Culver City Crossroads would like to offer you a monthly challenge. In this world of immediate information, virtual community, and multi-tasking, it can be challenging to remember what it means for us to be human. Those who have been on this planet long enough to remember sandboxes in kindergarten, handwritten letters, and home cooked food, may not need a reminder. But if you spend more time on facebook than you do with actual faces, here is a proposal that we all make an effort to spend February 2010 as “A Month Of Being Human.”
Here is the challenge; a set of 14 tasks for 28 days. The idea is that each task be performed twice during the month of February in no specific order. We are hoping to develop a list of people and groups that will commit to participate in this project, and we want your take on how it changes your perspective.
Here are the 14 tasks in no particular order of significance:
* buy nothing (two days in which you buy nothing… no gas, no fast food, nada.)
* donate one hour of charity (two days in which you donate either an hour’s worth of time, or an hour’s worth of your wages to a charitable organization, activity or event.)
* be with nature (two days in which you work in the garden, plant a tree, visit a botanical garden, hike a trail, visit a tide pool, or someplace else to be in the world and not just on it.)
* celebrate an extended family meal (two days in which you sit down to a meal with your extended family; biological, geographical or family of choice. )
* hold a family meeting (two days in which you meet as a family to share your thoughts, concerns, joys)
* extreme self care (two days in which you commit to caring for yourself… a bubble bath, a spa treatment, a massage, a quiet space and a good book, etc.)
* play outside (two days in which you fly a kite, fling a frisbee, toss a ball, you know, play…)
* honor your inner artist (two days in which you paint, sketch, photograph, sculpt, dance, act, sing.)
* take a risk (two days in which you do something that you are not used to doing, nervous about doing, or which may require minor first aid… skateboard, speak in front of a group, surf, give blood.)
* be a professional (two days in which you go to a workshop, class or seminar; watch an educational film; write an article, attend a meeting of your colleagues…)
* advocate (two days in which you do some sort of advocacy… write a letter to the editor, attend a PTA Meeting, write to a legislator, attend a council meeting…)
* explore your neighborhood (two days in which you WALK through your neighborhood, speak to your neighbors, shop at a local business…)
* handwrite a letter (two days in which you write a letter or note to a loved one… it can be a note in your child’s lunchbox… it can be a letter to a friend or family member… texts, and e-mail, and IM, and tagging and poking, and tweets and voicemail DO NOT COUNT! We will Facebook you on this as a reminder.)
* be culturally aware (two days in which you spend time and energy someplace where you are NOT of the majority culture… it can be as simple as a visit to a place of worship other than your own, a visit to a museum or cultural center… if you are a grown-up it can mean a day spent with a young child or a teen… if you are an omnivore, you might live a day as a vegetarian…)
There are no rules, no humanity police or karmic investigators…We want you to savor your humanity, share it with as many other humans as you can, and share it with us. Comments will post (we do filter for bad language, but not bad grammar, so have at-) and pictures just need captions telling us who and what. We hope you will share your experiences of being human with the community. Huge thanks to Gregory Uba for the challenge, and for the connection.
Join us at the Crossroads, and tell us what you did that made you feel human.
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