SA AoC group reflects on freedom. Observatory CT SA 22 March 2015

1) I think that education is very important for creating awareness of the world.  If you teach people to care and love and heal, then you will get people who want to do things for good reasons.  People are not superior to each other, the animals or the earth.  By destroying our world you also destroy people.  If the trees are gone, then people will not be able to breathe.  If the water is polluted we cannot drink.  Our needs are connected to the earth.  People have been telling each other that we don't need the earth.  I think it is time to accept that we do need the earth.  We need it to live.  Once we accept that it will make an important difference.  People need our Mother Earth to nurture us and teach us and we need to love and nurture her too.  (Danny)

2) My thoughts at the moment are about what I need vs what I'd like to have (or even what I think I might like to have).  Realizing how sacred mountains can be mined, and rivers diverted, livelihoods threatened and cultures and identities broken down, for coal which benefits only a few people makes we question how we live.  What do I actually need, what do I sometimes find more convenient, and what is adding to or making problems?  We need water but we don't need the dyes and chemicals that get added.  I wonder about the choices I've made, and the ones I would have made differently if I had been able to see more holistically.  I'm also seeing how human and environmental rights are very intertwined (nicci)

3)  There's such value in positive re-inforcement as opposed to horror stories and scare tactics.  This work is healing work.  It's healing the broken hope.  It heals the guilty conscience and warms our hearts to positive change.  No matter how slow, it is still a change in the right direction.  If everything that is in the world was just originally dreams or ideas then repairing, reducing and caring are also ideas in my head that could oneday become a reality.

SA AoC at Two Rivers Ocean Park Cape Town 28 February 2015

Today, we spoke about freedom.  These are our reflections:

People don't really have the freedom to knowledge.  Businesses often don't tell all of the information about a product, because they know that what they are doing is not ethical or good.  But then people will buy their product or service, and themselves become unethical, even without their knowledge.  Often businesses don't admit these things because then people won't buy their stuff.  This means that people will not often want to support groups that survive at others' expense. (For example, people often don't know that clothes are made in sweat shops or products are tested on animals).   Basically, businesses lie to the public to get what they want, which I think is extremely wrong.  People should not be supporting bad causes without knowing it.

I love willow trees, I love how they look like they have long thin arms which are reaching out, or maybe they just have long hair.  (Danny).

Not everyone or every living creature has the right to be free.  Freedom is something we should enjoy, and not take advantage of.  Not everyone has freedom.  Those who have should treasure it.  Some people have to fight to be free, while others get it handed to them on a silver platter.  Don't take advantage of something so special, that not everyone has the right to.  Living creatures do not have the right to anything.  Trees are cut down without even a thought.  They are killed without consent.

We need to protect this world we live in because one day it might not be here anymore.  We should protect things while there is still a chance for survival, and not when it is too late.  (Raeesa).

Can the aspect of freedom not only relate to human beings, but plants and animals as well?  We speak of freedom, and of how we are free as human beings, but how free are we?  Our freedom is restricted, and limits one to be seen as conventional.  Why can't we have a variety and difference in our lives instead of living in a black and white world of conformity?  We relate freedom to human beings, but freedom can as well be applied to animals and plants.  Even though plants cannot speak the human language, they can emit vibrations.  Why can't plants and trees be as they are?  Environmental rights of animals and plants matter too.  Even though animals do not speak English, they do have their own language that humans may not understand.  If humans invade their habitat, they do communicate, and should have the right to freedom as well (Lauren).

How do we live well, rather than living rich?  How did we learn to believe we should live rich?  Capitalism speaks about creating a need, and it did create a need by taking people out of sustainable life, and from family, and forcing people to work and leave home to do things like work in the mines.

The system was set up to benefit few and create consumers rather than connected people.  We should have freedom to be, rather than have to prove yourself over and over again as productive and worthy.  Freedom could be about about time to spend in long conversations or exploring your child's perceptions of the world.  Or freedom to eat healthily because food isn't full of toxic chemicals.  I'd like to have freedom from the cruelty of factory farming and freedom to create.  It would be helpful to have freedom from products which damage the environment or other people.  Freedom to disconnect from the idea that real work is connected to power or prestige would be helpful too.  Cooking for a family is nourishing work, and yet people may still be seen as unemployed.  I think we need the freedom to define work as that which brings value or makes a difference.  (Nicci).

Levels of freedom range from being physically imprisoned, to being a wandering nomad.  There is financial freedom, but what is that?  There is also also the importance of freedom from physical threat.  There's the freedom of food, shelter, family and love.  How is it that traditional people had to give up this to enter into a capitalist system to earn money?  In exchange for money, people risk physical safety, proper shelter and healthy food choices.  Sometimes they experienced loss of community and family support.  When people had to travel from their homes to 'the land of opportunity' they crossed imagined borders that turned them into criminals if they didn't have the right (invented) documentation to grant them legal access.

The whole system has been created to make menial and ridiculous jobs and procedures to perpetuate itself, and to protect the very few.  (no name).

Danny Attfield Reflects on SA AoC in 2014

Agents of Change helped me rediscover what I realize is a very deep respect for nature.  It helped me express my feelings about the environment and my anger and sadness about what people have done to the Earth.

Agents of Change itself allows discussion about the environment without making anyone feel guilty or telling people  "It is your fault that there is global warming because you don't recycle!" It also taught me about the environment and how everyone is connected.

It gave me a space to feel very peaceful and write poems or meditate even when I was feeling upset or anxious.

I think that Agents of Change has helped me to become a more calm person and worry a bit less about everything in general.  It is nice to think of solutions instead of just stating that there are problems or scaring everyone into not leaving their taps to drip because it would basically lead to the collapse of society.

Agents of Change has helped me believe that I can actually help, even if my contribution is small.  Ripples always start out small.  Thank you Agents of Change.

SA AoC Science Center Cape Town 7 January 2015

I had a surreal experience during the holidays while I was standing in the Supermarket.  I'd always thought it was full of food, but when I looked around me, I saw manufactured products that are harmful to health, plastic bottles of water or sugared and coloured drink, and stuff that people don't need.  I thought about the plastic in the sea, and all of the bags that harm wildlife.  It had always been a problem I saw as existing "out there", something that people were doing, but not me.  But I began to realize the amount of rubbish that leaves my house every week, taken and disposed of somewhere I can't see.  I saw how unnecessary so much of what I buy without thinking actually is.  I'm going to change that.  Even just cooking your own food, washing a spoon or drinking water from the tap can reduce the amount of throw away plastic.  By making these little changes, I can make a contribution.  (no name).

We live in a plastic world
Where we drive toy cars
And eat cardboard food

We live in a plastic world
Where we scoop the oceans
And burn the trees

We live in a plastic world
Where we weave plastic lies
With our sewing lips

But our world isn't only plastic
We can make it stone and wood again
We can turn the grey to green

We must stop making our world plastic
Otherwise we too become plastic
A little more everyday
(Danny)

Listening to the different thoughts today, from the children feeling joy and wonder at the outside world, to adult (and teen) sadness at all of the plastic in the oceans and in landfills, I realized how much I love our process, because it gives space to everyone, and acknowledges all feelings and perspectives.

Just before New Year, I realized how reluctant I was to get involved in a conversation about equal rights and equal voices, because some of the people started telling somebody else what to think.  I was worried that if I got involved or tried to share, it could make things worse, and the conversation could become hurtful (this happened before).  At that time, I realized how much I love this work, and how much space there is to share and explore when there is empathy and respect.  It really is a relief to work in this way.  We need all different perspectives and many voices to add to our conversations.  (Nicci).

Nicci Attfield Reflects on 2014 and AoC , 20 December 2014

I've been working with James on Agents of Change in South Africa, and he's been guiding and helping (mentoring our work) over here.  About a week ago, I was doing some reflection on AoC and activism, and what I have learned from social sculpture.  The work with Agents of Change has had massive impacts for me, and these have happened in a very positive way.

 I feel very inspired by social sculpture, because it's different to other forms of activism, and it has helped me a lot.  I'd learned a lot about social injustice and privilege, but I've realized how talk of inclusion or multi-culturalism sometimes relates to capitalism and the capitalist system. I started to feel uncertain about  this concept a year a go, but I wasn't sure how to explain this fully.  I know know that it focuses on how to include people within a system which (our AoC discussions believe) are not helpful to people or to the world.

Without being able to untangle the need for a deeper respect for humanity and the environment from capitalism, the system perpetuates itself.  And it restricts the ability of people to respond in creative ways, because it imposes the belief that Western logic, prestige and status are the values to fight for.  Through Agents of Change (which interconnects with my growing interest and questioning around indigenous spirituality and traditional healers), I've learned that there are many ways of being within the world, and so many ways of sharing.

 Agents of Change has been incredible because it has created a platform without hierarchy. All people are valued as a part of our process, and everybody is considered to have the ability to share.  AoC acknowledges systemic and environmental  injustice, but puts the voices of the participants into the centre on an entirely equal footing.  It introduces a sense of community where different people with different perspectives can speak and share.  And the other participants (including me) get to see how there are different ways of being within the world without anybody being seen as right/wrong/more or less powerful.

I've been very interested in traditional healing as a way of re-connecting with body and spirit, and a means of seeing the world of animals, earth, body and air combined with community and prayer (the sweat lodge introduces all of these things), and I enjoyed the way that healers bring a sense of possibility and a focus on 'now' combined with a sense of community.  But as James and I have recently been sharing, this happens with Agents of Change too.  There is a beautiful awareness that reality is in transition, as a part of a process, and that by using imagination, we can shift and create new contributions to the world.

It's refreshing to be a part of a system which  as acknowledges the need for transformation and then gives equal space for freedom and choice of how to work towards a better future.

AoC SA Science Center 17 December 2014

Today, we had two groups:  the teens who wanted to come along, and then the Science Centre kids who took part.  I ran two groups.  Rita was questioning the fears that come up when you realize that you want to change your life, because there is no going back.  Rita wants to bring changes and she met with some resistance, and she was upset by it.  She ended up feeling anxious.  I know this anxiety (and the resolution happened for me at Moulie Point while I watched the waves), and so I thought it was important to facilitate and share it so that she could find resolution.  The group ended up showing each other support and offering to be there for one another in times of doubt, which was lovely.  I think the AoC group means a lot to the teens.

Everybody who supports me is a blessing and those who don't want to support me make me want to show them that they are wrong because I can do it, I am greater than I look.  I know I have great things ahead of me.  Negativity is something I want to get out of my way (Rita).

Drawing inspires me.  Follow your heart and you will succeed.  Never listen to what people say about you.  (Jemima).

I am very grateful to have the support that I do in my life.  When I feel supported it makes a big difference to the situation I am facing.  I can automatically cope better.  I know that no matter how things turn out I will have friends and family who care about me.  When I think of support I think of rope.  Rope holds things up and keeps things strong.  My friends and family are my rope (Danny).

I feel anger and despair at the lack of value for life.  I want to share beauty.  I realize that art is my voice, and that is alright.  (no name).

Sharing anxiety today reminded me of how I started to feel anxious because I saw the world differently and my beliefs started to change.  I knew I had to find space for them, and now something new is coming to life.  Anxiety is a part of change, I think, and support means such a lot when you share and connect with people who think like you.  Creativity is so inspiring and it helps you move beyond anxiety.  But anxiety is a part of our process, and the way that we can help and support each other means a lot.  It is a very valuable part of the process (Nicci).

And the kids....I ask the kids what they value about being outside.  These are their reflections:

I love flowers.  Flowers are my best.  (Carla)

I think flowers are really beautiful because they really brighten the world.  Flowers are really, really beautiful!  (Tarquin)

I like soccer because when I am on the pitch, I am at home.  I love the king protea but I couldn't find it today (Daiyaan)

Keeping what you love close to you is so important.  Photos of family, children, life.  But we keep money close to us, and I have seen something new today (parent).

I like to be outside because there is more air.  I like flowers.  I like to play soccer.  I like games.  I like my friend Carla.  (Shayan).

Thank you for this work and images- Nicci, Danny, Jemima, Carla, Rita, Tarquin, Daiyaan, Shayan  and thank you to the Science Center in Cape Town for having AoC. 

AoC SA Science Center Cape Town 12 November 2014

Dandelion is my favorite flower.  I feel very happy about it. It smells good.  It keeps away the mosquitoes and the flies (Edwin).

I like to play outside.  I like the flowers that grow.  And I like to sit under the tree, where it is shady.  It is very nice in the shade. I can throw down blankets and sleep under the shady trees.  I love nature and plants.  I also love to read and to play netball.  At my house I play with a skipping rope.  I feel very happy, and good when people listen to me.  I like flowers very much.  My flower's name is Iris and she is pretty.  When it rains, she opens up. I want to look after flowers when I grow up.  Some flowers don't smell good but there is a reason for this.  The reason is that they keep mosquitoes away.  My flower's colours are white, brown, purple and yellow.  The bees drink the nectar of the flowers.  The bees make sweet honey. (Denishe).

I feel very happy when people listen to me.  If people don't listen to me, then I won't listen back.  I like Dandelion flowers.  They are very nice flowers.  I want to look after flowers.  They give people and animals food.  We care nicely for our flowers.  The bees come to drink nectar from them.  (Tamzin)

I like to play outside, that is very fun for me.  Outside, I can also play in the sand.  I also like to play rugby.  I liked to look at the flowers.  (Winston).

I don't really like to be outside.  I can get burned by the sun.  I like to play soccer, that is my favourite sport.  I like to listen. It sounds like someone tells me stories.  I liked having a dandelion in my hand.  The stem is nice and I liked it.  I like flowers(Riana).

I like art, and when I am at home I like to draw.  I like it when people listen to me and my friends.  Today, I found a very, very beautiful flower.  I like the colours which are white, purple, yellow, green and brown.  It is a beautiful Iris flower. (Micaundre).

I like Dandelion flowers.  They are very beautiful to me.  I want to look after them, because they are beautiful.  My grandpa is a botanist.  We have a flower garden at home.  We look at it, and every two days, we give it water.  Bees sit on the flowers.  Flowers are very special and beautiful.  Just as special as I am.  (Nazley).

I don't like to be outside because it is very dangerous. I feel very happy.  I like Dandelions, and I like flowers very much (Riedwhaan).

I like outside very much, because I can play with my friends. I like nature and flowers.  I also like to sit under the trees and read my book.  I also like to play outside with my skipping rope.  I enjoy being outside and playing outside.  I love the blue sea.  I also like reading very much.  It helps me to communicate with my school work.  When I have finished my schoolwork, I read.  My flower's name is Iris.  Its colours are white, purple and yellow, and hte stem is green.  I have flowers in my garden and every day I give them water.  Some flowers give us honey (Anthea)

I like being outside because I need to get the fresh air. I like to watch the children play, and to pick flowers. I like to play with my friend.  It felt calm to listen and respect him, and it is very fun to listen to each other.  I have a flower named Pentas.  I love the flower because it is beautiful and colourful.  It's colour is pink (Milla).

Thank you Nicci Attfield for facilitating this beautiful process today and to everyone for these lovely images.