That would be you.

Last week, I went to a documentary film screening of Dieter Rams, a famous product designer. It was followed by a panel discussion with difficult questions that touch the nerves of the audience.

How do you balance minimalism and capitalism? How do you persuade the client to embrace minimalism? How do you implement these design philosophy in the real world?

There was no straight easy answer from the people on stage.

The ones who should be seeing this documentary were not here.

Social media is so addictive. Lawmakers are not acting fast enough. The takeaway packaging is still plastic.

We broke into smaller groups and continued the discussion over drinks.

I threw around some ideas. Should we delete our apps? Should we start a petition? Can we buy your friend a Spork?

The more ideas I gave, the more problems I received.  My roommate accepted being slapped in the face by her boyfriend. The small town people in India don’t watch enough TED videos. Coconuts are wrapped in plastic film.   

Well, perhaps you don’t really want to solve these problems. Perhaps we just want to talk about them.

Because perhaps the answer starts with you. Not someone else, you. You need to put yourself on the hook. Each one of us needs to.

Do you really care enough about the problems to sacrifice your money, your wit and your convenience to claim those problems and take ownership of them? 

Because the alternative is easy. It is to hide. It is to blow up these problems, so big that it doesn’t involve us. It is to blame other people. It is to find more fault than solutions.

It is perhaps harder, and more generous when we change ourselves before telling the world how they should act. To change one person then change the world. And because real change happens only when you decide to take the first step. Not them, it’s you.

Consider when we noticed ourselves faulting the world, perhaps it is better for everyone if we use that momentum and be a part of the solution.

Thanks Roshni and Roslyn for editing help.

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The photo was taken at Ban Heng Long Trading, a local wood shop where I go to replace the door of the Little Free Libary.

When you search the dictionary for money, this is what you get.

• Any circulating medium of exchange, including coins, paper money, and demand deposits.
  paper money.
• Gold, silver, or other metal in pieces of convenient form stamped by public authority and issued
• As a medium of exchange and measure of value.

But what could also be money?

Money is a store of value.
Money is a unit of account.
Money is the flow of power.
Money is a story.
Money is also the root of all evil (and this is also untrue).

True understanding is not just about what the dictionary says – that is just one of many ways to understand.

True understanding is built from the basic with an unbroken chain of logic. It is about how things relate to each other.

Someone who uses a lot of fancy words is just really good at human naming things. It is the mark of a charlatan to teach simple things in complicated ways. It is the mark of a wise to teach complicated things in simple words.

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The photo was taken at Jo’s Cafe along South Congress in Austin, Texas. If you are there, go to the back of the cafe to find the owner’s favourite quote: “Don’t break your tenderness”.