I just saw a fascinating video on the TED site that I wanted to share with you all.  It is from a series co-sponsored by the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce (RSA), and given by Jeremy Rifkin, author and frequent speaker on the impact of scientific and technological changes on the economy, the workforce, society and the environment.

In this talk Rifkin tells us of a study conducted in a lab in Italy in the early 90s.  Scientists were studying the brains of monkeys using an MRI machine, and through a fluke accident discovered mirror neurons.  This is to say, they discovered that the neurons in mammal brains (monkeys and humans, to start) would “light up” while watching the experience of someone experiencing something outside itself. We know this feeling well.  Imagine the last horror film you saw.  Remember the fear you felt as you watched some unsuspecting protagonist flee from the villain, or experience pain?  Why do you feel that pain or fear if it is not happening to you?  Well these scientists found, and Rifkin posits, it’s because “we are soft wired to experience another’s plight as if we are experiencing it ourselves.” We are an empathic civilization. We’re not wired for “aggression, violence and self-interest…but for socialbility, attachment…affection, companionship; and that the first drive is the drive to belong.”  Have I piqued your interest?  Take a look!

“The Empathic Civilization is emerging. A younger generation is fast extending its empathic embrace beyond religious affiliations and national identification to include the whole of humanity and the vast project of life that envelops the Earth.”

We here at HarmonyWishes harbor a hope  and belief in this empathic civilization.  It’s even in our name: HarmonyWishes!  We hope that our efforts here to spread images and messages of tolerance, beauty, optimism and diversity can inspire that growing civilization-a civilization that might be soft wired in our nature as humans.  Help us spread this message of commonality today by sending out an image that can inspire your empathic emerging civilization.

Has anyone caught this fascinating talk on experience versus memory on the TED site?  This one is a bit longer (20 min) than the usual video I post to the blog.  But the subject is fascinating. If you take a peek, you’ll hear from Daniel Kahneman, who is said to be one of the most influential living psychologists. He and his former partner, Amos Tversky, won the Nobel Prize for their pioneering work in behavioral economics.

Kahneman starts by telling a story of a guy who goes to a “glorious” concert.  But at the end, there is a loud noise, that the guy describes as so bad it ruined the whole concert.  Kahneman argues that the concert wasn’t ruined, just the memory of the concert.

“What this is telling us, really, is that we might be thinking of ourselves and of other people in terms of two selves. There is an experiencing self, who lives in the present and knows the present, is capable of re-living the past, but basically it has only the present…And then there is a remembering self, and the remembering self is the one that keeps score, and maintains the story of our life…Those are two very different entities, the experiencing self and the remembering self and getting confused between them is part of the mess of the notion of happiness.”

If I’ve piqued your interest, then hit play below.

I’m curious what photographers and artists would have to say about this notion of the experiencing and remembering selves.  How does photography or the visual arts play into this concept and the cognitive trap of measuring experiences and emotions that Kahneman mentions (want to weigh in, Mike?)  What do you think, reader?  This has got my brain churning.

Saludos,

Megan

I just caught a glimpse of this fun video on YouTube made by Stargate Studios, a high tech production company that does visual effects for film and television.  I was pleasantly shocked. I couldn’t believe how many backgrounds, and even foregrounds, had been modified using technology.  Do you recognize a popular TV show or movie you’ve seen in the series of clips? I shouldn’t be surprised.  So much of what we consume in terms of media is altered these days–from print ads that are airbrushed, to million-dollar Hollywood films that feature monsters and heroes created on a hard drive.  What we perceive when viewing the final product is sometimes only the final layer to a process.

As a radio producer I think about this process a lot as I listen to, watch or view media in some way. And now that I teach radio production to young people here in Oaxaca, I consider media literacy an important part of the learning process to creating media of any kind. What’s behind the media we consume?  When we look at an image or listen to audio, someone had to place that camera there, that microphone.  Someone is directing our “gaze” towards something. It’s good to be aware of that.

Have you ever seen the movie Broadcast News?  It’s from the 80’s, starring Holly Hunter, William Hurt and Albert Brooks. I always think of that scene where Hurt’s character’s ethics as a reporter are called into question. The news crew is sent out with one camera to perform an interview. So as you might imagine, they set up the camera facing the woman being interviewed.  However, like many news shows, they want to grab some video of the reporter listening to the interview that they can edit later and splice into the interview.  You’ve seen this before.  Think of any time you’ve watched Barbara Walters or Mike Wallace interview someone. You see a cut of them asking a question, then the interviewee answering, then a quick shot of the interviewer nodding as they listen, right?  Well, if you only have one camera, which is very possible for small news crews, you have to shoot those questions and nods after the interview has finished.  What you see is not what actually happened, but what the crew has reproduced. In the case of Hurt’s character, we find that during the actual interview he is caught up by the emotional story of the woman he is interviewing and truly cries.  When the interview is over, and the crew turns the camera on Hurt to grab a few quick shots of him asking questions and nodding, one of his line producers laments that they didn’t have two cameras to catch his actual emotional reaction, which would be “good television.”  He rebuts, “Give me a second. I can get myself there,” and then summons a few manufactured tears for them to film.

So, is there a difference?  Is there a difference between filming stock shots of interview questions after-the-fact, and reproducing emotional reactions? And sometimes I wonder why are we filming the interviewer at all if the story is about what the interviewee has to say? What’s the purpose? What do you think?

I don’t think the production of media is necessarily bad, or created with a sinister intent to mislead us.  There’s obviously a different set of guidelines for broadcast news and entertainment media. Like the video from Stargate Studios, production can create imaginative scenes and stories that transport us somewhere else, somewhere we couldn’t otherwise go.  Touching up photos can make an image pop, draw the eye somewhere new and unique, make a statement, no?  I invite you to visit our galleries and take a closer look.  Think about the story and process behind the images.  Sometimes that process is just as fascinating as the naked image itself.  Questions, doubts, revelations can arise from peering just a little bit closer, or from a different angle.  And we invite that inquiry.  Come take a look (or invite someone else to by sending off a card)!  And then tell us what you think.  We’re interested in the dialogue.

Cheers,

Megan

What is the value of the work we do?  How do we measure that value?  Are salaries commensurate with the value of our labors?  I would wager that many would say “no.”  I certainly would.

We can talk about the comparatively low salaries for our public school teachers in comparison to the pay scale for professional athletes; or the institution of a minimum wage to counteract the inability of markets to provide income equity for the least able members of the work force.  But what I want to know is, if we were to develop a new system, a system that awarded value to jobs not just based on economic terms, but also for their social and environmental benefit to society, what would that look like?  And how do we get there.

Enter The New Economics Foundation (NEF) and their report called  “The Value of Work,” released last year around Christmas time.  “For the first time, NEF is attempting to put a value on what different types of employment are ‘worth’ to us as a society…In doing this we hope to throw light on the disparity between the way our society rewards certain activities that might have little social benefit and disincentivises others that have far greater social benefit. Not only are people encouraged to pursue a bottom line no matter what cost (e.g. sell a mortgage to someone they know can’t afford it) but the jobs that may be the most socially and environmentally destructive may be attracting the best and brightest staff at the expense of other professions.”

The report uses valuation techniques to track and measure the social, environmental and economic value that six professions produce – or in some cases undercut.  It also sets out to bust some myths associated with the subject, like:

• We need to pay high salaries to attract and retain talent
• Workers in highly paid jobs work harder
• The private sector is more efficient than the public sector
• Pay always rewards underlying profitability
• Some jobs are more satisfying, so they require less pay

I’m curious, how about you?

I’m trying to imagine what it would look like if salaries were based on a more holistic measure of the benefit to society.  Would garbage men be the new millionaires? Or teachers?  Would cinema stars find themselves making minimum wage (no judgements here about the actors; I love the movies. I’m just speculating)?  What are the benefits to society for various professions, professions that go unobserved and undervalued, but are of tremendous use to us all?

“The research will also challenge our notion of what constitutes ‘value’ and suggest mechanisms for measuring a broader and richer set of costs and benefits that are not captured in the bottom line. It seeks to disrupt the link between pay and status and draw attention to the impacts of different kinds of work that are often hidden behind paychecks. This will go beyond the usual emphasis on nurses and teachers to jobs that often go unnoticed.”

If you’re interested, go check out their article.  You can download it from the site for free.  NEF has tons of other interesting studies and reports released from their site.  Some that consider the implications of changing the global workforce to work a 21-hour day, or a toolkit for making active choices to change your energy use habits for the better.  It’s a pretty tremendous resource, and all of it available to the public for no charge!

Saludos,

Megan

Need some help getting started on our site?  Well come take a quick look with me.  I’ll take you on a quick tour of how to send your very own card. Watch our new video tutorial today!

Enjoy!

Megan

Well folks, the fourth of July approaches. In the United States that marks a day to celebrate America’s Independence from England.  While here in Oaxaca, July 4th is Election Day in the state.  These occasions can inspire both celebration and ire, depending on where you sit.  For me, since the date can invite consideration for my history, civic work or the role of governments and citizens, I prefer to take this July 4th to reflect on myself and my actions as a citizen of the world.

How am I affecting the world I live in?  What is my role as a part of civil society?  What can I do to have a positive effect on my immediate surroundings? How can I be a good citizen even when I live outside my own home country?

It’s easy to get wrapped up in the misdeeds and shortcomings of our governments and elected officials on days like the fourth. What they do changes our lives in a myriad of ways, often not for the better.  So much so, that I can sometimes get mired down in feeling inert or helpless to affect a change. But the truth is, there are SO many people doing amazing things on the small, micro levels that do have a tremendous impact, even if only in one small space of the world.  And it’s that civic work that I want to think about on the fourth of July; it’s that work that that I want to celebrate.  Let me give you an example from my life…

Hub Oaxaca Work Space

For the last year I have been working with a small group of tireless people here in Oaxaca to set up a space called The Hub.  The Hub is a global network of spaces and communities that inspire and support imaginative and enterprising initiatives for a better world. They are places that borrow from the best of a member’s club, an innovation agency, a shared office and a think-tank, to create a new kind of space for social change–supporting social actors directly in their areas of work. Here in Oaxaca, we have been setting up a local Hub with a mind towards our regional context. Oaxaca is a majority indigenous area; it’s economically poor, and rural. It is often described as the line between the industrialized North and the traditional indigenous communities to the South. Our Hub, Hub Oaxaca, is a community concerned with well being, sustainability and the open exchange between communities–traditional and emerging–here in Oaxaca.

Hub Oaxaca: Collective Learning

Every day that I work at the Hub I meet new people who are doing amazing work at a small level to change our world for the better.  A guy starting a bicycling initiative to inspire alternative and eco-friendly ways to commute around the city.  A therapist who uses art to transform the lives of the children with whom she works. Artisans who are laboring to start a training school for apprentices, so that artisanal traditions and crafts are not lost, but where innovations are also encouraged. It’s inspiring to see!

Who is working where you live, or work to make a positive change?  Are you affecting your surroundings in a constructive way (even if just in a small, personal approach)?  Who are you as a citizen of the world, wherever you are in the world? Make a list.  Put pen to paper to recognize what you’ve done as a neighbor, a parent, a friend, a co-worker.  Maybe you vigilantly recycle, or you planted a garden in your community. Perhaps you’re attentive to keeping a peaceful mindset and a compassionate demeanor. Or maybe you listen attentively to a colleague, an elderly neighbor, a friend. It doesn’t have to be big to make a difference. And what is it that you want to accomplish before the next Election Day or celebration of independence in your home state or country? What steps could you take in the year to come?

And if you can’t find examples where you live of positive work, then take a look here. This is a great site called Philanthropist.org.  Philanthropist.org allows people  like you and me to become philanthropists. As a donor, even in small amounts, you can support entrepreneurs and volunteers working on exciting projects around the world by contributing a small loan or donation. Often times it is difficult for small social actors to receive financial support; the majority of funding is funneled towards institutions. Philanthropist.org supports small social actors who are not a part of large charitable institutions, or those that have not formed official non-profits (a costly process) to get the financial support the need to make an impact at the micro and macro levels.  Check them out.

There are tons of initiatives around the world, like Philanthropist.org, working to support and celebrate the actions of the myriad people interested in making a difference.  Surf around on the web, scroll the bulletin boards at rec centers or churches, or just look around your community, or inside your own home for a good example.  You might be shocked to see how much good work is going on.

Cheers,

Megan

It’s been a slow month on the blog thus far.  I apologize for my absence.  It hasn’t been a slow month in reality.  To be honest, I wish I had some tool to slow things down in my real life so I could better enjoy certain moments.  Well, now I do!  It’s been created by Phantom, a line of digital cameras that allows the user to record a video at as many as 1000 frames per second.  It’s pretty incredible what you can notice at 1000 FPS.  Take a look…

Now, I’m not trying to advertise for Pedigree dog food, or for Phantom cameras, for that matter.  And I certainly don’t have $2,500 to spend on a camera.  But this is a pretty great video; all those little paws and the small gestures of pleasure from each of those pups! Oh, how I wish I could snap my fingers and slow down the day to take in the details.  How about you?  What would you slow down?  What would you watch at 1000 FPS?  I’m curious.

Saludos,

Megan

Green My Parents

I read an interesting article recently from one of the New York Times blogs about an environmental program geared towards harnessing the immense energy and tenacity of children.  It’s called Green My Parents.  As they state on their site, GMP, “is a movement that activates & enlists kids to lead their families in measuring & reducing environmental impact at home & ‘challenge’ their parents to share savings with kids.”  The effort was just launched this past Earth Day, and now has a presence on Facebook and Twitter, trying to spread the word to young people and their parents all over the globe.  I love the way the GMP empowers kids to take a more assertive role in decisions at home, leading the way for their families.  Sometimes we need the optimism and creativity of the next generation to help push us towards the innovative and oft-traveled paths.

Many of the GMP tips are focused on countries like the U.S., where infrastructure allows for many of the changes they suggest.  However, a few tips are applicable for other contexts. I would love to see GMP chapters pop up in other countries around the globe, adapting the format for local and regional needs and opportunities.  It could be a great global community project, all pioneered by kids!

This same blog also brought me to the TED site again to watch a short speech given by young dynamo, Adora Svitak.  Svitak is no stranger to speaking in public, despite her young age (12 years old).  In this TED video, she posits that adults need to encourage “childish thinking”: “bold ideas, wild creativity and, especially, optimism.”  Unhampered by past experiences, Svitak points out that kids tend to dream big; and perhaps our job as adults is to (1) learn from that example, and (2) create environments to encourage and incubate those big ideas.

Spring is a great chance to foster your child-like dreams, or those of a child you know and love.  The weather is warming up and new energy is in the air.  How can you take that natural vitality that Spring has to offer and approach a task with “childish” optimism and ingenuity? Or can you enlist a young person you know to collaborate with you in a personal project, or one in your community?  You might find the exploration rejuvenating! 

Cheers,

Megan

I’ve got a lot of fun YouTube discoveries this month for you,  HarmonyWishes community.  So get ready to strap in and take the visual (or auditory) journey.

This latest find I stumbled upon while on the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) video site.  (The link is actually via YouTube).  TED hosted a conversation about “Notes & Neurons” and the common, almost innate connection humans have to the Pentatonic scale. If you don’t know what a Pentatonic scale is, don’t worry, me neither. I had to look it up.  “A Pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five pitches per octave in contrast to a Heptatonic (seven note) scale such as the major scale.”  Apparently, Pentatonic scales are very common around the world, found in Celtic music, West African music, rock, blues, melodies from Korea, China, India.  The list goes on.

In this video you’ll see musician Bobby McFerrin demonstrate the very ingrained notes of the Pentatonic scale with the audience.  He comments that no matter where he performs this exercise, whatever country, the result is the same–”everyone gets it.”

It’s sometimes hard to believe in our giant world that we all could share some innate capabilities or instincts.  Here at HarmonyWishes our mission is to embrace and encourage diversity and tolerance.  Exploring our differences, as well as our common characteristics, whether through music, ideas, images or sound, is important to us.  We’d love to hear your stories of commonality in unexpected places.  You can share it with us here on the blog, or send us a line.

Happy May!

Cheers,

Megan

I sent off a little Mother’s Day gift today. There’s no doubt that it will arrive late, if not for the distance it must travel, then for the tardiness in my sending it off the week of. But I know that Sunday itself I will send a personal card off through HarmonyWishes that will arrive just in time to let my mum know I’m thinking of her–even if the little gift is lagging behind in the Mexican post.  So don’t forget the ease and creativity in sending off a note through HW. We’d love to help you share a message with the mothers you know and love.

I always like to have a different kind of conversation with my mother around special occasions, like birthdays and Mother’s Day.  My mom and I seem to use those times to do more than the typical “check-in” we’re used to over the phone.  I thought I’d share this wonderful animated clip I just saw from the StoryCorps site.  StoryCorps is one of the largest oral history projects around. They have been recording and sharing conversations between everyday Americans since 2003, when their first mobile booth opened up at Grand Central Terminal in New York City. They invite anyone to come with a partner and record an interview. All interviews are,”…recorded on a free CD to share, and preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.”  They recently animated one of their recordings, a beautiful conversation between 12-year-old Joshua Littman, and his mother, Sarah.  Take a look!

Q&A from StoryCorps on Vimeo.

I find Joshua’s curiosity and creative questions so encouraging.  I’ve already started a list of my own unique questions for Mom.  Does this conversation inspire any new questions for conversation between you and your mom?  If you’re having any trouble getting started, take a look at some fun suggestions from author Judith Newman on the Real Simple website in her article “10 Questions to Ask Your Mother Now.” You might opt for the classic “which one of us kids did you like best?” Or perhaps a more revealing question like, “Is there anything you have always wanted to tell me but never have?” All the questions are bound to stir up a different conversation from the norm.

We hope our images and personalized cards can do the same.  Think of our cards as the start to a new conversation.  Let’s start the exchange today!

Cheers,

Megan