Spontaneity Nurtures Inner Worlds
Professor Stuart Hill, agricultural and soil ecologist, and social-ecologist challenges us all to restore our inner landscape. Stuart reminds us of our formative years. At first, we live with open eyes and a passion to live from the ‘inside-out’. But with conditioning, we learn to live from the ‘outside-in’. He challenges us to regain our spontaneity, curiosity, and honesty. Then we become ourselves and get comfortable with being different. Peaceful diversity enriches us, our relationships, and the world.
We start life with spontaneity, and our curiosity enables us to appreciate context and environment. And so, we begin to conform. Bit by bit, we learn to live from the outside-in. Over time, our inner child learns to please other people and conform to society.
Cultural conditioning, however, prevents awareness. And it blocks our ability to be ‘present in the moment’, and gives away our power. Ultimately, we risk accepting compromises to our ethics and values. ‘Most people will be in denial of this’. states Stuart.
When we recover our spontaneity and curiousity, we are freed.Prof Stuart B. Hill
Becoming Different Enriches the World
Children around the world are conditioned. They learn to conform. In earnest, the adults aim to keep them safe and well, and help them develop skills. But, it is damaging to their inner landscape. Slowly, the child’s inner landscape becomes patterned. Their responses become habitual. The child begins to seek to please the teacher rather than seek the truth. However, by restoring curiousity, we rediscover our passions.
Openness allows us to be different. And these differences create a robust tapestry of cultures, expertise, history, and knowledge.
Understanding and incorporating differences in people helps us to form better teams. Better still, this diversity of approaches and ideas enriches Permaculture design, teaching, and practice.
Power of Collaboration
Stuart urges the Permaculture designers to collaborate more. Designers, clients, and members of the community working together are more effective and their legacy endures. He encourages us to find out what is close to the client’s heart. By kindling the client’s passion, the permaculture design is nurtured and evolves. With joy, the users engage and build competence.
Focus On Your ‘Exceptional’
Stuart also explores the idea of systems thinking. He argues that anything that is happening in one place in the world is also happening all over. “You will find 20% nasty, evil stuff, 10% really good stuff and the rest is compensatory”. He challenges Permaculture to focus on the 10% really good stuff in order to keep thriving. “All of us have to be awake, attentive, thinking, reflective, and avoid being judgemental”. In fact, we need to forgive the errors of others and not let these turn you away from their gems of insights.
Why Not Worship Gurus
Furthermore, when we search for the top 10% of leaders, we may inadvertently elevate them to guru status. But the problem, according to Stuart, with worshiping ‘gurus’ is that people try to imitate the high level of competence of the guru. Instead, what we really need to uncover is the learning journey taken by the guru. Then, we might discover how they focused on their own 10%. And best of all, how they resisted compromising their values.
Learning about the stages of development of great thinkers, through listening to their background stories, leads us to develop our own story. Nurturing our curiosity, we discover what is interesting to us. We find our own ‘exceptional’.
“Work to your own agenda, not someone else’s”
About Stuart B. Hill
Professor Stuart B. Hill is Foundation Chair of Social Ecology at Western Sydney University. At WSU he taught units on Qualitative Research Methodology, Social Ecology Research, Transformative Learning, Leadership and Change, and Sustainability, Leadership and Change (he retired in 2009 and is now an Emeritus Professor in their School of Education). http://stuartbhill.com/
Spontaneity Nurtures Inner Worlds Profesa Stuart Hill, mkulima na mkulima wa udongo, na mkulima wa kijamii anatuhimiza sisi sote kurudisha mandhari yetu ya ndani. Stuart anatukumbusha miaka yetu ya utoto. Mwanzoni, tunaishi kwa macho yaliyofunguliwa na shauku ya kuishi kutoka "ndani-nje". Lakini kwa hali, tunajifunza kuishi kutoka "nje-ndani". Anatupinga tuweze kuwa na mwelekeo wa kujiuliza, kuwa na hamu ya kujua, na kuwa wanyoofu. Kisha tunakuwa sisi wenyewe na kupata starehe na kuwa tofauti. Tofauti ya amani hutujengea, mahusiano yetu, na ulimwengu. Tunaanza maisha kwa ghafula, na udadisi wetu hutusaidia kuthamini muktadha na mazingira. Na hivyo, tunaanza kukubaliana. Hatua kwa hatua, tunajifunza kuishi kutoka nje-ndani. Baada ya muda, mtoto wetu wa ndani hujifunza kuwafurahisha watu wengine na kujipatanisha na jamii. Hata hivyo, utamaduni hupinga ufahamu huo. Na inazuia uwezo wetu wa kuwa "hapa katika wakati huu", na inatoa nguvu zetu. Hatimaye, tunakabiliwa na hatari ya kukubali ubaguzi kwa maadili na maadili yetu. "Watu wengi watakataa jambo hili". Stuart anasema. "Kama tunaendelea kuwa na mtazamo wa kujifurahisha na kufurahiya, tunaendelea kuwa na ""Mwanzo wa Utamaduni"" na ""Mwanzo wa Utamaduni"" na ""Mwanzo wa Utamaduni"" na ""Mwanzo wa Utamaduni"" na ""Mwanzo wa Utamaduni"" na ""Mwanzo wa Utamaduni"" na ""Mwanzo wa Utamaduni"" na ""Mwanzo wa Utamaduni"" na ""Mwanzo wa Utamaduni.""" Wanajifunza kujipatanisha. Kwa kweli, watu wazima wanakusudia kuwaweka salama na wenye afya, na kuwasaidia kukuza ustadi. Lakini, ni kuharibu mazingira yao ya ndani. Polepole, sura ya ndani ya mtoto hufanyizwa. Majibu yao huwa ya kawaida. Mtoto huanza kutafuta kumfurahisha mwalimu badala ya kutafuta ukweli. Hata hivyo, kwa kurudisha udadisi, tunagundua tena shauku zetu. Uwazi huturuhusu kuwa tofauti. Na tofauti hizo huunda mchanganyiko mkubwa wa tamaduni, utaalamu, historia, na ujuzi. Kuelewa na kuingiza tofauti kati ya watu hutusaidia kuunda timu bora. Zaidi ya hayo, utofauti huo wa mbinu na mawazo huongeza ustadi wa kubuni, kufundisha, na kufanya mazoezi ya Permaculture. Nguvu ya Ushirikiano Stuart anawahimiza wabunifu wa Permaculture kushirikiana zaidi. Watengenezaji, wateja, na washiriki wa jamii wanaofanya kazi pamoja ni wenye ufanisi zaidi na urithi wao unadumu. Yeye hututia moyo tujue kile kilicho karibu na moyo wa mteja. Kwa kuwasha shauku ya mteja, muundo wa permaculture unalishwa na kubadilika. Kwa furaha, watumiaji kushiriki na kujenga uwezo. Katika 'Focus yako ya kipekee' Stuart pia inachunguza wazo la kufikiri kwa mifumo. Anasema kwamba chochote kinachotokea mahali fulani ulimwenguni kinatokea pia kila mahali. "Utapata 20% mbaya, mambo mabaya, 10% mambo mazuri na wengine ni fidia. """ Permaculture inapaswa kuzingatia asilimia 10 ya vitu vyema ili kuendelea kusitawi. <unk>Sisi sote tunapaswa kuwa macho, makini, kufikiri, kutafakari, na kuepuka kuwa na hukumu<unk>. Kwa kweli, tunahitaji kusamehe makosa ya wengine na kutoruhusu hayo yakuondoe kutoka kwa vito vyao vya ufahamu. Kwa nini usiwaabudu viongozi? - Kwa kuongezea, tunapotafuta viongozi wa juu 10%, tunaweza bila kukusudia kuwainua kuwa viongozi. Lakini tatizo, kulingana na Stuart, na kuabudu <unk>guru<unk> ni kwamba watu kujaribu kuiga kiwango cha juu cha uwezo wa guru. Badala yake, kile tunachohitaji kufunua ni safari ya kujifunza iliyofanywa na guru. Kwa hivyo, tunaweza kugundua jinsi walivyozingatia asilimia yao ya 10. Na bora zaidi, jinsi walivyokataa kuhatarisha maadili yao. Kujifunza juu ya hatua za maendeleo ya wasomi wakuu, kwa kusikiliza hadithi zao za nyuma, hutuongoza kuendeleza hadithi yetu wenyewe. Kwa kukuza udadisi wetu, tunagundua kile kinachotupendeza. Sisi kupata yetu wenyewe <unk> kipekee<unk>. "Kama ""mwanamke"" wa kwanza, Stuart B. Hill ni mwanafunzi wa elimu ya mazingira katika Chuo Kikuu cha Western Sydney." Katika Chuo Kikuu cha WSU, alifundisha vitengo juu ya Mbinu ya Utafiti wa Kiwango, Utafiti wa Ikolojia ya Jamii, Mafunzo ya Ubadilishaji, Uongozi na Mabadiliko, na Uendelevu, Uongozi na Mabadiliko (alistaafu mnamo 2009 na sasa ni Profesa Emeritus katika Shule yao ya Elimu). "Hii ni kwa sababu ya ""stuartbill"" (kucheza kwa kutumia simu)."