10. HOW DO WE WALK THE TALK?

rilke makes clear that talking is walking. conversation is a form of action, a creation of change. it's a process -- a process that, for many, may seem more like a paralyzing paradox.

the average american, for instance, probably skeptically asks: can one really make progress by doing less? i've mentioned rushing less, working less, buying less -- and now questioning and talking more?! in a society bent on getting things done -- or really just "getting things" -- doing less isn't an appealing option. doing differently, however, is a necessity.

indeed, the real american paradox is one multiple scientists have dubbed "the progress paradox" (peterson 84). this contemporary phenomenon refers to the finding that while our country’s objective goods have increased over past decades, our levels of subjective happiness have diminished (peterson 84). according to psychologist christopher peterson, "we expect that the larger culture should know something about the conditions for the good life… [but] consider the widespread belief in the contemporary united states that 'all you need are looks and a whole lot of money' in order to be happy… relevant research shows rather clearly that this is a wrongheaded formula for most of us as we pursue the good life" (peterson 12).

indeed, larger culture advocates the goods life -- not the good life. but a smaller subculture, we ought to recall, advocates the creation of one's own life. the 50 million cultural creatives do not quell under mainstream america; instead, they question norms and quest for newness. as sociologist paul ray and psychologist sherry anderson explain, "what is left is a conciousness that once felt secure, had categories to fit things into, and knew who it was. and what replaces this sureness is not knowing. and openness. and something unspeakably, and sometimes almost unbearably new" (ray 44). until recently, it was indeed unspoken. cultural creatives didn't know how many of them existed -- how many americans had begun walking without even talking!

now, however, they are doing both -- they are being and discussing culture change. it's a continual, ongoing process. as ray and anderson explain, "cultural creatives have to constantly invent and reinvent the basic supports for the way they want to live" (186). like other social movements, they lack precedent. they do, however, have plenty persistence. as many have noted, "“you have to enjoy the people and the process, and you need the maturity to work in a longer time frame” (ray 203). indeed, the longer you work, the more people you gain.

as activist daniel taylor maintains, "forget big plans. development is not a product, not a target, not some happy future state – it doesn’t consist of a set of 'millennium goals' to be ticked off as they’re reached. instead, it’s a process, measured not in budgets but in energy" (mckibben 211). "change," according to taylor, "happens because of how we invest our human energy... it began at the beginning of time, and it’s going to go to the end of the future. your job is to go with the flow” (mckibben 211,12). here taylor sounds remarkably like psychologist mihaly csikszentmihalyi.

yet he also resonates the ideas of architect, philosopher, and social advocate christopher alexander. referring to alexander, juanita brown states, "he suggests that life-enhancing improvements actually co-evolve not from grand plans or edicts from a central authority but from small acts or collaboration based on a repetition of life-affirming patterns -- like the fundamental pattern of engaging in conversations that matter -- at every level of scale" (brown 208). thus, brown concludes, "perhaps it is as simple as that... exercising our ability to respond to the call of our times to foster more authentic and courageous conversations in whatever sphere of influence we have been given....knowing that others are doing the same" (208).

indeed, talking is doing -- in fact, it's doing a lot. as veteran conversationalist anne dosher asserts, "every societal change process i knew of started with an informal conversation in which men and women - young or old - were witnessed and 'heard into speech,' sharing their dreams and hopes for making a difference around something they cared about. in being truly seen and heard, people were transformed and discovered their mutual commitment to act. that small group then went on to invite other groups into the conversation and the change became more and more real" (brown 213). if good, conversation is not only an action in itself; it's also a catalyst for more action! as brown notes of the world cafe, "we're discovering that when people care about the questions they are working on and when their conversations are truly alive, participants naturally want to organize themselves to do whatever has to be done, discovering who cares about what and who will take accountability for next steps" (38).

who will take accountability for next steps? who will join the cultural creatives in walking the talk -- in being the change? indeed, the most important effect of conversation, according to ann weis, is this one: "that we let each other be more than we have already been. that's how newness emerges, in us, and in the world" (weiser). likewise, writer and activist zaid hassan emphasizes that "to be is to act and to act is to be. there can be no polarization and no split between being and acting. we cannot pretend that by simply ‘being’ we are not acting, in most cases our ‘being’ serves to prop up the dominant system" ("subverting"). if we don't find our own flow, for example, the current of mainstream culture is guaranteed to catch us. it'll carry us into more and more mindlessness, materialism, and resource waste.

today's generation, at the very least, knows we don't want that. we're living in a time of transition -- a time of especially great uncertainty. writing of social change in "such a scheme," activist bill mckibben notes, "it barely matters where people begin, and in a certain sense it doesn’t matter what they accomplish at any given time... what’s crucial is the process, the momentum" (211). change is already everywhere. the first question, thus, is a matter of when. as hassan asserts, "no one will come along with a fully formed alternative to industrial society, not in our time anyways." no one will give americans the answer. this, however, gives us the freedom to listen to ourselves -- to recognize and act from our collective discontent. as hassan continues, "how long will we ignore the fact that there is a chill in the air? how long will we wait to act on our deepest instincts?" ("subverting") how long, in other words, will it take for young americans to claim culture change -- to assert their want, need, and will for more life? we're already considering it; already discussing it; and we're already, in subtle yet significant ways, being it. still, however, let's be it MORE -- as the new americans, let's think, talk, and BE MORE CHANGE.