We are on the threshold of a new era of dawning awareness that the answers to our many challenges lie in the connectivity and relationships of life—the very things that we have been neglecting in our quest to generate separate domains of ever greater detail.
Most people know the fabled story of the elephant and the “six blind men,” each separately examining a different portion of the mysterious object before them. And each of them drawing a different conclusion without awareness of the whole picture—which could have been gleaned by sharing information with their neighbours. At least in some versions of this story, one of the wisest in the group reaches beyond their own perspective to call for the experiences and ideas of the others. Together, they share their information and impressions to create a more complete picture to describe the wondrous living creature. While this parable speaks most obviously to the value of integrating information and different perspectives, it tells us much more than that. It is only through willingness to be open-minded and respectful, to listen and work with others, that integration can take place at all. The larger point being that the quest for greater awareness, new understanding, and wiser solutions depends on attitudes and values as much as it does on simply sharing information.
These are the deeper principles behind the Hub. It is time to create more opportunities to make connections in every sense. Integrating knowledge is key, but equally so is building a cultural shift, a sense of community, and worldviews that cultivate awareness of the interconnectedness of all life. That is what we aim to do through collaboration and creativity. We are creating a space for sharing in every sense — information, perspectives, and inspirations that can be woven together to generate new stories of change. In an era of so many challenges, we also need to meld the practical with the aspirational. To inspire purpose and meaning as we roll up our sleeves to do the hard work for change. We need to cultivate wisdom, awe, creativity, and belonging as much as the technical aspects of tackling challenges and finding solutions. All on an expansive backdrop that actively promotes awareness of interdependence and seeks inclusion of all perspectives and all possibilities.
In that spirit, we invite people from all disciplines and all backgrounds. In the broadest terms, our audience is anyone trying to make a difference in the world—including creatives, community organizers, educators, clinicians, policymakers, advocates, journalists, and young people. We especially recognize the importance of engaging the next generation in creative ways. We want everyone to see their work is relevant and connected, with overarching awareness of the “whole picture.” We will also include more inspirational activities, mentoring, and creative endeavors—all aimed at empowering and amplifying change narratives, personally and collectively. That is why we seek to develop deeper bonds with others, with the natural world, and with our own sense of self, and why we have both “knowledge spaces” and “nourishing spaces” on the Hub.
Together, we are co-creating something wonderfully unique and exciting that will create new opportunities in a time of such great change and uncertainty. We welcome all who wish to help us look over the horizon of what already exists and begin to imagine better ways of ‘being’ as well as ‘doing’ in the pursuit of flourishing for people, places, and planet. Not only do we seek to “discover the whole elephant” is really our Mother Earth, we hope to evolve—so we are ready for the secrets she has been patiently waiting to reveal!
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