The Duty to Stay Connected

by Tara Joyce | Oct 16, 2009 | Cultural Creativity

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We’ll connect when I’m good and ready

Why do we feel that it is our duty to be available whenever someone wants us? I am working to relinquish myself from this self-imposed duty to stay connected.

I like to connect, but I am not easy to connect with. Relatively speaking.

I don’t list my phone number and most phone calls are left for the machine to answer. I don’t own a smart phone and my emails are read and answered twice a day. I’m not on FaceBook. And I rarely instant message.

If you want to reach me you have three choices: phone, email and Twitter. Each of these tools allows me to control when I receive communication and when I respond to it. And that works for me.

You can keep your gadgets

I object to our society’s overriding belief that we can solve the problem of overcommitment by using more gadgets and more mediums to do more, more quickly and efficiently. More does not simplify. Thoughtful reduction simplifies.

As we create more mediums for communication, I find I’m becoming more selective. For my solution for coping with the overwhelm of overcommitment is not to seek more ways to stay connected but by maintaining simplicity and efficient systems in the avenues for connection that work for me.

I’ll keep my sanity

At times I still feel overwhelmed by the duty to stay connected, especially with email. But I’ve found those systems that I have established have allowed me to better maintain my focus, minimize interruptions and prevent me from feeling like I’ll never keep up.

Of course, I still have much room for improvement and I welcome your ideas for simplifying communication while still maintaining strong connections.

photo by: (Erick)

Wal-Mart’s Leading a New Parade

by Tara Joyce | Oct 15, 2009 | Cultural Creativity

I used to have a serious problem with Wal-Mart. It rudely assaulted my value-based beliefs with it’s focused and crude quest for “cheap”. They seemed to knew the cost of things, but not their value.

Marvel at the Meaningful Capitalism spectacle

In July, Wal-Mart changed the “cheap” game forever, rolling out an environmental labeling program that makes it mandatory for every product to be labelled with the environmental costs of making it.

You’ve never seen this before

What’s brilliant about Wal-Mart’s move is that they aren’t asking for suppliers to change a thing about what they do. There just asking them to honestly share it… with all 130 million people visiting Wal-Mart each week.

Soon you’ll be reading your Coke for calories and environmental degradation. This can is 150 calories and 4000 L of water… huh. By the way, both those Coke facts are wrong… so don’t go repeating them.

Accountability and authenticity as tools to create social change

They’re counting on the fact that suppliers will change their practices to avoid tarnishing their brand. And they’re counting on consumers, when made conscious of the effects of their buying, thinking twice about supporting brands that degrade the earth.

They’re asking you to determine for your self what you truly value. Whether you are a consumer or supplier.

The Values-Based Capitalism parade begins

With Wal-Mart stepping up and taking lead, it’s hard to image that other retailers will not follow suit. After all this isn’t the first parade they’ve lead.

Wal-Mart is a masterful example of how big companies can use their power in a meaningful way, improving society and bringing about change that government hasn’t addressed.

Count on this parade growing stronger, very soon it’s going to be making a real commotion.

This article was originally written for ZeroFootprint and is being published here in honour of Blog Action Day on the topic of climate change.

Photo by: pantagrapher