by Jhon Sanders
Greetings, friends. My name’s jhon. I work with Many Mouths One Stomach, and i’m happy and honored to be able to present to you our new weblog, “The Mouth”. If you’ve ever wondered what MMOS is all about, this is the place to find out. We’ll be talking over our favorite subjects here –creativity, festivity, and community– and hopefully, you’ll get involved in that conversation, too. This will be a forum for anyone who’s got something to say about it, where we can really begin to articulate what those things mean for us, and what we’re doing (or wanting to do) about them. Communication and action go hand-in-hand.
I’ll venture a guess and say that probably more people know about our All Souls Procession events than have even heard of MMOS itself. Maybe they’ve noticed the name on our event posters and flyers, or visited www.allsoulsprocession.org and seen reference there or on the All Souls Procession listserv e-mailings. Well, for anyone who wants to learn more extensively about Many Mouths One Stomach the non-profit organization, I invite you to have a look around on the site here. But in short, we’re just a group of individuals from all kinds of backgrounds who firmly believe in the significance and value of self-expression, collaboration, and celebration in the lives of human beings, that we might become happier, healthier, and more fulfilled because of them. And by “group of individuals”, I’m not talking about a select few with membership cards. When you come out and support the Many Mouths purpose by giving of your energy, your time, your talents (you know you’ve got ’em!) or whatever resources you have to offer, then you are a part of MMOS. That’s all it takes; caring. I say “that’s all”, but that’s a lot. If you have that, then you most certainly have something to give.
Just what is it about that purpose that we find so worthwhile giving ourselves to? In a word, potential; and more specifically, the knowledge that it can be realized; whether it’s our own, a group working together, or that of an amazing and beautiful idea that might change lives for the benefit of all. Life is potential, and everyone partakes of that; it’s simply up to each one of us just how much of our allotted share is lived up to.
That’s where creativity comes in. The potency in potential lies in making it happen, and that’s all being creative really means; acting on your individual uniqueness in a way that contributes to an evolving process, whether it’s that of your own life, or the lives of those around you, or that of Life as a whole.
Which brings us to community. We humans are social, there’s no getting around it. Biologically, we’re set up for that. We rely on each other more than some of us would care to admit, and in spite of all of our shortcomings (yeah, I know, there’s a few of those, aren’t there?), we wouldn’t be here today if, one way or another, we hadn’t made it happen together. As a species, we’ve gone from the age of the group to the age of the individual, and now we’ve reached a turning point where we can bring the individual and the group together while preserving the best of both for a mutually rewarding, life-expanding experience. It’s quite utilitarian, really. The simple fact of the matter is, when people get together and put to use their diverse array of personalities, skills, histories, and viewpoints in a spirit of collaboration, anything can happen. It’s experimental, it’s innovative, and it can be a lot of fun.
Festivity is the expression of that fun. It’s where we all give a collective “YES!” to being alive. Is that frivolous? As with creativity and community, we think it’s fundamental; an affirming, core human need that’s just as vital as food, water or sleep. It acknowledges our condition as human beings, it helps us channel our energies, and it brings people together. We’ve always found a place within our cultures as far back in historic time as we know of for celebration of this kind, and that place is much deserved. So let’s have some more!
That is the purpose of MMOS: to help bring about fulfillment of the potential inherent within creativity, festivity, and community. If you feel an affinity with that purpose, then we hope you’ll keep reading, contribute to the conversation, come out for our events, and support them by giving of yourself what you have to offer of your own potential. Don’t think you have any? Look carefully, and think again. It’s there, we all have it, and we all ought to use it while there’s still time left to us. All of us are unique and have something of value to give. Don’t be afraid. Don’t doubt. Just love, and believe.