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Holy Water: A Christmas History

Christmas began for me around 6 am on Dec 25th in 1955, when I was born. My Mother had been on her way to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve in Milwaukee Wisconsin. She had stumbled on the steps leading up to the church and labor began. I like to think it was me who pushed her. That somehow, I knew Christmas and I, we would need to become acquainted. “Let me out!” I can imagine the look on my Mom’s face as she realized she would not be in church that day, Catholicism being what it was at that

My Truth

Any Organization or person which stands in an effort to accomplish something of merit or value, must predicate it’s existence on belief. Some call this belief system: “Our Truth”. Recently I watched as one of the companies I am a part of, had it’s leadership disappear and not only jeopardize the organization, but potentially engage in some actions which could cost a lot of lives and careers. The person is doing what I call “Flailing” which is sort of like beating the air with your arms as you head for the bottom of a fall which you embarked upon when

Messy and Beautiful

I frequently note that Life (that precarious process which we see daily around us) is both messy and beautiful. In my work this is illustrated to me regularly. Seth Godin writes beautifully on that today, in a blogpost entitled Our Crystal Palace. Julie Borowski hilariously points out the ridiculousness of the TSA in a very similar vein when she is molested by them and makes a beautiful statement about something very horribly messy. In our tendency to want to get through the messy, we somehow lose sight of the beautiful, and quite frequently pass on the possibility to effect some

A Blue Voice

In the moments after the Sea-Space Summit at Google ended in 2012, and some fantastic work had initiated, Charlotte Vick, who heads up the Sylvia Earle Alliance (and so much more) approached me and posed a very direct question. “David, what exactly is it that you do?” Ever meet one of those people, who as soon as you connect, the recognition that you are of the same tribe becomes apparent in an innate manner? That was how Charlotte struck me. What she really wanted to know however, is who I was. Hers was a very direct question. In fact,

Sea-Space Summit DC 2013

I head to DC on Monday with Dr. Andrea Neal to participate in the Sea-Space Initiative Summit, which is headed up by Guillermo Söhnlein of Opus Novum. Our intention is to get a look at the ongoing crisis in Japan, and examine some of the socio-political architecture which led to the catastrophic failure event at the six reactor Fukushima-Daichi Power Plant. It is a disaster of massive scale. However, in that lies a great opportunity to create some fantastic change. http://seaspaceinitiative.org/participants-dc13/ The last Summit was at Google, and this was what we did (among other things). I was in Dr. Lu’s

Synergy

synergy |ˈsinərjē| (also synergism |-ˌjizəm|) noun the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects : the synergy between artist and record company. Synergy should equal success. Success is relative, as well as transitory. Quite frequently we see illustrated in a very stark manner, that the end, well it really not only did not justify the means, but it may become a darker version of the original problem. Seth Godin writes accurately about how to develop a synergistic response here. Set

Letter to a Friend

Sometimes waking moments are comprised of a tap on the shoulder regarding someone I care about. The note below, is as a result of one of those mornings. The person I sent it to, is someone who I respect as a visionary human being. The images here, are what occurred when the ocean reined over first consciousness, and I rose to meet it. “Found myself thinking about you today. Just a note to say hi, and that I hope everything is going well, where ever you are, when this finds you. Been dealing with incredibly smart and compassionate human beings

Going Deeper

My colleague and friend, Dr Andrea Neal, of Blue Ocean Sciences, sent me this very cool piece on Tom’s Shoes (who I really admire) today. It is very in theme for this blog series. Many of us are looking at ethics and architecture these days. It is essential if one really wants to make an accurate difference. In surfing, being accurate is 90 percent of the battle in being competent and thriving. (I frequently relate everything back to the oceans) To be there and successful in surfing you need to know the Architecture of the Earth and have skill. If

The Percolative Effect of Mike de Gruy

“Self-knowledge comes from knowing other men.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Oft times I will awake with my soul in what could be described as a jumble. Ever use one of those old percolating coffee pots? The type which, when the water boils, it spews forth, on to fresh dark ground coffee, and the rich aroma of it will fill an abode with such a heady fragrance, that it pulls you from sleep? Well of course you have. That is where the social axiom arose from: “Wake up, and smell the coffee.” Well my position, is that our soul

Being Present

In my own creative process, little choice exists for me in my work. In order to succeed, I must be present, in the right frame of mind, at a propitious moment. This requires that I listen, or “be present” in order to perceive that something important will occur ahead, in the time frame we call the Road of Life. I am there before my body is. That is how what I do works. I know where to be when not many others seem to see or care about that. But anyone could do it. So why don’t they? Why don’t

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