It seems that the post-internet world is now really delivering the "true" 21st Century ethic, and the opening decade of transition is definitely over. What does this mean?
Change is the name of the game.
The time for a hybrid reality is over...you're either in or you're out.
No place is exempt.
If we thought we could put up our seaside version of China's Great Wall, to hold onto our familiar Island lifestyle, and keep out the levelling influence of the 21st Century, it's not to be.
So...we have the Islands Trust's current Trustees on Salt Spring struggling to stop Everything to save Something, and thus allowing the potential destruction of Treasure Island as we knew it (is that a "law of paradox" outcome?). We have the disappearance of the odd, the eclectic, the organic in business models, to be replaced by the packaged format of the franchise model. Yes, I know...it's a Salt Spring version of a franchise experience, but it's a long way from the Island's individuality motif....
We have a long time business owner in Fulford stating that Fulford Village has been overwhelmed by the ferry traffic, and so is no longer viable...don't know that other business owners would agree, but it's true that Fulford has a problem with the increased ferry traffic/no way of controlling that...it's ease/not congestion that is the desired outcome.
Hmmm...do we need an expanded voice on Salt Spring, to aid the Trust's mandate of "to preserve and protect"?
It's not particularly clear what the Islanders for Self-Government would suggest as an alternative to the Trust/CRD option in place now, but it is clear that needs and proactive outcomes are not being addressed by the 1974 mandate.
Something needs to evolve to maintain the spirit of the Trust without creating unnecessary hardships for the Islanders.
A conversation, not a confrontation, is essential.
Don't just sit back and complain...get involved, share your vision and your concerns...a community is a grouping of ideas that mesh into a cohesive blueprint...your voice needs to be heard, too.
How to begin? Attend Trust meetings. Drop into the CRD office. Go to Chamber events. Be interviewed on a community radio station programme. Write a letter to the editor of the weekly community newspaper. Find out what the Islanders for Self-Government are all about. You don't need to agree...to start with, it's a fact-finding mission.
In a community, every voice/every thought process and interpretation is essential. Listening skills are also essential. Change is with us, whether we want it or not, and flexibility is key. Knowledge, and not bias, is also key.
One interesting observation: I'm always encouraging people to back up a little, to get out of the forward crouch position of tunnel vision, and to practice peripheral vision, that wider frame of reference...there, shimmering on the edges, is the creative impulse that brings solutions....
For Salt Spring, shimmering on the edges of a peripheral vision/180 degree frame of reference, we have the newly framed Salt Spring Exchange's Digital World...catch the next meeting! I attended the second one, and found the total array of Islanders there...a good sign that they are onto something!
The internet world is about connections. The previous timeframe allowed for pods, secure in their own worlds, not bridging to other pods. No more....
Salt Spring's Digital federation is all about connections and collaborations...that may save our Island gem.
Check it out!
And your thoughts are? Always welcome!
How may I help you to discover special Salt Spring Island & the Southern Gulf Islands? Call me!
