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We can change the world.

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Entering the city 5 years ago, March 2018

City Character

May 19, 2023 by Trevor Allen

My own personal bias aside, there’s something ethereal about San Francisco. It’s kind of a surreal haphazardly produced imitation of a city, because there’s not really anything like it. The estranged keep the sense of urgency on every corner, and the diversity of food options keep you hungry. San Francisco has character, and it’s worth experiencing.

May 19, 2023 /Trevor Allen
mobile blog

Leaving Antarctica, March 2019

Transform the World through Action

May 18, 2023 by Trevor Allen

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

— Margaret Mead

In the midst of today's circumstances, it's easy to succumb to frustration and hopelessness regarding the state of our world. I've come to realize that many share these sentiments, accompanied by a common misconception: taking action is too daunting, too risky, or too ineffective.

I challenge this misconception. It’s possible to demonstrate why action is the key to forging a better world.

What Constitutes Action and Why Is It Significant?

Action refers to any form of behavior that aims to accomplish a goal or instigate change. It can manifest on an individual or collective level, spanning the spectrum from small-scale to grand, and can occur both online and offline. Voting, protesting, volunteering, donating, and speaking up are all action. Action holds immense importance because it is the sole means of effecting change. Without action, nothing transpires. Without action, problems persist, injustices prevail, and opportunities slip away. Without action, we passively witness our own fate.

Yet, through action, we can shape our destiny. Through action, we can resolve problems, combat injustices, and seize opportunities. Through action, we inspire others, influence policies, and transform societies. Through action, we can change the world.

History offers countless examples action revolutionizing our world. The civil rights movement, the environmental movement, the women’s’ rights movement, and a plethora of others…each of these was propelled by individuals who took action on their beliefs, and they made a difference.

What Hinders Us From Taking Action?

If action results in change, why do we not engage in it more frequently? The answer is simple: it's not easy. Taking action demands courage, commitment, and effort. It entails risks, challenges, and uncertainties. Many different factors can impede us from taking action:

  • Fear: we may fear failure, rejection, criticism, or conflict. Concerns about the consequences of our actions or the reactions of others are naturally engrained in us biologically

  • Doubt: we may doubt ourselves, our abilities, our ideas, or our impact. We may question whether we possess the adequacy, intelligence, or qualifications necessary to take action

  • Apathy: we may not care enough about a given issue or its outcome. We might believe it has no personal bearing or consider it unworthy of our time and energy

  • Ignorance: we may lack true comprehensive knowledge about the issue or potential solutions. We may not have the information, skills, or resources required to take effective action

  • Comfort: our existing circumstances may provide a safety net of comfort, or we may be overly attached to our habits and routines. We may resist change and shy away from challenge

While these factors are understandable and perhaps even prevalent, they are not insurmountable. Every one of us can overcome all of them, if we believe and see the value of true change.

Overcome Barriers and Initiate Action

The good news: we can overcome these barriers and act today. One can find their passion by identifying an issue that resonates with them on a personal and emotional level. There’s something happening in the world that can spark every person’s interest, curiosity, or anger. We can find our motivation, reminding ourselves why we want to take action and what we want to achieve. We can consider the benefits of taking action and the costs of remaining inert. Our actions make a difference for ourselves and others.

Perhaps one of the biggest pieces is information. We have to educate ourselves about a given issue and its potential solutions. This means conducting thorough research and finding reputable sources of data. If we seek out diverse perspectives and opinions while maintaining a requirement for evidence, we can learn the context and circumstances around any issue and seek to solve it with integrity.

Finally, it’s necessary to find resources and allies that can help. There are a myriad of tools and platforms that enable action. Leveraging social media to raise awareness, mobilizing support through online communities, and starting online petitions to demand change from decision-makers—these are all accessible to the average citizen. And there are like-minded individuals who share the same passions and motivations—we just have to connect with them. Various groups and organizations working on every imaginable issue are out there.

Action Transforms the World

Action transforms the world because it transforms us. It reshapes our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. It redefines our relationships with others and our ability to influence them. It reconfigures our environment and our responses to it. Each of us possesses the power to change the world today. We can’t wait for others to act on our behalf or for someone to grant us permission to take action. We simply need to start, to act. So begin by contacting your local representative and articulating the issue you care about, along with the solution you wish them to support. Sign a petition demanding increased funding for renewable energy research. Join a group organizing monthly clean-ups in your neighborhood. Take one small step today that will enable greater strides tomorrow. We have the capacity to achieve it. We have the ability to change the world.

May 18, 2023 /Trevor Allen
sustainability

Napali coast, Kauai, April 2023

Political Action Citizenship

May 17, 2023 by Trevor Allen

The moment is now to reject our cynicism globally. Despite the corruption of power and greed around the world, the opportunity to course correct as a species is still possible. We have achieved democracy in various parts of the world, and must secure more political representation of common people in many others. We can do this through action, by demanding change from our leaders. In the U.S. we can do it by voting and contacting our congressional representatives at the state and federal level. We can be the change we wish to see in the world. But it takes action.

May 17, 2023 /Trevor Allen
politics

Dragon Backbone Terraces near Guilin, China - March 2013

Tribes Today

May 16, 2023 by Trevor Allen

I write about “the tribe” often. But I’m not sure how many people experience it. Today’s world is so different from our biological past. And yet, in this modern world, we still need a tribe. Maybe that’s the restart for us as we progress forward?

May 16, 2023 /Trevor Allen
humanism

Half Dome in Yosemite, July 2021

Exploring AI

May 15, 2023 by Trevor Allen

I earnestly began my exploration with artificial intelligence today and it was a doozy. There’s certainty excitement around what’s possible with all this new tooling. But I’m also scared about the implications to our society at scale. It’s rapidly becoming a new world. Will we be able to adapt and keep up?

May 15, 2023 /Trevor Allen
zeitgeist

Hotel ceiling in Nashville, Tennessee - May 2022

Maternal Gratitude

May 14, 2023 by Trevor Allen

Hallmark holiday or not, today celebrates the most important people in the world. Mothers propagate our species; without them, we wouldn’t exist and we wouldn’t learn. I cannot truly understand the ethereal miracle of motherhood, but my soul yearns with love for the phenomena mothers emanate in this universe.

Thank you Grandma for illuminating the big picture of life through your stories. Thank you Granny for demonstrating the power and reward of kindness every day of your life. Thank you Mom for supporting me and giving all of yourself to my well-being and happiness. I would not be the person I am today without you. I am eternally grateful for your sacrifices and your love. You make a difference in the world. Happy Mother’s Day.

May 14, 2023 /Trevor Allen
special day

Strolling down the street. London, England — February 2023

Hope Coming

May 13, 2023 by Trevor Allen

It just feels like we’re reaching an inflection point as a planet doesn’t it? Perhaps it’s the media narrative, or the current cycle—if such things exist. Or maybe we all feel it, the approach of a culmination.

I believe most people are good, that we are more similar than we are different, and that at the deepest level we all want the same things. Can we invoke hope in each other? Because together, we can change the world.

May 13, 2023 /Trevor Allen
zeitgeist

Black bear in Yosemite Valley, May 2021

Unexplainable Reality

May 12, 2023 by Trevor Allen

There’s so much that’s unexplainable in our world. At least to us mere humans. How often do we stop to think about that, to wonder about it? If we zoom out far enough, there’s no other world but “miracle” that describes this universe, this reality. Can we step back and see it?

May 12, 2023 /Trevor Allen
nature

Distant Mount Lassen from Redding, California, March 2021

Livin’ Well

May 11, 2023 by Trevor Allen

Today I watched the full version of a commencement speech I first came across years ago. The central message is to routinely ask yourself, “how you livin’?” I thought about it more throughout the day, and I think the correct answer to that question, at the end of the day while brushing your teeth before bedtime, is simply: “I am living well.” And if each of us can give that response honestly to ourselves, knowing it truly in our hearts, what kind of world would unfold before us?

May 11, 2023 /Trevor Allen
philosophy

Prancing wildebeest in the Serengeti, October 2019

Consume Less

May 10, 2023 by Trevor Allen

I realized today during my lunch walk that I was talking to myself out loud. It occurred to me that it felt like a long time since I had talked to myself audibly. I find it healthy to do so, and I was slightly appalled that it had been so long.

What was different? I didn’t have headphones in— I wasn’t listening to music or a podcast. I was alone with my own thoughts as I did my two miles. There was nothing but the sounds of city and nature to accompany, as about 15 minutes in my mind settled. We find a rhythm when experiencing that right level of bliss.

When I returned to my office I decided upon my focus for the midterm: consume less. Two simple words, and a seemingly easy concept. Consume less food. Consume less information; spend less time on screens. Consume less alcohol and caffeine. Reduce the noise, that I’m actively bringing into my life, so I can hone in on the signal. Eliminate the distractions so I can focus on what matters: love, health, and time. Consume less.

May 10, 2023 /Trevor Allen
philosophy

Salisbury Cathedral, February 2023

Old Movies

May 09, 2023 by Trevor Allen

I enjoy watching old movies. There’s something timeless about them, even if the entire cast is no longer on the Earth. They illuminate the similarities between cultures and across generations. People in the 1940’s faced some similar problems as we do now in 2023. The struggle is always there, always required. But we can make progress together, and we have. It will take all of each of us.

May 09, 2023 /Trevor Allen
mobile blog

Wailua, Kauai - April 2023

Choice to Change

May 08, 2023 by Trevor Allen

Sometimes there’s fight required to maintain positivity or hope. It’s not always easy to ward off the negativity or despair. However, we always have a choice. We can choose to give in, or to make our own way in our terms. Every single human being has that power of choice. Can we collectively harness it towards a better world? Can we say “no” to negativity and choose to change the world?

May 08, 2023 /Trevor Allen
sustainability

Sunset on the Thames, London, England. February 2023

Seeing Love

May 07, 2023 by Trevor Allen

Our love is what makes us human and makes us whole. If we can see that, we can truly change the world.

May 07, 2023 /Trevor Allen
humanism

Opera House and skyline, Sydney, Australia - January 2020

Social Change

May 06, 2023 by Trevor Allen

One of the drawbacks of modern living, at least in many parts of the world, is our lack of community. In our series of boxes (our homes, our cars, our work spaces) we are separated from each other. It becomes difficult to form or maintain a sense of community, and it’s commonplace for a tribe to never develop. And yet this is who we are biologically. We are tribal creatures, animals that crave and require social interaction. We can change this, and make it a priority for ourselves and our local communities. Perhaps this simple recognition, and a collective decision to change it, will profoundly change our species and our planet, further pushing us toward a global consciousness. Equipped with our technology, we can retain our most basic humanity while thinking and behaving as one united species. Together, we can change the world.

May 06, 2023 /Trevor Allen
sustainability

Tarps at sunrise in Arusha, Tanzania - October 2019

Good Conversation

May 05, 2023 by Trevor Allen

I truly believe most people in the world are good. Striking a conversation with the average person usually results in learning and laughter. How quick can we recognize this very basic phenomenon compared to all the technological innovation?

May 05, 2023 /Trevor Allen
sustainability

Chasing waterfalls in Waimea Canyon, Kauai - April 2023

Entrepreneurial Spirit

May 04, 2023 by Trevor Allen

As I’ve forayed into entrepreneurial ventures, it’s struck me how emotionally different the entrepreneurial world can be from the “normal” world. When I speak with friends pursuing their own businesses, there’s always a mutual feeling of excitement and positivity. An environment of ideas exists, and ideas are not rejected but received and nurtured. Plans and schemes are uttered as rapidly and fervently as gossip in “normal” conversations. Participants in entrepreneurial conversations embrace possibility, the prospect of the world looking different tomorrow than it does today. There’s an electric charge that’s reciprocated between parties. One feels alive because, from the grandest perspective, they are contributing to the organization of the universe.

All that’s left is the follow-through, to turn ideas to actions. To pursue. Because in an entrepreneurial conversation, it’s clear: we can change the world.

May 04, 2023 /Trevor Allen
mobile blog

The lion next to Cape Town, December 2019

Human Feelings

May 03, 2023 by Trevor Allen

We’re hardwired to dislike negative feelings. We don’t like it when we feel tired, or cold, or sad or sick. It’s easy to let the sensations take over our consciousness. But that’s not what makes us human; we are also hardwired to feel. And that makes this whole thing we call life completely worth it. Even with some negative feelings sprinkled into life, it sure is one amazing adventure.

May 03, 2023 /Trevor Allen
humanism

The sea off the coast of Thailand, February 2020

Noise and Silence

May 02, 2023 by Trevor Allen

I think there’s too much noise in our lives. We constantly move from music to podcasts to TV to online videos. The information overload is real, and it’s so easy to get sucked in. Perhaps our next evolution will be the intentional selection of silence.

May 02, 2023 /Trevor Allen
zeitgeist

Sunset in Galapagos, May 2019

Sweat to Recover

May 01, 2023 by Trevor Allen

Sweat gets you back on track. It’s our natural tendency to conserve energy, to rest when we’re tired or recovering from stimulation. But when we move and we sweat, the mind clears. You just gotta convince yourself to do it. It’s realizations like these in which I wonder about the parallels between our individual systems, and that of the world, the universe at large.

May 01, 2023 /Trevor Allen
mobile blog

Watching volcanic activity in Volcanoes National Park, December 2022

Trust Today

April 30, 2023 by Trevor Allen

Information is tough to trust and tough to know in today’s world. How can us common ones reasonably advocate for a team or side, when every report or interview must be thoroughly interrogated? As the amount of information has proliferated, the capacity for verification has plummeted. It’s unfortunate but yet the reality. So what’s the solution? Is it news abstinence, like I’ve partaken? I don’t think it’s the answer, as ostriches of the past can demonstrate. The answer may simply be to strive for truth, the demand for truth, and to create innovative ways for truth to spread, quickly and efficiently, and trustworthyingly. I believe we can do it.

April 30, 2023 /Trevor Allen
zeitgeist
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