I’ve been here in Moscow teaching a mini-course on digital placemaking and wise city methods, a project one year in the planning.
Today, it’s the first day of Spring in the northern hemisphere, students at a university here look up through compact discs to see the eclipse, a coincidence with the Spring equinox not seen since 1681 CE.
In the midst of our globalization conflicts, both macro and regional I can’t think of a better metaphor for the desire to see reality amidst so many years of obscured half-truths, about empires, about nations, about “mother lands”… all week I have been pointing to Shakespeare’s quote “what is the city but the people” but perhaps I have been missing the larger point… what is our world about but its people.
Here in Russia, or in Colombia, or in Czech Republic, Latvia, Denmark, and in the US all I keep hearing from my generations and younger generations is this strong desire and demand to make a better world, an almost mystical recognition that whatever our parents’ generations created, bless them, is sadly so far from what is actually needed to make a world where we can all best be together.
And being together is not also meant to be some globalized homogenous bland meaningless material reality, but something bolder, something more idiosyncratic, and regionally unique, with friction, with sharp edges and soft arms depending on who and how you enter. Your AMEX black platinum card will not provide “total access”, you will either be real or not, you will be seen for what you are, or are not, you will need to make time for other realities, it may not fit within your schedule. You will be okay with this. Because again you have been reminded that this life, all life, is not about, you. Eclipse. Leave your ego out for a few minutes each day.
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This post begins 30 days of blogging, inspired by Emily Jacobi’s lunar posting cycle ending on this day. Light is felt everywhere even when your eyes are closed, we are all dreaming together…