Some Kind of Blog

by Clare Ultimo

  • Home
  • Design Portfolio
  • Non-Commercial Work
  • Words
  • Video
  • Buy Our Stuff
  • Links
  • About Us
  • Blog
  • Contact

Occupy the Heart in 2012

December 12, 2011 By Clare Ultimo

At a client holiday party last week, talking to a marketing director at the bar and the subject of Occupy Wall Street comes up.

“I’ve been working with a friend to create some Occupy graphics, maybe even sell them and give the money to the movement,” I said to her.

The marketing director responded, “Oh don’t give the money to them, Give the money to the stores in that area that are losing business because of them. Stores in the area are being forced to close down.”

She was angry with the Occupy movement and I didn’t argue with her, because her anger didn’t seem unjustified to me. At the same time though, the opposite might also be happening – some small businesses doing better because of the Occupy attention. Still, being a small business myself, I certainly don’t want Occupy to be hurting anyone in the 99%. So, to me, her anger made sense, but Occupy makes sense to me too. Every established system around us doesn’t seem to be working very well these days and Occupy could possibly encourage us to imagine systems that do work. A “place” to start… and even though many pundits feel it’s not a movement at all, and that is has already been compromised, I’m seeing it in a different way.

My friend, Thomas Alan Berg (author of “Uncle Tom’s Classroom”) a visionary educator, has participated in the San Francisco Occupy and felt that the feeling in the air was much more than political, much more than economic. The only way he could describe it was to say it felt like a kind of connection was everywhere, going far beyond the original purposes of the physical protest.

Tom sounded inspired and happy about it and he got me going too. I began to think what if Occupy is one big thought, being thought of by millions around the world, all at one time. But then, I am one of those people who believes that we live manifestations of thought; that thoughts are electromagnetic “things” and that everyone’s actually counts for something and makes stuff happen. There are plenty of the smartest and well respected scientists and educators who are coming to this conclusion too so laugh as you will, but I am in very good company on this one…

Tom Berg’s description of his experience at Occupy San Francisco inspired me to create this particular graphic, because he expressed the “heart” part of Occupy. Feeling our own heartfelt connection (to each other, to this place we live called earth etc…) is the invisible force of Occupy. Everyone has their own relationship to that; it’s an individual thing. No leaders, no followers. Facilitators, consensus, respecting individuality and differences…sounds too good to be true as a real working system, and I’m sure it’s also messy to manage. But first steps are almost always shaky. Occupy might be helping us see the first social description of a new paradigm and since we have no idea what to really look for if this is REALLY going to be different from what we’ve known before, so it’s too soon to tell. One thing for sure: Monsanto, Big Pharma, Big Media and our Banking systems would like it much better if everyone just shut up so they could continue to monopolize the world as we know it now…in our “best” interests.

Occupy the Heart is a reminder that our feelings are not only significant, they are at the basis of everything we do; our emotions are the human currency we exchange with one another, every day, at our desks, counters, board rooms and these feelings make our lives “better” or “worse”. By paying attention to this fundamental “invisible” part we all have, I think we have a better chance of making a “permanent” difference on the place we (presently) call home, good old planet Earth. It’s not like we have to put differences aside entirely, we have to understand them for what they are finally…a million different expressions of what is really a beautiful and unstoppable heart, the invisible force of the universe. Am I a dreamer? You bet. And all the best minds of any generation are, too.

Love to you all in this season of celebration…more in 2012!

Filed Under: Personal is Political Tagged With: occupy, occupy design, occupy graphic design, occupy wall street nyc

AUDIO

LISTEN TO CLARE'S PODCAST

Recent Articles

  • An Open Letter to Great Mother Gaia…
  • Why War May Really Be Over…
  • Distress, Death and Graphic Design
  • What Inspires You? The Writing Process Blog Tour
  • Announcing the QEG: Happy Earth Day!
  • If Everyone Told the Truth: A Personal Fantasy Through the World as We Know It
  • On Silk Stockings, Cigars and Turning 20
  • Occupy the Heart in 2012
  • 2012 on Seventh Avenue
  • What Not To Change About Graphic Design

Categories

  • (Not so) Metaphysical
  • Design and Commerce
  • Personal is Political
  • Raves about my FAVES
  • Variations of Now

Tags

1922 1984 in corporate america 2012 and fear 2012 in daily life angelheaded hipster Art Directors are Artists ask questions Banksy being your own superhero Blog Talk Radio corporate fascism Designers and non-profits Earth Day Exit Through the Gift Shop graphic design history how graphic design is changing; is everyone a graphic designer; graphic design for everyone; important things about graphic design independent radio internet radio shows Jack Kerouac's Birthday jean cocteau graphic designer Joseph Campbell Foundation Joseph Campbell quotes Kerouac's 88 birthday Kerouac in NY King of the Beats March 12 metaphysical gifts Mike Marcellino Mr Brainwash occupy wall street nyc organic real meaning of 2012 recycling Red River Radio saving yourself Shepard Fairey the art of the letterform The Chip in Your Head Will Text FOR You! the elephant in the room the way graphic design used to be Thierry Guetta trusting yourself vegetarian since I was 17 We Should Be Looking for Questions Working for Non-Profits

Archives

  • April 2015
  • November 2014
  • September 2014
  • June 2014
  • April 2014
  • June 2013
  • August 2012
  • December 2011
  • May 2011
  • September 2010
  • July 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • November 2008
  • September 2008

Some Kind of Blog

Copyright © 2022 All rights reserved

Graphic Design New York City

Powered by Ponder Consulting · XHTML · Log in