Bridge Into Hope
By Shae Uisna
I must admit, I'm one of those people who love to sit through all of the closing credits in a film. Once in a blue moon, my endurance will be rewarded, and there will be a surprise waiting for me at the very end. I leave with a feeling that I, and the handful of other patient souls still sitting in the theater, have experienced something unique. Unfortunately, in the case of a 100 year project, like For the Seventh Generation, you have to wait a very long time to find out how it all ends!
When we look at the world around us, it is easy to be overwhelmed by looming and seemingly insurmountable problems. The first step is often to criticize and point out what's wrong. At this juncture we have many choices, one being a descent into impotence and despair. Another is to explore our humanity. What is most difficult, but absolutely essential, is to devise solutions and create a "Bridge into Hope." A "Bridge into Hope" is a bridge into self-awareness, it's a bridge into empowerment and a bridge into optimism. It's saying that, " I have a place in this world, I have an important part to play and what I do does matter." Some people say that we have turned a corner and that we are beyond hope, but I think that this kind of sentiment has a habit of fulfilling it's own prediction. If each of us as individuals do not have the ability to create our world, who does? We need a commitment to finding answers. We need a commitment to each other and to all species of life. We need to go beyond the belief that the world and its creatures are here for us to exploit. We need a commitment to a healthy planet.
It will take a great deal of art to imagine a solution for the problems that face us. The glory and the tragedy of our species is that we are creatures of tremendous extremes. We have the ability to be tender, loving, selfless and creative as well as the capacity to be cruel, self-serving, righteous and closed-minded. Our species tends to prefer to endure wars instead of actively working for peace. History is a mirror of the tragedy of the race. Individually, tribally, or nationally we can fight wars to achieve our ends or we can develop non-violent paradigms to resolve our conflicts. I throw my lot in with the latter; I'm rooting for us to grow up as a species.
I am a puppeteer and an artist. I tell stories through dance, image and sound. Several years ago, an idea came to me, a story about Places that were "looked after" by keenly aware and perceptive people known as "Guardians." The story went something like this:
"Time it was, and what a time it was! Longa time ago, there was a Place that people called Elee. Elee didn't have any kings and queens, nor did it have presidents or congresses. Instead, each Place had a Guardian or 3 who looked after things."
I have found in For the Seventh Generation other people who share my concept of Place and Guardianship. I would like to
thank Seventh Generation founder John Teply for the power, the beauty and the conviction of his vision, for his "Bridge into Hope." Before some things can become real, they must be imagined and believed in. And the more people who believe in thing, the better chance it has of becoming a reality. The "Bridge into Hope" begins by exploring what it is to be human. In our stories (in the arts) we reveal that which we hold important, that which we experience as divine, and that which hurts and brings sadness. Stories are what nurture and guide us. You can tell something about a people by their stories and by how they talk to
each other. This is where it begins.
When we look at the world around us, it is easy to be overwhelmed by looming and seemingly insurmountable problems. The first step is often to criticize and point out what's wrong. At this juncture we have many choices, one being a descent into impotence and despair. Another is to explore our humanity. What is most difficult, but absolutely essential, is to devise solutions and create a "Bridge into Hope." A "Bridge into Hope" is a bridge into self-awareness, it's a bridge into empowerment and a bridge into optimism. It's saying that, " I have a place in this world, I have an important part to play and what I do does matter." Some people say that we have turned a corner and that we are beyond hope, but I think that this kind of sentiment has a habit of fulfilling it's own prediction. If each of us as individuals do not have the ability to create our world, who does? We need a commitment to finding answers. We need a commitment to each other and to all species of life. We need to go beyond the belief that the world and its creatures are here for us to exploit. We need a commitment to a healthy planet.
It will take a great deal of art to imagine a solution for the problems that face us. The glory and the tragedy of our species is that we are creatures of tremendous extremes. We have the ability to be tender, loving, selfless and creative as well as the capacity to be cruel, self-serving, righteous and closed-minded. Our species tends to prefer to endure wars instead of actively working for peace. History is a mirror of the tragedy of the race. Individually, tribally, or nationally we can fight wars to achieve our ends or we can develop non-violent paradigms to resolve our conflicts. I throw my lot in with the latter; I'm rooting for us to grow up as a species.
I am a puppeteer and an artist. I tell stories through dance, image and sound. Several years ago, an idea came to me, a story about Places that were "looked after" by keenly aware and perceptive people known as "Guardians." The story went something like this:
"Time it was, and what a time it was! Longa time ago, there was a Place that people called Elee. Elee didn't have any kings and queens, nor did it have presidents or congresses. Instead, each Place had a Guardian or 3 who looked after things."
I have found in For the Seventh Generation other people who share my concept of Place and Guardianship. I would like to
thank Seventh Generation founder John Teply for the power, the beauty and the conviction of his vision, for his "Bridge into Hope." Before some things can become real, they must be imagined and believed in. And the more people who believe in thing, the better chance it has of becoming a reality. The "Bridge into Hope" begins by exploring what it is to be human. In our stories (in the arts) we reveal that which we hold important, that which we experience as divine, and that which hurts and brings sadness. Stories are what nurture and guide us. You can tell something about a people by their stories and by how they talk to
each other. This is where it begins.