Bridging Societal Gaps and Nourishing Social Capital
“The Moments’ Pause Project: Reminders of Our Natural Roots is a research, culture preservation, and social capital building initiative that — during a global era of increasing political tension and societal unrest — is tending to this world We all as a global community share.
This Project is about taking a moment’s pause to observe and to become reminded of the socially binding commonalities that all humans share. … These are our intrinsic needs to be loved and accepted, to be accepting and loving, as well as our necessity for having a nourishing natural environment that includes familial and community connections.
While this grassroots campaign — its foundation being built since 2010 — has many aspects, its root and ultimate goal is to collaboratively address conflict and environment related issues that are impacting Us worldwide.
It’s perhaps prudent then that we humans really take a moment to reflect: What is happening on Planet Earth regarding the supposed progress of the human species? Let’s take a closer look, at ourselves. What should we humans be prioritizing? What do we really want — for ourselves, our neighbors, and especially for our future generations?
This Project is about momentarily slowing down from our seemingly incessant state of being “busy.” It’s about introspectively thinking before we entirely destroy our life-sustaining planet (and each other), and about meditating on the natural goodness that remains.
Can we, if even for a short time, contemplate in these regards the importance of our varying cultures and the intrinsic value of our heritages? How about the significance of and capacity for our inclination to live in harmonious community with one another — perhaps (once again) regulated by our natural environment?
Can we observe and listen to the ‘voices’ of people from an age range and from different ethnicities comprised of those who still represent ways of life, and harness vitally essential indigenous knowledge about these aspects, inherent and fundamental to all of us?
For with each older generation that the modern world is losing — their ‘traditional’ knowledge with them, amidst our supposed capitalist ‘development progress’ and a resulting homogenizing world culture — it is as though monumental segments of an ancient societal iceberg are sliding into the sea.
What does this mean for Us all?
Addressing Global and Local Issues
The economic market related decisions that humans have been making for generations are rendering like never before very tangible effects on our reality — some for the worse and some for the better — in terms of our natural environment and overall social functioning.
If we are going to find creative solutions to global challenges, then let’s focus on the root of prominent global issues.
The intended result of this Project is to create a solution based campfire of sorts.
This involves utilising documentary-style multimedia — particularly that of lifestyle oriented activities that all humans do, in different cultural forms —as a central focus point for moderated, social capital building, multi-sector collaborative discussion platforms. for the purpose of tangibly addressing serious issues and cultivating a more harmonious global society.
This Project’s ultimate goals are to 1) cultivate global awareness regarding the actual societal impacts of economic mega “development,” such as environmental and social degradation; and 2) as a solution, support truly sustainable community development projects that nourish individuals and communities and therefore the realm of our overall global society.
Will you join with us in observing and preserving our natural roots?
“Problems can be rectified once their roots have been identified.
I believe a panacea to our self-perpetuated societal predicaments can transpire only after we, as individuals and as a global society, truly admit that these problems actually exist; we must take democratic responsibility.
This said, the basis of my Work, and this Project, is about exploring into the roots of our human condition.
This is particularly in relation to how “development” and the capitalist global market system has impacted these roots, and how we regardless of world location are resultantly experiencing similar phenomena but in different forms.
I believe that tangible solutions exist within our communities. And taking a moments’ pause for reminding ourselves of our natural roots — the commonalities We all share — as living beings on Planet Earth together has great potential for nourishing peace in social unity.”
— Jeffrey Warner, project author (cv)
