Abri Albertyn, a student from a small town up the West Coast of the Western Cape, presented this poem at the end of the course I delivered two weeks ago on alternative economics:
In this life we wake up in a world that points you into a certain direction, it wants you to conform.
In this life, we all have something to offer, a special gift far beyond the norm.
We get taught to colour within the lines, we get told that our ideas are unrealistic, and will never work.
So we follow the herd and some even start to twerk.
We all have something unique to contribute to the bigger whole.
Why must we do this at the cost of our own soul?
In this module it has been established, time after time that our current ways, are wrong.
It is time, to rather build on what is good, in order to become strong.
It comes down to what we believe and what we base our decisions on, for the path ahead and beyond.
The current GDP has destroyed our once, very strong human and nature bond.
Lorenzo with his amazing talk on alternative economic systems, without one PowerPoint slide, talking straight, from and to the heart.
He had us all captivated for three hours, now that is a different form of art.
Art that only comes with passion, from within.
It’s the kind of passion we need, for a sustainability win.
An alternative economic culture is what we need…
Let’s be honest, we need it at a lightning speed.
The transition needed is more than just about a new economic system to put in place.
We need a cultural transformation, a consciousness shift, without leaving a destructive trace.
We have the skills, we have the knowledge, we have the heart, spirit and soul.
Diversity will be key, in realizing our sustainability goal.
What we do here every day, we do the best we can, we believe in a better way, but we get judged, criticized and we sometimes even doubt ourselves, we contemplate.
BUT let’s remember one of the wisest sayings: Haters gonna hate.
Let us not stop on our journey on the pursuit of happiness and living our lives based on what is real.
Let us live our lives based on love, because in the end it is all about what we feel.
“So you drive the latest Lambo and sleeping with the new Victoria Secret model, thinking you are happy, it is all for show…
Let me know if you are still happy in two months, bro.
Living as consumers will always keep us chasing after a shiny carrot, always on the go…
Leaving us with no time to grow…
We are capable of creating a new reality, allowing everyone to fulfil their purpose in this life and experience true happiness, to thrive.
We all have a role to play and a greater whole towards which, we should strive.
A more Share-holder centric economy is required to ensure the well-being of all.
We will achieve this by not listening to the nay Sayers and keep on standing tall.
Mark, you are the founding member of this sustainability institute, thank you for being like an indestructible tank in the name of sustainability, being for many a hero…
Without you in this field, my inspiration would still be close to zero.
Boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen, all I can say is that I feel privileged to be a part of this transition that we are going to achieve and create a better future for all.
We all know, there is a better way and we will always be in this together until the day we fall.
BUT fall we will not, because we have diversity on our side.
Into an Era of Sustainability, we will all walk together, with pride.
Recent Comments