>A colleague sent me a notice about an upcoming showing of the documentary film In Transition: From Oil Dependency to Local Resilience. I went online to watch the trailer.

What struck me was how somber and gloomy everyone looked, even while their words were talking about creating a new, wonderful culture that people would want to be a part of. I personally have such a negative reaction to the “doom gloom kerBOOM!” style of message – show me the hope and joy and fun to be found in creating change and I’m much more likely to want to participate.

An example of a person who motivates me with his sheer exuberance is Mark Lakeman of Portland’s City Repair Project. This group gleefully takes over city intersections and turns them into community gathering nodes. Mark gave a keynote address at the 2009 National Cohousing Conference and he is a dynamic speaker, who radiates energy and hope. I’m hoping to work with folks from a few other local sustainability groups to bring Mark to our area.