conscious thinking to greater wholeness.

Of course I didn’t understand what all of this meant…. I just realized then that I needed to do something with music… it took a while to understand exactly what this would be.

In 2008 I googled “Amsterdam” and “Ne me quitte pas” , two of my favourite songs…. And I met Philippe Elan, a chansonneur, specializing in French chansons, specifically the music of Jaques Brel and Edith Piaf. During the same time, and after much deliberation I decided to approach an old acquaintance. Someone I met during our university days. Someone who also had a big hit with “If you go away” Someone I have admired since the early eighties. I had no clue where this woman was… and I didn’t know where to find her. All I knew was that she was the only artist I knew who could speak to your soul. An artist with the ability to touch the strings in people’s hearts in a very unique way. I went onto her website and sent a mail….

With Synchronicity, all the resources we need are made available to us at the precise moment that is appropriate. The people who come into our lives are the ones we need at that moment in time. Everything is perfect. We only need to recognise this to tune into the flow. Everything happens for a Reason and Every Experience is a Learning Experience.

~ Alex Chua

                                       
  Karin and Jaconell at the Leidseplein, Amsterdam - 2009

A few months later, in 2009, I could introduce Karin Hougaard to Philippe Elan… the start of a little dream to get these two great performers together. In October 2010 this dream came true when they both recorded the song “Quiet Love” for the iSTART2 project. I know I am very subjective, but it is undoubtedly one of the most amazing music recordings I have ever heard in my life! Synchronicity is a language of signs..... Quiet love is a language of signs... Synchronicity is Quiet Love.....

Synchronistic events offer us perceptions that may be useful in our psychological and spiritual growth and may reveal to us, through intuitive knowledge, that our lives have meaning.

~ Jean Shinoda Bolen, MD, The Tao of Psychology

Inspired by one of Karin Hougaards poems ( this woman can paint, sing, act and she is even an accomplished poet…. And most of all, a beautiful human being), I wrote lyrics for my first song… Brave, man!!

Ek wonner soms

Ek wonner soms

Ek wonner soms, ek wonner….soms

Of ek en jy ook een kan wees

Of ek en jy ook sonder vrees saam kan wees

Of ons twee net kan wees

As ek loop hier ver hier in Johannesburg

En dink aan jou wat soms so onverbiddelik

Wil he dat ek vir jou moet wag…ja …vir jou moet wag

Maar ek wil leef in jou……kleef aan jou……net aan jou

Ek wil vry met jou…vry met jou….vry met jou

Waarom…..waarom is dit net n droom?

Ek wonner soms

Ek wonner soms, ek wonner….soms

Of ek en jy ook een kan wees

Of ek en jy ook sonder skuld saam kan wees

Of ons twee net kan wees

Langs die rivier in Istanbul sit ek alleen

En wag vir jou wat steeds my siel omkrap

My koppie koffie staan lank reeds koud

Maar jy bly in my hart….diep in my hart…..hier binne my

Ek wou speel met jou….speel met jou….speel met jou

Waarom ….waarom kan dit nie so wees?

Ek wonner soms

Ek wonner soms, ek wonner….soms

Of ek en jy ook een kan wees

Of ek en jy ook sonder pyn saam kan wees

Of ons twee net kan wees

In Amsterdam is dit wit gesneeu vandag

Die swart en grys en grou verswelg my siel

Ek weet dat ek vir jou moet wag…vir jou moet wag….ek moet wag

Maar ek wil leef in jou…leef in jou…leef in jou

Ek droom…en hoop dit kan dalk tog so wees

Ek wonner soms

Ek wonner soms, ek wonner….soms

Of ek en jy ook een kan wees

Of ek en jy ook vir mekaar lief kan wees

Of ons twee net kan wees

Ek droom soms

Ek droom soms, ek droom…soms...

soms ek droom sonder vrees,

sonder skuld en pyn, sonder grens

ek droom soms.. ek droom soms

….myself ….vry

31 December 2009 (Met apologie aan Karin ... laaste vers haar woorde!)

As you can see, the song was written partly in Istanbul, Johannesburg and Amsterdam. 

During September 2010 I met with Mervyn King, author of the book “Transient Caretakers.” I bought the book in Cape Town after having had quite a struggle to get hold of it ( and he even signed it for me two weeks later) I opened the book and in the foreword Mervyn King wrote : “It was only possible for us to complete this book by meeting in several cities over a period of some fourteen months. We met first in Istanbul, then Johannesburg, Amsterdam…. And finally back in Istanbul again” The same three cities I was in when writing my "song".

The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery. There comes a leap in consciousness, call it Intuition or what you will, the solution comes to you and you don't know how or why.

~ Albert Einstein

Back in 2007, a very good friend, Derek Jooste, recommended a book to read. I looked all over for this book, Europe, South Africa, USA, UAE, UK and finally got a copy of the book, ‘ A Whole new Mind” by Daniel Pink.

I must have been to about twenty bookshops before I finally found it. Never give up hey :-) When leaving for my visit to the US in April this year I looked at my bookshelf and thought it would be a good idea to give Karin a little gift… and “ A Whole New Mind” found a place in my computer bag.

Sometimes when I consider what tremendous consequences come from little things, I am tempted to think there are no little things.

~ Bruce Barton

It was during the time of the volcano problems in Iceland (April 2010). I was one of the fortunate (?) people to fly out first from Amsterdam to the USA. A scary thought…. Isn’t it easier to be on the ground shouting that you want to fly, rather than to be in the air shouting that you wanna get down… mmm…. mmm. Anyway … I landed in Houston when the BP oil spill happened …. and drove to New Orleans, not realizing the dramatic effect this event would have on the Gulf of Mexiko. We all remember the ad…..

This image has been making the rounds, purporting to be an ironic BP ad from 1999. It turns out it's fake. The folks at Despair.com originally created it as a T-shirt, but it's still "funny".

In New Orleans, I realized that it would take me ages to get to Oak Ridge, and I booked a flight ticket to get to Greensboro near Oak Ridge. The cheapest and only available flight was via Memphis. So I booked it.

It was an early morning flight and after having overslept I still made it to get on the flight due to a delay. I took the book out of my computer bag and started paging through it… At the same time the guy in the row in front of me also took out a book to read… and voila… he was reading the same book… this rare book. I tapped him on the shoulder and smiled and showed him that we are reading the same book. He then asked me where I was from…. And it turned out that he was from Randburg, South Africa… and also on his way to Greensboro where they lived for the past four years.

We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. This is the way our universe is structured. We aren't going to have peace on Earth until we recognize this basic fact of the interrelated structure of reality.

~ Martin Luther King Jr.

During July 2010, whilst on a quick visit to South Africa. I hooked up with Jacqui Nel. We lived next to each other in Boksburg as neighbours for many years. Jaqui is one of the most passionate go-getter entrepreneurs I know. I was telling her that I started negotiating with Huisgenoot, You and Drum Magazines to support me on the iSTART2 project, In fact I had to fly to Cape town to meet with the Tea Tannie the following day.

I then got a call that they will not be prepared to take hands with me on the project. It sounded strange and obviously I was a bit p***ed off for having bought a plane ticket, but I still decided to go and visit the Sustainability Institute (on the Spier landgoed) and people at the University of Stellenbosch.

It is also interesting to know that the COPART movement, linking art to the climate summit that will be held in South Africa (Durban) next year, had its inception in May at the Sustainability Conference that was held at the Spier Winery. 

Rather bemused I told Jacqui that I now need to find another Media company to back me, she then told me that her brothers' wife was the Managing Director of one of the biggest media companies in South Africa… a woman I knew from when I was a teenager. Needless to say, we are now looking at how we can collaborate on the iSTART2 project.

In the Netherlands a similar incident happened with one of the biggest media companies in the Netherlands. On the 1st November I met with a friend, Ron Salden, in Haarlem for breakfast. We chatted for about an hour… he then said : "Art is a very important issue to promote in the project". His phone rang and he asked to be excused to take the call. Being a smoker (sic) I thought it a good time to quickly go outside for a quick puff. Those damn nicotine levels hey. The moment I got outside a delivery truck drove in, stopped for approximately five seconds, reversed…and drove off. Just enough time to take a photo….

Ron and I both laughed about the coincidence. I then told him that I needed a good media partner in the Netherlands. And the same thing happened. He told me that his brother is the CEO of one of the biggest publishing companies in the Netherlands… incidentally, the same company one of our Dutch team members, Saskia van Beveren, is connected to. Saskia is the owner of a company, Who let the frog out…. I am sure those of you that follow my blog must have seen the pic of the frog with the question: " Wie het die parratjie uitgelaat ?"... A question I always wanted answered…. Yes, we have contacted this Publishing Company and I will meet with the CEO as soon as I am back in the Netherlands.

Normally I cannot remember my dreams, but one morning in August (in Amsterdam) I had a very striking dream. I woke up remembering exactly what I dreamt… a rather unusual thing for me. I dreamt that I was in Centurion and I saw my house crumble and fall. The next moment I was in Amsterdam and all the buildings were falling down. In my dream I realized that the world was coming to an end. Then a huge angel came, picked me up in his hand, looked me in the eye and said: “ Ek hou jou vas” ( I hold you) I then woke up feeling distressed, but also a feeling of relieve… the angel had a very comforting effect.

Later that day I walked in the Vondelpark with a friend. It was the first time I actually saw the statue of Vondel, one of the most famous poets of the Netherlands. Below his statue was another statue… the statue of an angel holding the head of a man in his hand….

(Angels in dreams are the personification of a divine idea that has occurred to us. Angels appear in our dreams when we are examining our attitudes, and indicate that we need to also examine our motivations. The Angel is a messenger. When we take the time to trust and soul-search, they will lead us to new insights and new directions. Dream appearances of Angels also indicate a strong desire of harmony, guidance, strength, friendship and emotional connection)

Then… eventually it happened. Karin came to Amsterdam in October to record Quiet love with Philippe… a big magical moment. Hard work too… The one day, whilst taking a break, Karin and I went into the Hartens Café to get a quick bite…. We walked in and I asked her where she would like to sit…she pointed to a table at the back and we sat down. Next to the table on the shelf was a bottle of wine…..

During the week many of our discussions centered on a theater production we would like to link to the whole Istart2 project. Karin has been working on her own production “Die Boom” (The Tree) for a long time. In Amsterdam there are several trees next to the canal, some of them fall over....like the one posted on my facebook when I arrived in Amsterdam during July this year. Funny enough it was also during the same week that the Anne Frank tree fell over and caused a lot of damage. I have always been fascinated with the tree symbolism… and our discussions often centered on the possibility of “The Tree” as representative of the sustainability concept.

The Plant World generally symbolizes transformation

• Roots represent the past, and honour heritage and the Ancestors.

• Trunk represents the present and reveals the life force and creative spirit within each of us.

• Branches represent desired future goals.

• Fruit or Flowers represent attainment of goals.

Trees are regarded as the medicine people of the plant kingdom. They best represent the Warrior because trees are rooted and contained beings. They are stable yet flexible which allows them to bend in the wind but not break. Trees symbolize the process of transformation...: Roots are the past and how we honour our heritage and Ancestors; the trunk is the present; the branches are future goals.

I want relations which are not purely personal, based on purely personal qualities; but relations based upon some unanimous accord in truth or belief, and a harmony of purpose, rather than of personality. (And I want to add religion here!) I am weary of personality (and religion) Let us be easy and impersonal, not forever fingering over our own souls, and the souls of our acquaintances, but trying to create a new life, a new common life, a new complete tree of life from the roots that are within us.

~ D.H. Lawrence 1885-1930

After an intense week of rehearsals and recordings we all took the Sunday off to do our own thing. Frank, one of my friends on the Dutch iSTART2 team, and I, looked at the movies that showed at the Tuchinski, one of the most beautiful movie theaters in the world. Yes, you have guessed it… the movie that showed was...”The Tree”. 

You can imagine that I was very interested to see what this movie was about…and indeed it was about a tree. Hehe…what else?

The interesting thing was that there was a scene in the movie where two kids opened a toilet and found a few frogs that tried jumping out. The girl in the movie then asked :” Who will let the frog out?” Her mother then appeared and

said: “ George, George will let the frog out!” The obvious question to ask now: "Who is George?” 

(Symbolism of the Frog: When the frog jumps into your life it may indicate now is a time to find opportunities in transition. We see animal symbolism of transition with the frog in its unique growth cycle. The frog undergoes incredible transformations to reach the destination of full adulthood, and so do we as humans)

Two days later I had to fly back to South Africa for a quick business thing that came up… I had a few meetings and on the Friday I realized that I will need the help of a big Advertising company to help me with my business Plan. I googled the top Ten advertising companies in South Africa and started at the top of the list. Okay it was Friday afternoon, but still. One would expect Top companies to answer their telephones. I phoned the biggest four on the list, but couldn’t get an answer at anyone of their Head Offices. Makes you think hey?? I then gave it up and decided to look at other options… one day this story will be told ... :-)

For the first time in my life I am aware that someone else is making the moves… I have become a mere spectator and an instrument in the hands of a higher power… the universe. Or as Jung put it : “I could not say I believe. I know! I have had the experience of being gripped by something that is stronger than myself, something that people call God.”

I also have to agree, now more than ever, with his statement that “Religion is a defense against the experience of God.’

You Are

In the Right Place,

At the Right Time,

Doing the Right Thing,

With the Right People,

For the Right Reason,

Everything is Perfect.

You Can Have the Right Results!

All you need is a Right Heart and Mind…

an Open Heart and Mind.

remember to keep your Eyes Open too!

Good advice from an unknown stranger. Hehe….

Earth Song... Blowin' in the wind.

“Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice”.

- Robert Frost

Sustainability… a word that conjures up images of a post-apocalyptic wasteland…

The BP oil spill…

An exhausted oil-covered brown pelican tries to climb over an oil containment boom along Queen Bess Island Pelican Rookery, 3 miles northeast of Grand Isle, Louisiana June 5, 2010. Wildlife experts are working to rescue birds from the rookery which has been affected by BP's Gulf of Mexico oil spill, and transporting them to the Fort Jackson Rehabilitation Center. (REUTERS/Sean Gardner)

A sea turtle is mired in oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on Grand Terre Island, Louisiana June 8, 2010. (REUTERS/Lee Celano)

The Iceland volcano…

Climate and Energy policies…

Spill and emission protection… 

“The trouble with our times is that the future is not what it used to be”

– Paul Valery.

Images tempting us to discount Motherhood-and-Apple Pie buzzwords as Pie-in-the-sky gibberish? Or not? You decide.

But iStart2day… 

....to embrace and support the untapped latent artistic and cultural talent of Communities all over the World to inspire sustainability and develop responsible citizenship.

We aim to achieve a few key objectives:

- To change the “reality” of how we view the world to a better, more sustainable reality.

“We all have a moral duty to ensure that whatever we do today doesn’t compromise the needs of those who come after us. None of us is the owner of this Earth. We are all caretakers, and transient at that. As transient caretakers, we have a duty to save the planet.” – Mervyn King, Transient Caretakers

With COP16, to be held in Cancun Mexiko, in November, and COP17 in South Africa towards the end of 2011, we have the ideal opportunity to share the magic of South Africa with the rest of the world. Even more importantly, we can show the rest of the world that we as South Africans can contribute in our unique way to making life on earth sustainable. To this end we have also partenered with COPART to connect our planet and re-imagine together.

Michael Jackson asks “Do we give a damn?” in his ‘Earth Song”? Is it really about saving the earth? Or is it actually about saving the human race?

Do we give a damn?

Do we, really?

- To unite the different ideas of what sustainability is, and so unites the varying governments, institutions, cultures and communities to strive for the collective goal of a sustainable world. 

“Our situation can only be improved if corporations, governments and individuals all realize they have a shared interest, namely to improve the quality of life on our planet by reducing the negative impacts on our environment caused by our conduct and the actions of those who came before us.” – Mervyn King, Transient Caretakers.

- To reconcile the intuitive understanding of sustainability to it’s practical application in…

Water…

“When the well’s dry, we’ll know the value of water”

- Benjamin Franklin

The clock is ticking for South Africa’s stretched water supply, and in another four to five years demand will have caught up with supply, according to a top official. Jones Mnisi, acting chief operating officer at Johannesburg Water, the public utility overseeing supply in the country’s economic hub, told a recent conference on water security that the tipping point where demand outstripped supply may not be far away.

South Africa is projected to have a higher relative irrigation demand under a plausible future climate scenario, irrespective of its being a wet, average or dry year. (Technical Report on Long Term Mitigation Scenarios, prepared for the Department of Environment affairs and Tourism, 2007)

According to Dr Mervyn King we need to play our part in solving the water crisis in the world. He makes it clear that not all water is accessible to humans. Efficient use of water and improved harvesting methods together with efficient and sustainable water use and distribution are needed to fight physical water scarcity.

Waste…

“An amazing amount (of food) is thrown away, but people don’t see it as a problem,” says Stellenbosch University’s Prof Linus Opara, who is leading a study of post-harvest food losses in Africa.

“I’m hoping that our research will raise awareness, particularly among consumers. Technology can only do so much. We want to be able to put an economic loss to this for businesses and the consumer: imagine if you could save 20% of your food bill each year. You could take the family on holiday,” he says.

Prof Opara’s preliminary research has found most food waste in developed countries occurs in households and eating establishments, while in developing countries a greater proportion is lost on farms or during storage and transportation.

The South African picture, which will emerge only when his students complete their investigations into the local supply chains for fruit and vegetables, may combine aspects of the two extremes, he says.

“We are wasting a lot of other resources — land, water, fertiliser, energy — by wasting food,” he says.

A US study reported by New Scientist in July aptly illustrates the point: it found more energy was wasted each year by US consumers throwing out perfectly edible food than was generated from the oil and gas reserves along that country’s coastline. About 16% of the energy consumed in the US is used to produce food, yet at least a quarter of it is wasted, said the report. Fresh produce and dairy foods were the worst culprits.

I met a member of Generation X
Said, "What's in with you kids these days?
I'm so old I'll probably never've heard of it" -
And then he said, "Purple Haze."

Now I know that we should separate our garbage -
The environment'll give us thanks;
But it's going too far when teenagers re-cycle
Their parents' adolescent angst.

- Tism

I was walking through a town the other day
And I saw it had changed in many ways.
It seems some kids and adults got together
And made that town look a whole lot better.

The parks were clean, 
the river was clean, 
and even...downtown!

Now, you may not think a clean town's strange
But I smiled when I saw how it had changed......

.....

So I asked what was the hardest part
And one girl said it was getting things started,....

.....

Everyone said they really cared
Everyone said the work was shared......

..... 

Once they had things nice and clean
They planted trees and flowers and things......

.....

So they found that many hands make work light,
Young and old worked with all their might
They made their town a better place to be
For people, like you and me.

Talking Clean Town
Joan Maute

and Energy…

Eskom will not be able to keep the lights on by itself over the next two years. It will need the help of the whole of SA, says the utility's CEO, Brian Dames, October 2010.

“Changing our mindsets and the way we choose energy sources and use energy is one part of the answer. Change in policies and alternative and sustainable energy sources, technologies and markets is another (Mervyn King)

Shine, shine, shine on down,
Shine upon the city and the town.
Sun shine on you and me
Warm us up and make us free.

You see solar panels on a satellite,
Collection panels at a building site.
Solar water heaters, ovens and cells,
Where it'll end you never can tell.

Shine, shine, shine on down,
Shine upon the city and the town.
Sun shine on you and me
Warm us up and make us free.

 

So use the principles the sun respects;
Dark absorbs and light reflects.
Low winter sun should shine in your house,
Overhang'll keep the summer out.

Shine, shine, shine on down,
Shine upon the city and the town.
Sun shine on you and me
Warm us up and make us free.

Solar Power Rag
Joan Maute

- Collaborating and actively sharing solutions among businesses, governments and communities in creating a sustainable world

“Sustainability Reporting is the practice of measuring, disclosing, and being accountable to internal and external stakeholders for organizational performance while working towards the goal of sustainable development.” – The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)

It is not only important to share solutions amongst businesses – people everywhere can contribute solutions through social media like facebook and Twitter. iStart2 aims to provide a platform for people to contribute solutions on a large scale.

- Using music and art, to speak to the hearts, heads and hands of people. 

In the words of Oscar Wilde:

 "The artist is the creator of beautiful things”.

• To reveal art and conceal the artist is art's aim.
  The critic is he who can translate into another manner or a new material his impression of beautiful things.
• The highest as the lowest form of criticism is a mode of autobiography. Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is a fault.
• Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope. They are the elect to whom beautiful things mean only beauty.
• There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.
• The nineteenth century dislike of realism is the rage of Caliban seeing his own face in a glass.
• The nineteenth century dislike of romanticism is the rage of Caliban not seeing his own face in a glass.
• The moral life of man forms part of the subject-matter of the artist, but the morality of art consists in the perfect use of an imperfect medium. No artist desires to prove anything. Even things that are true can be proved. No artist has ethical sympathies. An ethical sympathy in an artist is an unpardonable mannerism of style.
• No artist is ever morbid. The artist can express everything.
• Thought and language are to the artist instruments of an art.
• Vice and virtue are to the artist materials for an art. From the point of view of form, the type of all the arts is the art of the musician. From the point of view of feeling, the actor's craft is the type.
• All art is at once surface and symbol.
• Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril.
• Those who read the symbol do so at their peril.
• It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors.
• Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.
• When critics disagree, the artist is in accord with himself.
• We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it. The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely.
• All art is quite useless."

Some interesting insights? Huh?

I fully believe that art and music speaks to your soul…. And if you listen and experience things with your heart…. And it makes sense on a cognitive level… then the hands will start doing the right things…

- Contributing to charities who focus on people with disabilities

“There’s a Star Bangled Banner Waving Somewhere” is a song that combines unabashed patriotism with a maudlin disability perspective. The singer asks, “Can the U.S. use a mountain boy like me… Though I realize I'm crippled, that is true, sir, Please don't judge my courage by my twisted leg.” The absurdity of a boy who wants to go to war when his disability provides him with an exemption and one of the few benefits of disability is striking. Can we even start thinking about caring for the earth if we can’t even care for disabled people…? Isn’t it time for us to start looking beyond the disabilities of other people and recognise our own disability in caring for one another and the earth?

Three of my dearest friends, Karin Hougaard, Philippe Elan and Reyer Zwart, have recorded a song, Quiet Love, for the iStart2 initiative, highlighting how all of us have become “disabled” in our communication with one another.

- Building bridges between South Africa, the Netherlands (the first two countries to come on board) and other countries across the world

Since 2006 I have had the privilege to live in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. My focus was sustainability through leadership and diversity, and I explored ways of getting business and Government in the Netherlands to take hands with South Africans. Through my passion for music and the arts I have realised that in order to create a significant shift in the minds of people relating to sustainability issues there can be no other way, but to create massive awareness and have people start changing their behaviour on a personal level.

Over the past 12 months I have had the opportunity to research and also present our iStart2 idea to more than 200 unique individuals in South Africa and the Netherlands. My approach was to connect to people who have already achieved something significant with their lives.

My search to find out and research what people think about the idea took me to several places in the world... from Texas to New Orleans (during the oilspill), Oak Ridge, Nashville, Memphis, Amsterdam, Istanbul, Cappadocia, Antalya, Ephesus, Prague, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Dusseldorf, Brugge, Cairo, Paris, London... I had the pleasure of connecting with diverse individuals from Radio Stations, meeting with the SABC Board of Directors, the Chamber of Mines, the Dutch Ambassador, Greenpeace, Magazine editors, the Police Academy, prominent people in the Water, waste and energy industry, people in Health, people with disabilities, artists, actors, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), politicians, friends, the Sustainability Institute, universities, even church leaders. Too many to mention...

My research created and contributed to my belief that people in the Netherlands and South Africa really want to take hands to create a better world. The positive response evoked by the way the iStart2 concept proposes to make significant shifts in creating a sustainable world, is inspiring.

Stef Bos, one of the most prominent songwriters, performers and bridgebuilders in the Netherlands and Belgium wrote a song “ Die tydbom tik” (The timebomb ticks”) … and he sings “ … jy kan ‘n fok voel vir die toestand in hierdie land… of jy kan ‘n brug bou na die ander kant…” ( You can feel a f… about the situation in this country… or you can build a bridge to the other side….) Being an ardent fan of Mr Bos, this inspired me (and I hope others) to start building those bridges.

- To unite and inspire the diverse people of the world to take hands and make a better tomorrow, today.

It doesn’t matter what religion you belong to, it doesn’t matter what the colour of your skin is, it doesn’t matter where you are from, it doesn’t matter who or what you are… it matters how ALL of us take hands to leave behind a sustainable world.

Stef Bos, Karin Hougaard, Philippe Elan, Malefane Mokoena, the Parlotones, Sibongile Khumalo and others are in the process of recording songs contributing their magic towards the Istart2 project. Negotiations with a number of artists are ongoing to join the movement. Artists wishing to take hands with us on this project are encouraged to contact/ email me @ Pierre@istart2.com as soon as possible. A number of initiatives are planned and your involvement will be highly appreciated.  

The iStart2 (I = starts with me, S = Sustainability T = Thru ART, 2 = too) idea uses music and art, to speak to the hearts, heads and hands of people. Creating awareness and actively sharing solutions, in an authentic natural manner on the largest of scales. Let us touch the soul of people.

How do we go about achieving these objectives? 
The iSTART2 TEAM will be organising a country wide competition ( in SA and The Netherlands) whereby people in every town (TOWN VS TOWN) enroll to compete in 7 different categories ( all ages) focussed on the theme of water, waste and energy, to find new talent in the following areas

•         Music – a song

•         Acting – Story telling

•         Writing - Poem or short story

•         Photography or video

•         Dance

•         Painting and craft

•         Fashion

•         And for the scientists… Istart2-science.

The idea being that Towns' winners compete with each other on a regional basis, province to province. The winner of the regional competition moving on to the finals.

Competition finalists to compete in a Television series of 13 episodes to find the ultimate winners in each category

Creating skills development for 350 finalists through an educational coaching and mentorship program to enhance and sustain their talent

Collaborating with businesses to market solutions and products through the project

Engaging with possible role players for funding

Creating opportunity for entrepreneurs, scientists, artists and communities to collaborate in making this initiative a reality

 

I had and get the opportunity to connect and gain commitment and/or support from a number of individuals. I am also currently involved in discussions with the boards of Directors of the largest organisations and government in amongst others Water, Waste and Energy.

Negotiations and discussions with a wide range of people in business, the media, government, institutions and Entrepreneurs  (amongst others) are ongoing:

"iStart2 is a novel project which could make a meaningful contribution to making life on earth sustainable" 

 

- Mervyn King, 2010. Chairman of the GRI ; King III

 

"Our transition to a sustainable world will need revolutionary
 change. People only change happily when their hearts whisper to their hands that they should do so... Because art speaks to the heart, I believe ‘iStart2’ can spark the change we need. I have started 2" 

 

- Sietse van der Woude, Safety and Sustainability Adviser, Chamber of Mines, October 2010

(Personal note to self:  I am literally blown away by the positive response I am getting in every single discussion about this initiative)

Thank you to the iStart2 teams in South Africa and the Netherlands for their unselfish work in making this initiative a reality. It is my belief that we have gathered together a core group of people who are willing and able to deliver on an extraordinary project to change the lives of a great many people. This iStart2 team is more than willing to contribute to the creation of a sustainable world… today.

“Let us take the hard lessons learnt on this road and recommit ourselves to the global sustainable agenda” . DEPUTY MINISTER REJOICE MABUDAFHASI AT THE HIGH LEVEL MINISTERIAL SEGMENT OF THE CONFERENCE OF PARTIES HELD IN NAGOYA, JAPAN, 27 OCTOBER 2010

Let’s embrace and support the untapped latent artistic and cultural talent of  Communities all over the World to inspire sustainability and develop responsible citizenship. Getting 10 million people in every country that commit to iStart2 do one thing different, and doing it…

In Summary, We can do this by:

•         Changing the “reality” of how we view the world to a better more sustainable “reality”, in the practical application of how we manage water, waste and energy. 

•         Using music and art, to speak to the hearts, heads and hands of people

•         Collaborating and actively sharing solutions among businesses, governments and communities in creating a sustainable world.

•         Contributing to charities who focus on people with disabilities

•         Building bridges between South Africa, the Netherlands (the first two countries to come on board) and other countries across the world

•         Uniting the diverse people of the world to take hands and build a better tomorrow today.

•         Getting 10 million people in every country that commit to iStart2 do one thing different, and doing it.

Blowing in the wind?

We need all the support we can get. If you are interested to collaborate on this initiative, please email me at Pierre@istart2.com with your ideas, questions and suggestions.

We will be launching the websites, facebook and Twitter pages and other initiatives towards the end of 2010/ beginning 2011.

Looking forward to hearing from you! :-)