If Fish Can Do It, So Can We

Chris Jordan's Ted Talk made my heart pound. His art, his words, and his aura was powerful and deeply thoughtful. One of the things which resonated most with me was the collective impact of tiny habits. One individual truly has so much power. I shared a parable about this in class, but I think it's relevant here too. The parable says: does one coin make a man rich? No, not on its own. But eventually, that one coin combined with many others does. The same is true for actions. Does one action make a big impact? No, not on its own. But eventually, that one action combined with many others does. The thing is, though, it can go the other way too. Just like one coin, added upon by others, makes someone rich, one coin removed, subtracted upon by others, makes someone poor. And obviously the same with actions, a bad action followed by another and another creates a collectively negative impact. There's something motivating and terrifying to realize that the tiny decisions we make every day have huge results. (Like one paper cup from 40 million people daily...)

I was also impressed with his ability to think outside of the box and give meaning to something otherwise overlooked-- massive statistics. Take it from someone who's currently struggling in her stats class-- statistics are overwhelming and an open invitation to tune out the conversation as soon as they're mentioned. But by taking those numbers and translating them to a different medium, one that's much more native to many, is such a powerful way to communicate change. Chris Jordan is, as Stephen would say, making the invisible visible.

Feeling deeply is a gift. Being a living, breathing human who feels a wide spectrum of emotion is such a rich way to experience life. But Chris is right, we're numbing ourselves. We're failing to have the potent outrage, anger, and grief that are required for change. In his own words, "If we can feel these issues, they'll matter to us more... then we'll be able to find in each one of us how to face the big question: how do we change?"

As far as how I make a change, the High Performance Infrastructure gives a pretty holistic outline for how to make the invisible visible in built environments. It's rewarding and encouraging to be in a field that feels so relevant and critical to today's heartaches and frustrations. I feel hopeful, knowing that I'm seeking avenues rather than apathy.

To conclude, I've attached a video that feels appropriate for this blog post. It shows a fish, who through tiny, seemingly mundane, "invisible" action, creates a massive masterpiece. If fish can do it, we can too. Watch it here.