The Myth Of The Lineal Life

One facet of our common thinking that I often observe is that our lives are, or should be, lineal with the passage of time. I think this belief is cultural in origin and I suspect that elsewhere in the world one does not find this train of thought so pervasive. I also believe this is a misconception which can be the source of much personal anguish. The lack of substance within the idea that things should always get bigger and better each passing year has been painfully forced into our view as the world economy cracks and sputters.  We bring a lot of pain upon ourselves grasping at the notion that our new car should cost more and be “better” than our previous one, or that our stock portfolio should increase each year, or we should get a raise, have a bigger house, or an easier life as time passes.  I can not say this way of  judging progress is solely an American mind set, but it is certainly common and fundamental in the difficulties we experience accepting events and conditions we don’t care for. I am not so much speaking of simply the materialism that we have come to recognize as a major global ailment. I am trying to address more so the frame of mind that prevents us from seeing what is taking place simply as it is- without the usual judgements influenced by our expectations. Again, not just in relation to “things” getting bigger or better, but coming to terms with the realization that later in life we may feel less certain, steady, or secure as we did when younger despite our plans.

Creative Problem Solving is one of the redeeming elements of my job that I truly enjoy.For better or worse, this occupation leaves no shortage for such opportunities. Lots goes wrong. We know this shift in vantage as “thinking outside the box”. A few years ago we completed a beautiful project in Healdsburg called Puma Springs Vineyards. The owners grow their grapes bio-dynamically and have prestigious contracts in that select field. The house, adjacent buildings, gardens and vineyard capture the Tuscan spirit replanted in Sonoma County. I had the pleasure of revisiting this project recently under rather unpleasant conditions. I was notified that there was a major break in a copper water line under the house slab. There was no way to easily access where the leak was believed to be located. There was a lot of staring at our shoes while we contemplated possible solutions; one of which may have been jack-hammering up part of the tiled kitchen floor to get to the buried lines. Not a happy day. However, after opening up two walls across the room from each other where we knew the water lines to run between ( thanks to excellent photo documenting!) it occurred to me that we could possibly fish half inch pex tubing through the three quarter inch copper. Bingo! It worked. In a matter of hours the leak was stopped and repaired and the house system was back functioning as it was intended. I went to sleep that night with quite a little smirk on my face.

My education and one time trajectory was in urban planning. I read with great interest recently an article by Bill Reed and John Boecker (Jan-Feb 2010 Green Source Magazine) wherein they refer to planning as a process of  “urban acupuncture” not a series of isolated interventions. When they state: “The act of building can be an act of healing, regenerating the community and web of life in each unique place”  I think of the opportunity in Haiti as well as those less poignant moments of rebuilding. They further remind us that ” humans have a role to play in co-evolving with other species on the planet” and that the term ‘development’ should not always be viewed in a negative context but actually means “to create new potential”. I have a humorous antidote about my own preconceptions of the meaning of development: Ten years ago Suzi and I had planned a rather ambitious project where we ended up building our more humble current office. The plan was to tear down the existing ramshackled bungalow (which we did) and build a two story office complex with a meeting tower and two apartments. The project was approved by the planning and building authorities and picked up in the local press. When I inadvertently was then reading the news one day I saw an article about a Developer planning a big project in downtown Glen Ellen. I was horrified! How could they?? This was terrible! Imagine my surprise when I realized it was ME they were talking about. I had never imagined myself labeled as something so awful as a “Developer”.  Another preconception shattered…………………….