Folkstart promotes sharing of practical approaches to everyday living that are mindful
of our health and resources, taking a community approach to healing our environment — one action at a time.

WE ARE OUTSIDE THE BOX

Whether we are looking to better our health, lifestyle, environmental or social aspects, change can be overwhelming. The largeness of some of the challenges that we face today in these areas can discourage us from trying to make significant and lasting change. We feel caught in the perpetual rush of daily routines deemed “necessary” to sustain our modern lifestyles, which are largely fueled by industrialized goods and services, enabling them to be affordable and readily available to cater to our incessant need for speed and novelty.

Ironically, the things that are making our lives easier and faster are also the things that are chipping away at our mental, physical, social and environmental health. Scientific evidence and greater awareness have helped us realize the irony of how our modern lifestyle is directly impacting what we ultimately value - but we just can’t seem to muster enough time and willpower to unhitch ourselves from our fast-pace routines to be able to do something meaningful about it.

Values inherent in corporate and industrial cultures tend toward speed, volume/impact, and low cost, with impact that can be directly measured by goals, timelines and performance metrics. Jargon such as “hit the ground running”, “move the needle”, “bite the bullet”, “focus on core competency”, and “become world class” reenforces the focus on efficiency and significance in achievement, often at the expense or exploitation of resources, with the ultimate goal of being “the top”. However, applying this same mindset of “go big or go home” outside of the corporate or industrial model is not practical, nor even viable.

One well-worn phrase often quoted but seldom truly practiced in corporations and industry is to “think outside the box”. So if the corporate and industrial mindset is “inside” the box, it would be logical to presume that what is outside of the box is not - or even its opposite. A common juxtaposition is the industrial vs. the natural, or otherwise known as the streamlined vs. the complex. Linear, organized things can be easily tracked, measured and proven. Complexity on the other hand cannot be measured - at least not in the near terms. But what we can gather over the longer haul is that there are some basic principles that, over time, will deliver an optimal balance.

As we ourselves are a product of nature, our approach to change should therefore be inspired by the complex model. This does not mean that our task is complex - the complexity is in the system itself. Unlike the linear model which requires advanced planning, an expected outcome, and specification of every steps in between, the complex model requires a multitude of inputs and interrelationships across a diverse and possibly infinite number of agents (think of nature which is effected by the myriad of inputs and interrelationships across plants, animals, weather, insects, microbes, etc.) which culminates into an optimized or equilibrium state. But although the interactions and dependencies across agents are highly complex, it fundamentally runs on basic principles and inputs from each agent.

OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES

The principles that inspired us to take the first step towards bettering personal, social and environmental health (the things that live outside the box) come from the wisdom and determination of those who have worn the path:

Start with yourself: “If you want to change the world, start with yourself.” - Gandhi

Every small change counts: “If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.” - Mother Teresa

Sharing with others as a means towards progress: “As we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously.” - Benjamin Franklin

Don’t be discouraged by the largeness of the challenge: “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the wold are the ones who do.” - Steve Jobs

Our intent is to share with you the learnings and discoveries as we took our first steps and continue our gradual journey towards living outside of the box, starting some basic the elements of our every day routines such as eating, cleaning, growing food and reducing waste.

Please feel free to send us comments, suggestions, or questions. Together, we can help each other start and sustain this journey towards living outside the box.