Note: This is the 5th of 5 essays, the first 4 of which were written for the BanklessDAO Writers Cohort. This draft is a step in a process intended for gathering feedback and not intended to stand alone as a published work.
In Slow Lane Week 3 (“Paving the Wei”) I diagnosed the right lane with an image problem and suggested the best way to address it is not by arguing but by telling a new, different story about why the slow lane is worth traveling in. One perspective I offered included the neuroscientific finding that we are more likely to experience creative breakthroughs when we slow our minds and bodies down. In a second suggestion I offered the term “flourish” as a Web3 destination worth working toward, and the necessity of slow lane travel to help get us there. As I continue to find my flow in this lane and articulate its benefits to others it seems this new, different story has been in the works for quite some time, just waiting to find traction with a larger audience. I believe Web3 is fertile ground, seeded already with a regeneration movement, for growing and informing this larger audience.
The Generative Story of Our Time
Soon after finishing my 4th “Slow Lane” piece (“From Slow Lane to Flow Lanes”) I received a text from a friend with a link to a podcast she thought I might enjoy. Little did I know when I clicked on it how meaningful this “On Being” podcast would be at connecting a few, additional slow lane dots. In the episode “Foundations 1: Seeing the Generative Story of Our Time”, hostess Krista Tippett shed new light on the crossroads facing our species. Then, as I reflected on Krista’s message, a quote, a curve and two wolves, all of which have had special meaning to me, came soon to mind. Krista offers:
“We are more familiar with the story of catastrophe and dysfunction and that is real. But it is not the whole story of us. That’s what this phrase (Generative Narrative of Our Time) is insisting on. That there is also an ordinary and abundant reality of things that are going right at any given time. Of learning and growth that is happening, of evolution and breakthrough.”
In response to Krista’s message the quote occurring to me is, “What we pay attention to grows”. Currently, whether in the mainstream media or web2 social media, the preponderance of human attention is given to drama, to “the story of catastrophe and dysfunction”. Not only is it real but it is increasingly looking like the story of a civilization’s decline. For some context, perspective, and even some hope, however, I’d like to offer a picture of the curve, the Sigmoid Curve, that came to mind. First, some explanation.
A Tale of Two Curves
In introducing “The Lesson of the Sigmoid Curve”, Michael from Dumb Little Man writes:
“All things occur in cycles, ebbing and flowing as time goes by. In the west, we often think of things progressing in a linear way, but nature teaches us that this is not the case. Darkness and light, the seasons, the life cycles of plants and animals – all these things rise and fall periodically. This cyclical motion affects every area of our lives. Our relationships, our family life and our career all follow cycles, and so do the lives of the institutions, companies and organizations to which we belong. Even countries and empires rise and fall in cycles.”
Looking at this Sigmoid Curve I’d submit that we, the human species, ordered as we are by the dominance of Western Civilization, are right smack in the crucible (and sweet spot) of the transition zone. Curve 1, representing civilization as we have known it, is showing increasing signs of a fatal turn. Meanwhile, Curve 2, at least the hopeful version of it, often appears closer to a crib death than to finding its legs and surging toward a life cycle of its own. Perhaps, however, agonizing as it may feel at times, this is as it must be. Of this learning phase, this new beginning if you will, Michael offers:
“At the bottom of the S there is a section which rises slowly, often dipping before starting to rise (depending on how the curve is drawn). This corresponds to an initial period of learning. When someone starts a business or begins a new career (for example), there is a period of hard work, where little seems to get accomplished….This phase can be frustrating because so much effort is being expended with so little apparent result.”
If, in fact, we are in this transition zone, then barring a cataclysm (nuclear war, global warming, etc.) some second-curve reality will emerge. But what will it look like? Who will we become, and what will we call forth, along the way? I believe the choice is up to us and of all the behaviors involved in this decision none is more important than that of what we give our attention to.
Great Invitations
Speaking again on her concept of Generative Narrative, and reflecting on her 20-years of slow-lane podcasting, Kristen Tippett recalls:
“I had to summon this phrase (Generative Story of Our Time) to describe what I was seeing in these years of drawing out wise and graceful voices in the world, some of them famous some of them not,....people finding ways to be of service, to have an edifying effect on the people around them, to be healers in so many forms and to model and advance quietly but so powerfully what it looks like when we rise to our best humanity. We are capable of beauty and joy and dignity and incredible creativity and community and care.The first invitation here is for you to see that you see this too.”
The first invitation here is for you to see that you see this too.
I think it fitting that we are wrapping things up here with discussion of an “invitation”. Web3, for all its trials and tribulations, occurs to me as something akin to a “Great Invitation” to participate in a reinvention of human civilization. DAOs, as this web’s welcome mats, extend invitations to explore ourselves and new ways of working with others. The Liberating Structures we discussed begin with invitations to inclusive experiences designed to liberate our creative, relational potential.
Here, at the crossroads and in the crucible/sweet spot of the Sigmoid Curve, it seems too we are being extended an invitation to make a choice. A choice to continue rushing ahead as a technologically advanced version of the same ol people or dig deeper into an inquiry of who we are and what we are here to create together. My prayer is that it be a conscious choice, and that we will slow down enough to make it.
Two Wolves - A Cherokee Parable
An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.
“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”
He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”