Every complaint is an opportunity. This letter points out a great attitude to have - one that I plan on employing immediately!

Marvellous sentiment. I have one more thing to add to the "change" list: Change your mind. Some people put up with annoyances since getting rid of them isn't worth it, but then keep being annoyed and complaining. Changing their mind about the issue would make both their's and their friends' lives happier.

In relation to the macro-issues you touched upon at the beginning; I'm sure many others have had those sorts of discussions. But it is unlikely that everything will have the same opinions on what is wrong and how to 'fix' things. So how can we answer these questions:

a) How can I be so sure that I have real solutions that apply beyond my little world, and that the people in power weren't convinced of their own ability to 'improve things' before being in a position to do so?

b) How can I know that the micro-solutions that I believe improve my life wouldn't have significant negative consequences if applied on a grand scale?

c) How can I reconcile ideological aims with pragmatic solutions?

d) How can I convince enough people to form a social movement that can prevail against the current hegemonic power? How can we co-opt them to put forward a new agenda without being corrupted or destroyed in the process?

Difficult!

You mention that you travel away for the winter (and travel a lot in general). You happen to be in a position to do it, and benefit from it in the ways you have experienced. While travelling, no doubt, helps to broaden a person's mental outlook it is also an activity that comes with a heavy environmental and social cost. If we were all to travel away from unfavourable winter environments then certain parts of the world would be 'invaded' at certain times of year, communities would fracture on a yearly basis, and the environmental footprint of individuals would be increased. Scaled up, it is likely to be a massively damaging practice. Many modern environmental/social problems are the result of scale and its unexpected consequences - some were even 'solutions' to previous problems.
Just a thought

I could have written this word-by-word.

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” - Ghandi

Hi Will,

In response to your comment asking how can he possibly know the best solution:

a) It's called trial and error. You look at what you have and what you know and the changes that you can make. Try them, and if things improve, great! If not, then try something else. You learn a lot both from things that work and don't work, and apply that knowledge to the next iteration. It's the same as testing and refining a design or product, and it works in other ares of life. You just have to stop being afraid of failing and the 'but what if's.

b) That's where you need to take a step back, look at the big picture occasionally, what you want, where you're going. Don't get so focused on the details that you forget all else, but if you take care of the small stuff as it arises you have more energy and perspective to address the larger issues.

c) I don't understand how this is an issue. If there is something in the world you feel strongly about, then volunteer, help out a charity. Make a difference.

d) Change starts with you. Start changing your own life, then blog about it, inspire others.

That's a facile and condescending response that glosses over the great difficulties involved in making beneficial national and global change. That is the issue Sebastian opened this article with, and that is what my comment was interested in exploring.

Wow! I do the same thing, although I wasn't conscious about it until you wrote your article. As you said, it helps a lot.

Hey Will,

Thanks for the well thought out questions and discussion! You are very correct, these are *hugely* difficult problems, that we all face continually. Please do be patient, tho, with us fellow commentors. Conveying tone correctly on the internet is another *hugely* difficult problem, and often where you read condescension, none was intended.

As for answering your questions definitively, I don't think anyone is going to do a better job than Alison in a short comment. But they are fascinating questions indeed! I would encourage you to write any thoughts you have about them, and introduce them to this community through links, in the hopes of us all gaining some more understanding and maybe even some answers!

Cheers!

Phaed

> Every complaint is an opportunity.

Hey, that's a great way of phrasing it Eric, good stuff. I remember reading a couple of perspectives about how people should stop looking at customer service at a company as a cost center, and start looking at it as a place to get lots of value - not just to make your customers happy, but also to follow up with them, hear their concerns, get new market research, and offer them specials/sales/other deals. Done correctly, you can kill four or five birds with one stone, and ideally make your customers much happier too. Good stuff.