Age of the Steward
A Community of Seekers and Finders.
The Age of the Steward: the current epoch, where each individual awakens to their unique skills, passions and gifts, to take care of the Earth and life upon it, thereby collectively stewarding in an even better tomorrow.
Let’s tell a better story. Together.
In this Age, what would you like to be a steward of, or to steward in?
"To increase learning in the world"
Kevin Kelly
My mission is to increase learning in the world, and to help other people learn. My goal - the reason why I write my articles - is to increase the number of opportunities for everybody in the world. I want to help them find a way to express their genius, which I honestly and wholeheartedly believe every person has. Just as everyone has a unique individual face, they also have a unique individual combination of talents and experiences. I want to enable them to find, cultivate and express that genius and often that requires new technology. I find myself shepherding the whole of technology itself, or the technium as I call it, in order to increase the technological options for everyone. I am trying to steer technology a little bit, and to make clear to everyone that we should use technology to maximise these opportunities.
"To make people understand what an important force design is"
Paola Antonelli
I would like to keep doing what I'm doing. I would like to make people understand what an important force design is, both as a means of expression, and as a means of understanding ourselves, our culture, our species. Design is pretty much everything that has been planned, that has gone from idea to object, whether it's three-dimensional, two-dimensional, or four, five-dimensional. And it also enables us to communicate with each other. Every citizen should be conversant in because citizens should be able to push back and demand better of institutions, governments, and corporations. Also, design can instil new behaviours and therefore jumpstart profound changes in the way we live and think. So I would like to be a steward of design, which is what I'm doing already. I would just like for that to remain my job.
"To be stewards of independent creation and expression"
CW&T
We strive to be stewards of independent creation and expression. As a studio, we’re dedicated to shepherding ideas from initial sketches to finished products with as much independence as possible. By leading through example, we aim to serve as an inspiration and catalyst, empowering others to bring their own ideas to life. Our mission is to create and support environments where everyone has the opportunity to find their voice, express themselves, and realize their full creative potential through making.
"To help more people find Jung"
Lisa Marchiano
I found Jung when I was 28. I was brokenhearted and I found a book called On the Way to the Wedding by the Jungian analyst Linda Leonard. The book eased my suffering by providing a larger context for what I was experiencing. Linda's books are very accessible. I had little prior exposure to Jung, and his ideas can be difficult. But Linda has a way of writing about them that does not cheapen or flatten them, yet renders them understandable. She makes these very deep ideas easily accessible without dumbing them down. I was so helped by that book, but I was also struck by what an incredible skill it is to be able to write like that. I have always admired the other wonderful popularisers of Jung, like Jim Hollis, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, and Robert Johnson. They communicate these ideas clearly, even to someone with no previous background in depth psychology. At some point within the past couple of years, I realised it's my life mission to help more people find Jung. That's actually what I think I was put here to do. Because these ideas provide real medicine, especially for this moment in our culture. And so if I've helped a few more people find Jung through the podcast or my books, either The Vital Spark or Motherhood, then I think I've done my job.
"To amplify the influence and reputation of people who are choosing to be stewards"
Seth Godin
I think our work is to amplify the influence and reputation of people who are choosing to be stewards, because what we want is for that to catch on. What we want is for that to be what Forbes measures, not how many billions of dollars you have taken from a system. And so what I'm trying to do is not be the head of a system. I tried to do that years ago. It's exhausting. What I'm trying to do is see other systems and the ones that are resilient, help amplify or direct them with people who are ready to take that responsibility. I guess what I'm getting at is I oscillate between optimism and pessimism every five minutes. And what makes me optimistic are people in small groups. And what makes me pessimistic is media in large groups. And I think that's probably been true since the day I was born, right around the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis. And we've been through a lot, this earth and me. I am optimistic that human beings who care can show up and make a difference.
"We need to be more proactive in building healthier minds"
Adam Gazzaley
The respect and priority that we place on the function of our minds - how we think how we feel how we attend, how we decide how we love as people - we need to increase the priority that we place on those human skills. They need to be something that is just part of our daily conversation. How we feel empathy and compassion, they need to be baked deeply into our education system, into our medical system. We are constantly acting reactively to the problems of the mind when they go wrong, when someone is deeply depressed or suicidal, and we need to be more proactive in building healthier minds. That starts with acknowledging that they need to be intentionally nurtured and cared for and developed and always fed in a healthy way, and I want to be part of that future, it's something that I care deeply about.
"This mindset of interdisciplinary thinking, of crossing bridges, of connecting dots across borders"
Spencer Bailey
I would say, Noguchi, who I think everybody should know about and study to some degree. He was a true citizen of 'Spaceship Earth.' It's this sort of liberal arts, slowed-down mindset — this mindset of interdisciplinary thinking, of crossing bridges, of connecting dots across borders. Having that way of framing the world—that brings in multiple disciplines and coalesces them in a way that you discover something new—I think Noguchi was exploring. He was listening to stone. He was exploring how rocks have an inner being and an inner feeling, and that inner feeling can in turn shape how we feel, how we think, how we might look at the world in a new way, because we all of a sudden saw a rock in a new way. It's this idea of giving an opportunity to discover something new because it's presented to you in such a way that it has been refined, distilled down.
"To be a steward of desire"
Shini Park
I would love to journey deeper into my inner world and truly hone being able to create - not only in work but the very creation of my reality - without fear. Fear that it won't work, doubts about the self, suspicions towards the external world...and this I do by trusting the desires that crop up at the present moment. I believe our desires are unique because there is a future version of ourselves that already has it ("Signs do not follow, they precede" Neville Goddard), and hence acts as sign posts for us to follow. For example, I don't have a desire to be an accountant, or go up into space, but someone might and that's how we have men and women in space today. I would love to be a steward of desire, inspiring men and women that the desires that intuitively crop up in their hearts are crucial, and provide tools to be able to honour even the smallest ones. Each desire is a little seed, a symbol, a clear sign for us to use to navigate their journey towards their own authenticity, i.e life's purpose and their own stewardship.
"Leaving a legacy behind of brilliant leaders"
Laura Lee
I think my stewardship is not about me, but the people who are running our centres, they are the most important people at Maggie’s. They are responsible for the day-to-day, the teams that work in the centre, the welcome they provide, the culture and behaviours of the centre, and the care that our people with cancer can receive. For me, it's leaving a legacy behind of brilliant leaders of our centres. I like to think about the fact that one won't be remembered or thought about, just that Maggie's will go on because the culture is engendered in many, many people who are carrying that responsibility forward.
"A re-enchantment of the world"
Dörte de Jesus
Keywords for me are caring relationships and a re-enchantment of the world. I’d love to help people understand the value of relationships – with each other as human beings and with everything else around us that is alive. I think it’s an outdated way of thinking of humans as being at the top of a hierarchy of life. It’s so beautiful that we actually have access to many different relationships with other beings. For example, with plants – they are so generous in how they provide food and oxygen for us. We can open our minds to how enriched our lives become when we see the world as full of caring relationships. Life is not about asking ourselves: “What can you do for me?” but about living in reciprocity, in the way of bringing gifts. That ultimately leads to an enchantment because we understand that life is not about transactions. It’s about having the chance to connect to something that is mysterious and larger than ourselves. There is so much to discover in this world. Having these magical experiences of connection brings us joy and makes us see that there is so much beauty in this world. It would be wonderful if I can contribute to that.
