the Alt-Normal, our new content series for a sustainable present
In these COVID times, we're launching a content series to elevate the diverse voices of Planet Earth, starting with Bali.
A message from the Co-Founder
At Resonance™, we stand for people of all social, gender, cultural, economic and ethnic backgrounds. We are equally committed to racial justice and anti-racist practice. As a location-independent creative agency, we strive for a minimal carbon footprint and support local businesses wherever we journey. We believe “consciousness” has a home in business and despite the crises of 2020, are optimistic about the sustainable trajectory of our future.
Entering the alternative normal (ALT-Normal)
When COVID-19 hit the world one lockdown at a time, we knew deep down that quarantine would change everyone and society for better or worse. After all, we’re social animals, hardwired for collaboration and connections — not coincidentally also the vehicle for how this virus was able and still continues to spread. Forced isolation sits in direct opposition with our nature, the perfect nemesis for such a human experience.
While we initially struggled in resistance, with nay-sayers denying the existence of such a deadly virus to assuage their own unresolved baggage and myopic views, even more of us began a deeply personal journey — one that directs inwardly to find long-lasting peace, because if not now, then when? With people connecting to a deeper sense of purpose on this journey called life, accepting this global standstill became more manageable and less tumultuous. Making such fundamental change is a lifetime commitment of practice, that some even die trying. For those on the path of seeking higher truth, we come to realize (while cliche but true) that it’s not about the destination, but the journey itself that brings the greatest lessons, breakthroughs and ultimate reward. By taking that step for yourself, you also do it for everyone else, rippling the change and making a dent for a healthier and more sustainable present and planet.
The New Normal is here to stay, and we’re all taking steps to actively co-create our part within the whole. Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve been in Bali with questions of our own. As humans first and founders of Resonance second, how can we be of service to an unfolding and more conscious future against the backdrop of global crisis? While the world comes to stillness, how can we evolve out of the collective fear with meaningful action and movement?
In pursuit of balancing aspirational and critical thinking, Stephen Dinan (Founder & CEO of The Shift Network) articulates the necessity for both faculties in an article titled, “Anatomy of Delusion: How Otherwise Conscious People Descended into the Darkness.” In it, he urges us to grow our movement with maturity by “embodying a grounded, integrative, respectful, holistic worldview that includes respect for both mainstream AND holistic pioneers while preserving our critical thinking.”
Source: Bali Spirit Festival
In the process of raising existential questions, unpacking privilege and discerning which ethnic/cultural groups are typically underrepresented in traditional forms of media , we also grounded in the exploration of Tri Hita Karana — a traditional Balinese philosophy that describes holistic well-being as composed of three parts. Translated as “three causes of well-being or prosperity,” the Balinese understand happiness in relationship to the self (or God), community and nature. Only when all three come together in balance can health (and happiness) truly exist. Building on this ancient framework, we took it a step further. How might we be able to reframe the “New Normal,” or one is handed to us by circumstance and create an “Alt Normal,” or an alternative reality that considers diverse perspectives for a healthier and more resilient culture? In cross-pollinating viewpoints across the spectrum, we can have a more conscious shot at extracting human insights and authentic conversation in society.
Why did we start this in Bali?
This divergent thinking naturally opened the pathway for theAlt-Normal to emerge. In partnership with Zest, a plant-based restaurant in Ubud, we launched this content series to explore and amplify the diverse voices of Planet Earth doing the critical work of rebuilding a healthier, more sustainable alternative future at the intersection of self, community and environment.
When COVID-19 struck Bali, tourism dwindled down to all-time lows, bringing hardship to its largest and most fragile industry, tourism. Compared to the same quarter in the previous year (y-on-y), reports showed the economy shrinking by a negative growth rate of -10.98% in the second quarter of 2020. With 58% of the population dependent on tourism for basic income, hospitality businesses scrambled to figure out what to do. Zest was not excluded, begging the question -- how can we elevate the in-restaurant experience (with safety/hygiene protocols top of mind) and transform this crisis into opportunity?
While we look towards an uncertain future, we are also in a fertile space for revolution and transformation. Within crisis lies opportunity as history and evolution show us time and time again. How we choose to steer the path will determine what kind of ALT-NORMAL we consciously remake together. Everyone has a part to play, so this show invites the community to rise, shift and support this exciting new reality in the making. We have and continue to engage the diverse expat and local change makers, activists, visionaries, and creatives in building a more positive collective culture forward.
“If Mama Nature teaches us nothing else, she teaches us that diversity is absolutely necessary for survival. Now, she doesn’t mean some surface diversity, but a system where every single being is doing their part, pulling their weight. A homogenous, ‘gentrified’ ecosystem would quickly die. If we are committed to organizing sustainable and liberating social movements they must be diverse, pulling especially from those who are the most impacted instead of suppressing their voices or using them as props.”
Content-driven culture isn’t just a trend
Since COVID-19, you have surely noticed a major spike in digital behavior across the globe, driven mainly by two forces. With physical connection stripped from our everyday lives alongside our need to continue personal and professional exchange with our fellow humans, the world essentially moved online. Digital avatars became the new normal. Overall time spent on social media doubled, hiking up 95% as compared to pre-pandemic times, while online news publications grew by 29%.
While the world is more connected now than ever before in history, the dark side remains. With even more tools to spread information and misinformation, our capacity to handle, consume and share media has come into question — on top of considering the competing agendas, politics and wallets behind content creation and journalism in the first place. The media becomes more and more diluted, sacrificing depth for eyeballs, advertising clickbait and shorter attention spans. The future of content, media and the news industry is fragile at best, giving us pause to invite deeper curiosity for what we are actually consuming and why.
Is social activism finally disrupting the mainstream?
In June, Harvard Business Review recently announced that we’ve entered the “age of corporate social justice”. Social activism is no longer something we can ignore on either the personal or professional level. For it to have lasting impact, it must begin with the self and our inner protest against what’s not working or failing to uphold our core societal values of equality, freedom and democracy.
According to the Social Change Library, social activists can be seen in four distinct archetypes, each one in their unique effectiveness — the citizen, reformer, rebel and change agent.
Amongst these four archetypes, we’d like to bring focus to the change agent — the one who educates a broader audience with the hope of influencing the status quo in the long term. Rather than taking down a broken structure under the guise of “anti” this and “anti” that, the change agent approaches the problem with positive, constructive solutions. They are critical thinkers that set aside utopian idealistic visions for effective activism. Inspired by this sensible approach to advocacy and problem solving, we used this framework to help us scout talent for theAlt-Normal — embracing diverse women in the spaces of conscious entrepreneurship, racial reconciliation, personal sovereignty, creatorship, community empowerment and lifestyle sustainability.
Starting small was the only way to go, as we began to see the cracks in global sustainability. Local initiatives must stand on their own first before having any shot at impactful scale. A shining example of ‘how local impacts global change’ is Amsterdam’s innovative adoption of Doughnut economics, first described by Kate Raworth in in her 2017 publication, “Doughnut Economics: seven ways to think like a 21st century economist”. Essentially, this model asks the critical question, “How can a city be a home to thriving people in a thriving place, while respecting the wellbeing of all people and health of the whole planet?” With cities everywhere locked down, we understood that the proof was in the pudding — urban environments that are overpriced and undeserving in their capacity to hold a crisis are no longer sustainable for the health of a community. By solving problems on the local level, we have a greater chance of scaling the best solutions globally. To that end, we must rethink urbanization and the communities they serve to remake our alternative normal together.
