(image by flickr user conceptvessel)
The SuperForest Humanifesto
What is going to save the human race?
Please.
Thank you.
Three words that will totally change this planet.
More than solar power. More than recycling. More than wind energy.
Why?
Because if we all started treating the people and things that we interact with every day with respect and compassion, the effects would ripple through every aspect of our lives, transforming society.
Our parents taught us the manners “rule-sets” that we use every day, and as a result, we feel that we have (through years of introspection) begun walking the path towards enlightenment. Our manners dictate the way we treat the external world, the Environment. We feel that it is primarily our manners that dictate our success as humans.
Folks talk about wanting to save the “Environment”, and that conjures up images of bubbling brooks and unspoiled forests. But “the Environment” isn’t just greenery and pretty scenery. It’s our slums, our airports, our houses, our supermarkets.
The Environment is everything that disappears when you close your eyes.
If you want to improve it, you must begin with what you see and encounter every single day of your life.
Before we can set about elevating our present society from a carbon-based one to a solar-electric one, knowing full well that solar-electric decentralized power means a higher quality of life for all, we must first pause and ask ourselves: Why? What is worth saving?
Human Consciousness.
Our gift and curse as humans is our incredible consciousness. We are aware, and that is the greatest and worst thing we’ve got going for us. Because we can clearly see how well we could be living, how politely we could be treating one another, how incredible life could be; we feel it is our duty to delight and inform our fellow humans in the hopes of creating a better world.
There is no reason every human on Earth could not have access to:
Clean Water
Nutritious Un-modified Food
Shelter
Education
Open Source Communication
Freedom from Oppression and Fascism
But, as is painfully obvious, most humans don’t have those things.
Most humans don’t have two of the six!
They could, but they don’t.
Why?
Bad Manners.
Nearly every religion this planet has yet produced has as one of its tenets the idea that to be happy, you must treat others as you yourself would hope to be treated.
A failure in this respect is simply bad form.
When a company decides to dump its waste into a river that others downstream use for drinking water, that is bad manners.
When a society chooses to isolate its citizenry in prisons and not offer any chance at rehabilitation, that is bad manners.
When a person decides to walk into a school and open fire on their classmates, that is extremely bad manners.
That is why we MUST START NOW.
All new generations must be schooled in the art of good manners if we are to survive, let alone flourish, as a species.
Try your hardest to treat others as you hope they would treat you, and actively look for ways to help the people around you. Do this from a pure place within you and watch the effects ripple outward!
Why?
Because so few are doing it.
Good manners make you stand out like a struck match in a dark room.
Three Essentials:
Make eye contact with anyone you interact with. Smiling is optional but highly encouraged.
Use the words “Please” and “Thank You” as often as you can.
Seek out ways to improve the lives of others. This can be as small as carrying someones bag up a flight of stairs, or holding a door open.
Do these three things and your life will change immeasurably. And you will begin to change the lives of those who come into contact with you in a measurable and positive way.
We are filled with optimism and hope.
Thank you for reading this.
Team SuperForest
Jackson, Niki, Andrew, Alex, Taylor, Jaell, Julius, April, Jordan, Spoon, Carla, Iman, Chris, Aaron, Jo, Jackie, Drake, Bee, Patricia, Heather, Amy, Mathew, Ewa, Jon, & Jesse
We have been lucky enough to have the Humanifesto translated by some amazing and generous SuperForesters around the world:
Italian: Manifesto dell’Humanita’ translated by SuperForester Silvia.
Spanish: El Humanifesto de SuperForest translated by SuperForester Imelda.
Bahasa Indonesia: Humanifesto translated by SuperForester Anindya.
Hungarian: SuperForest Humanifesto-ja translated by SuperForester Larissa.
Japanese: ヒューマニフェスト translated by SuperForester Keiko.
Dutch: SuperForest Humanifest translated by SuperForester Erik.
French: Le Humanifesto de SuperForest translated by SuperForester Marie-Paule.
Polish: Humanifesto translated by SuperForester Ewa.
Korean: Humanifesto translated by Superforester Soyoung.
Portuguese: Humanifesto translated by SuperForester Anna.
Danish: Humanifesto translated by SuperForester Emil.
Swedish:Humanifesto translated by SuperForester Magdalena.
Arabic: البيان الإنساني لسوبرفورست translated by SuperForester Saja.
Mandarin: Humanifesto translated by SuperForesters Yangyide Ye, & Winnie
Romanian: Humanifesto translated by SuperForester Ioana
Greek: Humanifesto translated by SuperForester Mary Ann
Afrikaans: Die SuperForest Mens Manifes translated by SuperForester Karien
German: Das SuperForest Humanifest translated by SuperForester Michael
Russian: Humanifesto translated by SuperForester Maria
We’re still looking for Greek, Latin, German, Russian, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Korean, Afrikaans, Swahili, Portuguese, French, Arabic, Swedish, Gaelic, Farsi, Esperanto, Vietnamese, and any others we’ve forgotten.
Would you like to help translate the Humanifesto? Drop us a line.
Thank you very much.
(Click on a picture to read individual posts.)
beautiful words… thank you for choosing my image to accompany this post.
i agree that manners are essential – the manifestation of respect, which can bring enlightenment to our world.
for me, the respect must extend to other beings, and to the earth itself. for me, we are all interconnected and we humans are one beautiful thread in an exquisite tapestry of consciousness, of being-ness.
all the best,
jeanne
(conceptvessel)
Dear Jeanne,
Thank you so much for your lovely comment. When I first saw your photograph I was struck by how perfectly it illustrated a tone I was trying to achieve. I’m very pleased you approve.
Yours,
Jackson
Hieee… just wanted to let you know that Cantonese is spoken differently than Mandarin but written the same way, so a Cantonese translation would be the same as a Mandarin written translation. =)
i think it’s really cool what you’re all doing here XD
Jin! Thank you so much for your comment! I had no idea they were written the same way, how interesting! I’ll cross out Cantonese and Chinese then. : )
With love and gratitude,
Carla
Wonderful to hear of someone promoting good manners as a way of saving the planet – more power to your collective elbows!
I applaud your efforts. Your call for mutual respect and compassion is powerful. As a civically-engaged academic, I am happy to tell you there is a growing literature that discusses the values and types of interpersonal skills you extol. Some of this literature goes under the rubric of “social intelligence” and “emotional intelligence.” Good stuff. But your work, your humanifesto, is even better. You are champions and the world needs you.
Love love love this! What an amazing group :) I’m in NYC and want to get involved I work in film and tv and have so many avenues to spread the message. (ps I went to film school at AAC with you Jackson) xoxo
Nikki
Jackson. Sooner or later you’ll not be smiling when you see what they’re doing in West Virginia. Mountaintops blown to smithereens and poison streams. Your team looks awesome and just the kind flick on the lightswitch. The links are awesome. Thanks.
LOVE this idea!
Kx
Hey Jackson,
If you please I want to thank you! Cool website. Read Pema Chodron: When Things Fall Apart. She is a happy lady full of good manners, humor, wisdom and optimism. I like what you are doing. Super Forest site is a cyber hug. Also nice to meet your eyes and smile (and brain) today in person.
Our paths will cross on the journey.
Jayne
Wow,….. I’m currently going to college and realize over and over again that I hate it. Not for the fact of school itself but simply because I feel as if im falling into the same cycle of everyone else that school leads to a career ect…… Instead of sitting in a classroom I wanna be out there changing the world. Yet I get told in order to do this I need to go to School. Reading this just reinforces the idea in my head that there is Hope out there. This inspires me!! Thankyou!!!
Your website is wonderful! So much hope, compassion and good sense. Your communitarian spirit is exactly what humanity needs to overcome the greed and destruction that has emerged from too much emphasis on individualism. I hope your message spreads far and wide, and quickly. Side note: liked reference to A Waking Life–seen it, shown it several times, always with appreciative response (though some viewers report slight motion sickness….)
I just came across this blog and find it very inspiring, particularly the humanifesto. Just wanted to say Thanks.