Happy Birthday, Pierre ...

Happy Birthday from the Socks and Sandals Liberation Front!

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Today is my friend Pierre's birthday, and it's got me thinking about the value of a life.  While there are some people who would measure it with extrinsic successes -- money, fame, toys -- P's a guy who kinda challenges you turn that on it's head.  Doesn't matter who he is in terms of labels.  What moves me is his ability to mobilize people beyond that numb, too-much-bad-news, hopeless kind of place we some times get stuck at.  Sort of turns the question "what have you done for me lately?" on it's head and shakes it till it's heart falls back down into a chest cavity somewhere and does it's thing.

While I was busy making digital pianos and baubbles, Mr. O. was out trying to kick the great unconscious response to a global flu pandemic in it's flabby tires.  Instead of the kind of movie-of-the-week fear mongering that some folks tend to do, Pierre was not only providing global leadership on this, but doing it through a set of small, thoughtful, pragmatic little bloglets that spoke plainly to everyday people about what something like this might mean, and what we can reasonably do about it.

So maybe groking 28-weeks-later come to life doesn't hold the cool factor for you?  He and his wife, Pam, have quietly started a revolution in every-day things people can do to connect with each other and mobilize healthier, more sustainable communities globally.  Instead of throwing fistfuls of money at things, they invited discourse, set the table and asked everyday people to put their elbows on it and start talking, collaborating, imagineering at a place called omidyar.net.  In many ways it seemed like a pretty audacious experiment, but it was the kickstart to my own tired-out bleeding heart when I reconnected with a handful of better world scouts who were just quiet, everyday people like myself looking for ways to make a difference in their own way.

It's what lead me to want to find a way to give back through my success in Second Life through the SL Ubuntu program.

You might not know Pierre, but you probably know someone like him.  Someone who challenges us to think beyond ourselves, to care deeply and actively about each other and the world in a non-tree-hugger kind of way ~winks~.   Whether you do it for Pierre just because I say he's intrinsically cool (down to his geeky-sweet, über-techie core), or as a tribute to that person you know who shakes you out of that soul-comma and back into actively caring, I invite you to give a gift from the heart, and I've even got the cajones to suggest what that might be ~grins~ ...

1) Read his blog entry on preparing for a pandemic, think about it, and share that wisdom with at least one other person.

2) Visit omidyar.net and simply trust fate to take you where you need to be.  She's a pretty smart gal and has a habit of guiding our path in spite of us.  Connect with at least one thing that calls you there, whether it's a project, or a challenge, or simply the words of a kindred soul.  Just pick a small, simple place and dig in.

3) Just get off your ass and do something nice, for somebody, somewhere out there today.  Doesn't matter who, or how, or why.  Just do it.

So, Pierre, my gift to you today on your 40th birthday is a "ripple".  I'm sending one out hoping it will make more, and spread the way your own do in such simple, heartfelt ways.

Here's to your integrity, your insanity, and your very great heart.  Here's to another 40, then another 40, and yet another 40 more ...

Rock the world, baby.

Sue.

(and you know I'm going to be walking around in those damned socks and sandals today, humiliating myself just for you, bud-dee ~grins~ )