The Sabbath Manifesto

February 21, 2012 Leave a comment

 

The issue of personal ecology is one of my biggest concerns in our ever accelerating world.  It is the biggest pain point I find among leaders and organizations.  It is a sense of being overwhelmed, of trying to do too much, of never having a break.  And worst of all – it can be addictive.

But we can’t work for sustainability in unsustainable ways.  We can’t forget that we are part of earth’s biology, that there are natural rhythms in which we thrive.  Evolution moves in the direction of increasing complexity, but our current response to increasing complexity seems to be acceleration.  We are reaching the limits of acceleration.

We will not be able to solve the problems we face at the current level of complexity, because this is where we created them.  In order to evolve to a next level of complexity we will need to try something else – something other than trying to go faster.

Perhaps what we need is a day of rest, a true day of rest, a day to connect to deeper aspects of ourselves, to nature, to others.  The Sabbath Manifesto is an exciting project that seems to be headed in the right direction.

Sundown March 23 to Sundown March 24.

Here are the ten principles:

  1. Avoid Technology
  2. Connect with Loved Ones
  3. Nurture your Health
  4. Get Outside
  5. Avoid Commerce
  6. Light Candles
  7. Drink Wine
  8. Eat Bread
  9. Find Silence
  10. Give Back

Let’s try it on!

No Comments

  • Curtis says:

    I like it, Gibran. And I think part of the power of rest is to also help us to work smarter, not harder. I am reminded of the Robert Frost line, “We dance round a ring and suppose while the secret sits in the middle and knows.” In the center is “essence,” what matters most, and it strikes me that our acceleration takes us further and further from this. More noticing, less nervous action.

  • Gibrán says:

    Indeed Curtis! And I do think it is a bit of a nervousness about stillness, about being with our selves, feelings and thoughts – amazing how the collection of our individual fears can lead to such a mess!

  • Curtis says:

    I also think it’s an issue of integration, or lack thereof. I’ve been thinking that the search for balance is really kind of futile, as it is dynamic imbalance that drives life. Work-life integration may be more on the mark. And of course there are dangers if one is not able to turn off the cell phone and tune fully into others. Being present wherever we happen to be – that’s it.

  • Gibrán says:

    I see the compartmentalization of life as a direct product of the industrial paradigm – so YES! Integration is the way to go… I agree that balance is a sort of stasis that could actually lead to entropy when not functioning as a base line for the next evolutionary and dynamic leap…

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