Ideas can be life-changing. Sometimes all you need to open the door is just one more good idea.
Jim Rohn

The Penan – a tribal people currently struggling to survive in a shrinking Borneo rainforest – live by the principle of molong, which means, “taking only what is needed.”

I actually have had this post in my drafts for quite a while. I was just unable to really articulate what I wanted to say about this concept of taking only what we need.

Then I saw this video:

So now I know I know what I wanted to say:

We live at one of the most exciting moments in history. We are shaped by untold pressures and opportunities. How we live and relate to one another matters.  How we lead our organizations matter. How we find solutions to complex problems matter. Who sits at the table and who has a voice matters.

It all matters very much.

The problems across the oceans in little villages are actually my problems and the solutions to these problems do not just impact a few– they  have to serve many.

We thrive or die together. In this world community we thrive or die together.

We can create new structures. Structures that will value ” Solar Demi” from the video and his creativity, innovation and abilities  just as much as it values the creations that are produced by Apple.

Only what is needed.

When was the last time you took more than your share? When you used more than your share or acquired more than you needed.  If I am being honest and I took the time to think– I am sure I did it sometime today.  Culturally we have been taught to have more than we need.  The ugly truth is when we have more than we need — someone–  someplace in the world has less than what they need. Taking only what is needed means looking past my own self interest– and man that can be hard to do.

We are responsible for each other  and our shared world.

We Are One.

Humility, gratitude, and reverence are integrated into the consciousness of oneness. Oneness  can help us enter into a direct relationship with life and with those living in extreme conditions including poverty – a relationship of respect in which we are not higher or lower, but equal.

I value the contributions that Solar Demi is making to his local community and the lessons he shares with us globally. I want to see more of him AND more like him. I want to sit at his feet and learn his story. I want to touch the hem of his garment — because he is empowered and through his work he is empowering others. His idea changed lives in his community and changed me in a way I never saw coming.

We Are One.