The 8”x11.5” Sheet office paper turns sideways. This is the effect of Latitude thinking. The world is wider, writing and thought widens with latitude concerns…
Turning the page sideways for The Latitude Movement.
The Latitude Movement creates specific latitude global communities linking people and places around the world sharing the same minute of latitude, roughly a mile-wide stripe of earth going directly east and west.
Each and every place and person living along that same minute of latitude has something very much in common- the same sunlight each day.
No profession is more influenced by subtleties in light than farming, which is why the latitude movement begins as a community of global farmers, then expands to culture, art, and all the manifestations of human experience that can be shared in a meaningful and peaceful conversation.
Latitude communities are just one way to bridge local and global. There is specificity and structure to latitude- the line is not random, but based on a perpendicular relationship with the axis of Earth, the roation of the planet which gives Northern and Southern places very different seasons, depending on light.
The potential of latitude communities to confront immense challenges parallels that of Wikipedia to pool small efforts into a vast initiative of knowledge.
Habitat can be addressed by latitude communities.
Conflict resolution can be addressed by latitude communities.
Meaningful response to crises, natural disasters, and local and global emergencies can certainly be enhanced by latitudinal responses.
How it works.
The basis for the Latitude Movement can be summed succinctly in the latin phrase ECCE! Look!
Step 1. The creation of specific latitude communities. Specific latitude- in the Latitude Movement- is defined by minute of latitude. There are 180 parallels of latitude on Planet Earth. 90 Northern Hemisphere parallels, and 90 Southern Hemisphere parallels. Each parallel consists of 60 minutes, further dividing the parallels. Since the distance between each parallel is about 69 miles, the distance between each minute is just over one mile. While each minute further divides into seconds, a minute of latitude is specific enough to make the world much, much smaller, while not so specific as to inhibit the meaningful creation of latitude specific communities.
So Step 1 invloves Exploration, and ‘minute movement’. People can research the specific latitude they are on, around the world, utilizing on-line tools such as latlong.net, maps, and travel- either local or global- as they can.
Exploration of a minute of latitude is intentionally an open concept, whether utilizing technology, conducting local or regional travel along a latitude, or even global exploration along a line of latitude. The only guiding principle of exploration is to be open-minded, seek possible connections along cultural, professional, and personal interest areas, and ease into it with what you are comfortable, how much time you have, etc. to make this idea sustainable.
Step 2. Connection. This is the next step after exploration. Again the possibilities and approaches can be many. But generally this is the natural connection of people with similar interests- Small farmers for instance will naturally connect and take interest in one another’s work, and chefs and farmers can connect around food from farm to plate. People interested in music will connect with musicians, and musicians will connect with other musicians. Hikers with hikers, bicyclists with bicyclists, surfers with surfers, and so forth. The connections will grow more diverse, but the guiding principle is open-minded connection w/o agenda. I mention earlier in this post all the different challenges that latitude communities can confront, but that comes down the road as an outgrowth of conversation wherever it may lead. In the latitude movement, connection that leads to conversation/exchange is the goal. Connection is therefore for connection’s sake, not seeking to advance a particular ideology or belief system. The belief is in the value of connection itself.
Schools can connect with schools, towns with towns, farmers with farmers, for the simple goal of creating global bridges directly east and west where few exist currently.
Step 3. Conversation. We know from personal experience that once you have connected with people based on commonalities shared, conversation deepens and really begins. This is in part because we need a shared experience to build a conversation around. Conversation is a two way street- good conversation involves sharing & listening. Asking good questions and follow-up questions- building a constructive understanding of one another. The conversation itself leads where it leads, no one owns it. The guiding principle is listening w/o control. Participating in a real conversational exchange, the sharing and listening that builds a meaningful relationship.
Step 4. Elevation. Maybe Exchange.
Elevation is the idea of gaining new perspective based on the experience of real conversation which is based on real connection of latitude and is not based on agenda. A conversation leads where it leads. We reflect on the conversation and develop deeper and broader insights into a range of issues- we gain ideas.
And elevation brings with it so many possibilities but these are ideas that grow organically from the process of exploring, connecting, conversing, and elevating what we do with enhanced vision and purpose.
The guiding principle here is that we do not connect primarily to address climate change. We connect, and we converse, and we possibly decide to address something, or we share music or we do something else as a result of the experience. ECCE! Asks us to Look at the world in new ways and reflect on our work in the world.
The beauty of the Latitude Movement is that it is not agenda-driven. The only agenda is belief in the connection of same light that links communities along a latitude in deep ways, the value of getting people to look at specific places around the world, the value of connection & conversation, and the elevation this realized in our own path through life.
So many things can come out of the Latitude Movement, but control is not one of them.
This is an idea that centers on the possibility of free, sharing enterprise. I recognize this also has limitations, but as I imagine growing this movement, I see the trappings of trying to own it. There seems to be more power in simply giving, more strength in doing less, and utilizing the tools that are already widely available to build momentum.
