Collective Actualization

“Quite clearly, our task is predominantly metaphysical, for it is how to get all of humanity to educate itself swiftly enough to generate spontaneous social behaviors that will avoid extinction.” — Buckminster Fuller, “The Wellspring of Reality”

• As with all three movements, our collective actualization is well underway.

• The image of the individual, embarking on a solo journey of self discovery, finding Nirvana and leaving the rest of us behind is a myth. We are social animals and we are better at discovering who we are in a social context.

• Humans need other humans. We define ourselves (us) according to others (not us). We see environment as everything not us: other people, the world, Earth. In truth, our edges are not so clear; we are a complex web of unseen interdependence. We grow in relationship with others; actualization must be a collective effort.

• You don’t have to be an expert to participate in this movement. In fact, if you are trying to improve yourself, then you’re participating. After all, you are part of the human family. If you can find ways to co-learn with others, then your influence will be expanded and you will be helping the movement even more.

• We are all at different levels of actualization, with different aspects of ourselves developed more than others. You need only be a little ahead of someone else in one small aspect of yourself to have something valuable to offer others. Your struggle may be just the insight others need.

• Certainly we need to rethink the educational system, but this is mostly about the self-directed kind of education that can only come from a person wanting to learn and change.

• I’m calling it a movement because educating yourself in an effort to unlink yourself from the existing power systems is a revolutionary act. Along with design, it is also a peaceful act.

Therefore: