I am grateful to have had a recharging experience last week. I spent 5 days with the Carbon Shredders at the Bonnaroo music festival, signing people up for the "Low Carbon Diet." Thanks to my employer, Green Mountain Coffee, I was able to take this as "paid volunteer time" that didn't take away my vacation time.

We were given free admission and booth space next to Bonnaroo's Solar-powered Stage and we went out with clipboards to sign people up for our online energy-conservation program.

And I learned that way more than half of the party-loving population are more than JUST concerned about the state of things in our world. They are ready to do something about it. We all just need some help to figure out what to do. In this case, the "what can I do" question was being answered with "you can get smarter with your energy use and become more independent while reducing your pollution. You can be part of the solution instead of problem." The vast majority of people we spoke with said "sign me up."

The Carbon Shredders "program" (www.carbonshredders.org) is an online tool to help you measure/track your energy use (in $) and C02 emissions on individual or group levels. While many view this as a "stop global warming" effort, others of us see this as an "unplug yourself from the matrix step-by-step" program.

Anyhow, the point is that our group of 15 people EACH had HUNDREDS of 10-minute conversations with people of all ages, explaining our online program, helping people think about behavior change, and debating the best things individuals can do during the "peak oil times." This was during a festival that had at least 6 bands going at any given time at venues surrounding our booth-area.

Overall we signed up about 3,000 people to be in our online group/tracker program. If they all follow through with the 10% reduction goal, the collective $ saved on energy costs will be up to $3 million. That's $3 million of value created that can fuel local food and energy economies or fund community investment. (maybe they'll just spend it on more concert-tickets, we'll see)

I was reminded by this event that as humans we have infinite powers to create and re-create. The systems attempt to squash our potential but it's still there if you just give it a little stimulus. We don't yet know the source of our own energy, or the potential we have. We each have the opportunity to chose to live "at ease" or in "dis-ease," and once we learn how to harness the power of "ease" we will be able to reach our potential. We MUST insist on realizing this potential despite any perceived odds. We must charge forward and trust ourselves fearlessly. We must put our money and action where our mouths are, and we must do this with Ease and Love, not Dis-ease and Fear.

We have a lot we can be justifiably afraid of. But will "oh my god the system is collapsing, everyone load your guns" help us overcome our challenges? Will cynicism, criticism and contempt bring about solutions? No. It all starts with the individual and their actions. Then their actions turn into community actions. Community actions can turn into cultural and political movements.

This is the natural flow that VT Commons is already creating and amplifying. We are changing and evolving our world. Now, just like every other "time," is just the beginning.