TED Community » Michael Sliwa

More About Me

I'm passionate about

My passion is being a student of the world. During my travels I want to gain insight and knowledge from an extraordinary world.

An idea worth spreading

Infinite growth on a finite planet results in no future all living beings. Inherent privilege has given birth to a culture that is blind to the consequences of it's daily existence. A culture that requires oppression and privilege is devouring the living planet and most of us continue to search for a solution that is sadly staring us in the face. The species and people outside of the dominant culture have the answer which the rest of us once attained. If we cannot see that taking more than one needs is the only way out of this mess then we are unfortunately out of time. The skills that we all once had have been forgotten and replaced by convenience and greed. We cannot just walk away and hope to survive. I have decided to chase a different carrot and take personal responsibility for the life I lead. I no longer rely on a hopeful technological solution or the perfect candidate. I am awake and I know that awareness is no longer enough. I am moving towards the exit of empire.

Talk to me about

White privilege, durable/sustainable living, homesteading, patriarchy, heterosexism, social justice, environmentalism, economic/social/environmental collapse, film making, public speaking, TED.

People don't know that I'm good at

Adjusting to any personality is my greatest strength.

My TED Story

I recently spoke at TEDxBHC and TEDxNottingham. Both universities (Arizona State Honors College and Nottingham) asked me to speak about my journey from the classroom to the the road in search of durable/sustainable living skills. It dawned on me during my talk that these students were in fact my audience. They were not only open to the possibility of change but were willing to walk through it's door. I would love to continue my journey and telling my story through the lens of TED. My privilege has taken me to places I surely didn't earn but I have begun to listen and learn from those who are oppressed by it. I will spend the rest of my life continuing on this path and I would like to thank TED for being part of it.

Comments

• TEDCred score: +2.10 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

• A comment on Talk: Dan Ariely: What makes us feel good about our work?

  Apr 18 2013: Salaries are the problem. Production is the problem. Consumption on a mass level is the problem. The economy is the problem. We've built a giant game of Jenga and if we pull out the petroleum piece it all comes crashing down. This is a good thing because each piece we add represents another species lost because of our silly game. We can have the greatest excuse in the world or we can have the world. Either way nature doesn't care or negotiate. We are another species and if we don't act accordingly then we'll be shown the door.

• A comment on Talk: Dan Ariely: What makes us feel good about our work?

  Apr 13 2013: I agree Tify...but even if we wanted to do the right thing we don't even know what that is. Everything we do is a negotiation and nature doesn't negotiate.
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  A reply on Talk: Dan Ariely: What makes us feel good about our work?

  Apr 12 2013: Lol...We don't have the skill set to do that. Besides I think my culture has done enough damage for one millennia. I say we leave the Piraha alone. Maybe could just start paying attention to what actually supports life. Of course there's no money in that ;)

• A reply on Talk: Dan Ariely: What makes us feel good about our work?

  Apr 10 2013: Less than 5 minutes ago: Maybe, my guess is we've become detached to what has always consistently given meaning to us and have been in search of a replacement ever since. That's why we live in cultures full of depression, self help, substance abuse, and consumerism. The proof is in the pudding so to speak. It seems to me that the few indigenous cultures left that haven't been swallowed by "civilization" or the industrial world have never had a need to find meaning in their work. Their "work" is not work at all but rather a meaningful existence instead. In my estimation we're not living on the planet but rather using and consuming it...and that has always felt empty and meaningless.
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  A comment on Talk: Dan Ariely: What makes us feel good about our work?

  Apr 10 2013: Maybe, my guess is we've become detached to what has always consistently given meaning to us and have been in search of a replacement ever since. That's why we live in cultures full of depression, self help, substance abuse, and consumerism. The proof is in the pudding so to speak. It seems to me that the few indigenous cultures left that haven't been swallowed by "civilization" or the industrial world have never had a need to find meaning in their work. Their "work" is not work at all but rather a meaningful existence instead. In my estimation we're not living on the planet but rather using and consuming it...and that has always felt empty and meaningless.
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  A comment on Talk: Dan Ariely: What makes us feel good about our work?

  Apr 10 2013: It's interesting how we (industrial, "civilized") humans need to add meaning to our lives. Not only do we need to add meaning but we need to add it for production purposes. There was a time in human history where meaning was obvious. It was tied to living our lives. Today we work to live our lives and in order to convince ourselves that work has purpose we try and tie meaning to it. The problem is when we lived our lives the world had meaning and now that we've fooled ourselves about work we must try and create meaning. In most cases this meaning is false and it destroys the world in which we live in. The culture of make believe is just that....make believe. Reality is knocking as we look for meaning in our work.
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  A comment on Talk: Allan Savory: How to fight desertification and reverse climate change

  Mar 24 2013: We (industrial humans) continue to try and cut deals, bargain and negotiate with her. Nature has never and will never negotiate so we may want to come to terms with our own extinction created by our own hands. Ego and lack of long term vision have a price.

• A comment on Conversation: The debate about Rupert Sheldrake's talk

  Mar 21 2013: TED is and has always been about innovation and progress first and all else a distant second. Therefore when you have a talk that challenges TEDs core foundation how else would one expect them to react. They are a pure representation of the industrial model. Growth and progress for the sake of growth and progress. They are stuck in a linear train of thought like those of us participating in the global economy. TED is a reflection of the industrial human dilemma. Nature doesn't negotiate but TED has made its niche as the cutting edge negotiator. BTW, how's that workin' out for not only TED but for all of us as well?

• A comment on Conversation: Is capitalism sustainable?

  Mar 16 2013: Does capitalism require the importation of goods and services? Well then I believe you have your answer. Here's what capitalism does without most of us ever realizing it. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=u-o-w_dcoCQ

• A comment on Conversation: Are we as a species like a viral infection that will eventually destroy its host...?

  Mar 10 2013: Probably not. Species go extinct. The tragedy in this case is a particular culture within our own species is not only pushing the entire human race towards extinction but a large number of other species with it. Plenty of people are not part of this destructive process. Unfortunately plenty more people are and that is the dilemma the species of planet earth faces. For me and my tribe this isn't about saving the planet or species, its about trying to play our role and leaving our myth of "purpose" behind.