Sustainable?

Recently at the Tribute to Buckminster Fuller event (July 13th to 15th 2007) at Penang Hill, Malaysia, I observed that the KEY word that came up frequently in the keynote speech by Datuk Seri Lim Chong Keat, was sustainability.

Why?

Because in my opinion, Bucky used to talk about and was very concern about sustainable development, in relation to our resources and our environment. Can our environment regenerate itself at the rate with which we consume its resources?

At the rate which we humans are consuming our resources, depleting our forests, polluting our rivers and ocean, just to name a few, is Mother Earth able to SUSTAIN us?

Talking about SUSTAINABILITY, I felt that this idea of "sustainability" applies very much to the Bucky Group Singapore!

Why? The reason is that many "learning" groups (they have decided to meet regularly after having met and became friends through the M&Y seminar) have started, but they all fizzled out after a short while. They were unsustainable.

And many who have heard about us, the Bucky Group, often wondered, how did we sustain ourselves over the many years (since June 1994), and is in fact thriving? Some have asked me so.

There have been several reasons.

We have sustained ourselves firstly we wanted to read and understand Bucky's book Critical Path. That was our main focus, we orbited around this objective.

Secondly, we were keen about exercise. Healthy walks, jogs or runs at MacRitchie Reservoir were part of our objective.
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But most importantly, we or at least, I personally decided that I am committed to being there at MacRitchie every Sunday to "do Bucky," rain or shine.


Like when it was raining quite heavily on a Sunday morning, and I was there, despite the rain, I receive an sms from Su. She asked me if anybody else turned up. I replied, that there are three of us. Great Spirit, Bucky and me.



We make it work. And other things began to happen for the Bucky Group. It gathered momentum. It regenerated itself. The Impossible began to happen, like make the World a Better place. And the world is a better place, even if just one of us changes for the better, because of the Bucky Group.

Results?
Fourteen members of the Singapore Bucky Group turned out at the Tribute to Buckminster Fuller event, which prompted Medard Gabel to remark that "it is of cosmic importance that he met with the Bucky Group!"

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has!" So said Margaret Mead.

Sustainable? It's a commitment