The earth with its oceans, an area with hills, a whale, a beehive. The Blue Planet poster gives an impression of nature, as surroundings in which to map and investigate an issue, situation or theme. The influence of humans is visible in almost all areas of the world. Due to the actions of people, even the climate is changing. The poster reminds us that originally, the earth was first and foremost one huge nature reserve in which humans were just one of the many species. Looking at the way humankind has treated the earth, it seems that we have thought of it as an inexhaustible source, full of beautiful, delicious and useful things which we use as we wish. This perspective clearly needs to change. There’s another reason for choosing a natural environment for the Blue planet poster. Nature – even simply a plant in an office – evokes the natural in us. A connection between humans and nature is essential in order to create social, sustainable approaches and valid solutions for our society and entrepreneurship which at the same time will reverse the decline of nature.
Seeing the place
The central part of the poster stands for the place I am in, the place of our neighbourhood or city, the place or places where our company is located. How often do we actually realise what kind of place we are in right now? What kind of soil lies underneath the office building? Which vital conditions are met there, such as clean air or trees? It is important to pay as much attention to our surroundings as we pay to our house. Being here, means being grounded. This is especially important to people who ‘live’ in their heads a lot of the time. Connecting with the physical place is similar to connecting with your body – people cannot live without that.
Awareness
The stream illustrates awareness. Every one of us looks at the world from our own framework of reference and sees the surroundings through that lens. In order to be able to transform to unity, universality, holism, it’s important to be aware that we’re doing this. That we investigate which reality we’re creating in that process. That we are open to and leave room for not knowing and for perspectives other than our own. The area around the stream and within the black and white borders of the map stands for the subconscious, the unknown, the forgotten, the unwanted. The bridge is the only element on the poster built by humans. It carries the intention of consciously choosing to raise awareness.
The whole reality
One of the basic principles built in the lifemaps is: seeing the whole reality. When working with the Blue Planet poster, a connection is always made between the individual, the local aspect of an issue, the place I am now, and the world. For example: What does the heating up of the oceans mean for the world, for nature, for humanity? What does it mean for your initiative, organisation or city? And… what does this mean for you? Not only at the level of information and understanding, but also for feeling and beliefs. When filled in, the overview on the poster creates a clear picture of what your life’s work can bring, of the influence you could have.
Tailor-made sticker sets
The Blue Planet poster is an ideal instrument for storytelling and visualisation, as in the lifemap scenario Climate Change and Nature’s decline. A specific sticker set for this scenario is available. A group of people gathers at a physical location or meets on the internet, for example on Zoom. Each of them has his or her own poster. After each chapter of the story, participants paste the stickers for that chapter on the poster. At the end the whole story is shown, visualised differently by each participant. Overview is created, it becomes clear where you stand and how you can relate to the theme and the story. During the process there are moments for exchange and reflection. Ideas and insights from the exchange will be used to enrich the scenario for future participants.
A second scenario for the Blue Planet poster is: Creating your worldview and finding yourself in it. Guided self-discovery, one-on-one, is the approach used for this scenario. As pre-work you are asked to create a word cloud about everything in your life, that is really important to you, at this moment. You will then send it to the person guiding you in the lifemap process, who will make a sticker set for you, based on your input. The process starts with your first life’s theme. An associative play of questions and answers follows. Each time you choose a theme, you paste its sticker on the poster. Step by step your personal story becomes visible. The person who guides you asks questions for reflection, shows you options and possible directions, offers ideas.
The wish
We stand on the edge of transformation to a more natural world. The mission of the maker of the lifemaps is to find answers to the question: take care of yourself, others, the place, the earth. How do I do that? Taking care of all four at every step? The wish is that each and every participant will find their own place and inner guide in the global field of tension.