Robbie MacKay

I’ve been working my way in to the crisis mapping and humanitarian ICT community for a while. Firstly with some minor contributions to Sahana Eden, then when earthquakes hit Christchurch I did what I could to help with eq.org.nz. Since then I’ve been helping with Standby Task Force tech team, and lurking in skype chats.

Last week I flew to Geneva for the 3rd International Conference of Crisis Mappers (ICCM). It was a 2 day event (free of charge!): day 1 is keynote speeches and 24 short 5 min presentations; day 2 is 4 timeslots of self organised discussion sessions, up to 9 sessions at once (barcamp style). All interspersed with lots of networking, talking in the hall ways, plans being hatched, and jet lagged attendees trying to stay awake.

The short summary is that it was a brilliant event, I felt over my head a bit – not being part of the humanitarian part of the community – but made a lot of connections and got a good feel for what is going on in the community as a whole, and where the biggest issues are right now.

The conference themes, as outlined in keynotes were: Validation, Security, Partnerships, Scaling and Mainstreaming (of crisis mapping). And as Sanjana highlighted during his key note: We are trying to save lives. That is what we must be driven by. That is what we are working for.

… and that proved to be well on target really. Especially in the self organised sessions, we kept coming back to security issues, other sessions worked on validation, and the other themes showed up everywhere.

I’ve got stacks of notes, some more informative than others. I’ve posted some to the main list already and I’ll try to write up some more and post them on here soon.

Back to reality for now..

just because it’s free doesn’t mean it’s a good idea (or a bad one). It means you should think hard about how everyone benefits (including you).

 - Seth Godin

.. and the same applies if it’s not free. Just because you’re being paid doesn’t mean you should ignore how something benefits you and everyone else involved.

If we live truly, we shall see truly. - Ralph Waldo Emerson Not everyone wants to travel the world, but most people can identify at least one place in the world they’d like to visit before they die. Where is that place for you, and what will you do to make sure you get there?

This is an odd question to answer. There are so many places I want to go.. I’ve even got a list of the top ones. Real must see ones:

1. Yosemite national park
2. Machu Picchu
3. Bhutan
4. .. and the trans-siberian railway. Not really a place.. but something amazing I want to do.

To be honest none of these look that hard yet. I’ve got a lot of time left, or at least I hope so. But I’m aware how quickly that can all disappear.

Set a deadline: I want to see all of these by 35. At least 2 by 30.
I’d love take the trans-siberian railway on my way back to NZ. This trip home that’s unlikely, I don’t think I have time/money. But next time..

Here’s the thing: I’ve been to 5 new countries in the past year. But most of the weren’t ones I was really excited about. Italy was. The rest were easy options. And I’m more excited about Europe now then I was to start with.
It could be easy to keep going for the easy options and not the ones I’m excited about or a little scared getting to some places could mean less travel overall, but I think it’ll be more worthwhile in the end.
Time to start planning and saving…

Stop. Start.
Pulled one way then the other.
Just when you decide, you realise you were wrong all along.
Everything is transient.
Everything is serious. Nothing matters.
Life starts now.

Life starts now.
But it already started.
You’re going nowhere.
Yet you’ve come so far already.

Do you recognise this life? Do you know how you got here?
You got you here.

How much pain, confusion and conflict in the world is caused by mis-understandings about love?

If you take the position that love is not the same thing is commitment, love doesn’t mean a relationship will work. Love is just love. It’s not conditional, until we make it conditional. What changes if you assume love is unconditional? What if you give you love unconditionally?

If your relationship breaks down, if things in your relationship are not working, it doesn’t mean they don’t love you anymore, or you don’t love each other anymore. They will always love you, they always have. You can still love them, you always have, you always will..

The relationship in its current from just doesn’t work.
It still hurts. It’s still hard.
Be sad, do resist it – but then move on.

This extends to friendships too… you don’t have to pretend you can make a relationship work and be friends with someone when you can’t. There is no shame in admitting you can’t deal with someone, it doesn’t make you a smaller person, in fact it makes you larger for admitting the truth.
Remember too, you don’t have to take your love away from someone if things don’t work. But you don’t have to continue the relationship the same way, just to prove you love them.

I’m not saying this is the truth. You don’t have believe it if you don’t like. If it doesn’t work for you, don’t worry about it.
It’s just a place to stand, a powerful place to stand if it works for you. What If you assume love is unconditional?

‎The bad news is that you’re falling through space, nothing to hold on to, no parachute. The good news is that there is no ground.

- Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.- Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

The world is powered by passionate people, powerful ideas, and fearless action. What’s one strong belief you possess that isn’t shared by your closest friends or family? What inspires this belief, and what have you done to actively live it?

Being vegetarian? Life is sacred, if you don’t have to kill something to eat, don’t kill it. I’ve been vegetarian since Sept 27 2008, so over two years.

This is far from being my strongest belief.. its an expression of many others: that something needs to be done about climate change, that the way we farm is a bit fucked up, being vege is more healthy. But its one decision thats got more resistance from my family than most (though still not much from most of them – love you guys). And one that can get odd reactions from friends.

Has it been worth sticking with? Yes. It reminds me that I can do something I put my mind to. That I don’t need others support to do it either. It picks me up at my lowest, as a reminder that I’m still doing a small bit to make the world better.. when I feel a bit useless.

I try not to preach vegetarian-ism. I don’t want to create a religion. I don’t need others to validate my opinion. I don’t need it to be a moral high ground. I don’t want to turn it in to one. I try to keep it personal, keep being vege because it works for me. Not because it would be ‘bad’ to eat meat.

Today: being pulled both ways and knowing it will break my heart to abandon either way.

Beautiful, fascinating and impossible to focus on, today is a blur only observed as a passing flow.

We are afraid of truth, afraid of fortune, afraid of death, and afraid of each other. Our age yields no great and perfect persons. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

You just discovered you have fifteen minutes to live.

1. Set a timer for fifteen minutes.
2. Write the story that has to be written.

http://ralphwaldoemerson.me/prompts

Kill every distraction. Everything in the way. What is there to communicate?

I love you all. What else can be said?

Do not miss me. Do not mourn me. But celebrate the glorious life you all helped me to have.. I only hope someone will continue to fight for the things I fought for. Selfish? maybe.. but what better time to than now, if I really had 15mins to live. What better time for generosity and thanks too?

Fight for the planet, fight for life, fight for all those who are trodden on and ignored.

I will love you always.. more than I’ve ever said or shown. I’ve told some of you many times, and some of you never at all.
But I love you. I will miss you. I only wish for one more hug. One more chance to show you who  I am.. to beg forgiveness for every pain I’ve caused you, and to thank you for all you’ve given me. For being there for me, for loving me, for things said, advice given, good times had, bad times shared. For being angry at me when I was unkind, when I needed reminding who I was. Thank you for being you.

Thanks Mum and Dad for bringing me life, and showing me how to live it. I may not have always done things you expected, followed paths you choose, but I followed lessons you taught, one way or another. I took life and made what I would of it.. Thanks to you. I’ve made it this far, and I’m proud of what I’ve done, what I’ve attempted, and what I’ve failed at. Thanks to you.. the best guides I know in this life. You have my love and my admiration always..