A Little Idea
By Mickey Z.
13 May, 2012
World News Trust
“Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own.” --Bruce Lee
Like many martial artists of my generation, Bruce Lee was a catalyst and inspiration for my own studies. In fact, I specifically opted to take up his original style of Wing Chun Kung Fu.
The first form one learns in Wing Chun is called Sil Lum Tao, which is usually translated as "a little idea." The movements of Sil Lum Tao can initially seem awkward or even esoteric but as we advance in Wing Chun, we discover that indeed, these movements offer a little idea of what lies ahead. How we choose to utilize and apply these movements, however, is ultimately up to us.
Mic Check: You cannot evict an idea.
I immediately loved the "little idea" concept and in many ways, it's carried over to my writing and public speaking -- and now my photography. By offering a little idea of what is possible and encouraging others to partake, we can break free of what is accepted.
This interpretation immediately attracted me to Occupy Wall Street (OWS). The camp at Zuccotti Park/Liberty Square gave potential occupiers a little idea of how humans could interact outside the oppressive influence of the dominant culture -- a far more cooperative, creative, participatory, tolerant, and downsized way of living.
Mic Check: Ideas are bulletproof.
Free food, music, medical care, art, and books: All little ideas. The same goes for so much more, e.g. the People's Mic, bicycle-generated electricity, pop-up occupations and Town Squares, hand signals, permaculture, and of course, an all-inclusive, consensus-based, horizontal collective model of human interaction (well, maybe that last one is more than a little idea).
For those who seek only to criticize from a distance, for the 5,000th time: Of course, OWS is not perfect. The goal of occupation is not perfection. To struggle for change is to risk imperfection.
Therefore, since no one can truly know how this movement will evolve, let's begin by detaching ourselves from -- and dismantling -- the system destroying us (and all life). Perhaps then, we'll create space in which we can recognize previously unimagined little ideas.
Mic Check: Sil Lum Tao has also been translated as "a beautiful beginning."
So... what little idea can you bring to your local occupation and how soon will you create this beautiful beginning?
We are the 99%. Join us...
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Mickey Z. is the author of 11 books, most recently the novel Darker Shade of Green. Until the laws are changed or the power runs out, he can be found on an obscure website called Facebook.
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