“If healing is to occur, then hope has to be present.”
Climate anxiety. Polarization of families and societies. An epidemic of loneliness. This is the norm within our social media feeds.
Yet despite that, there is something about healing and hope that has drawn you here. Perhaps it is because we are living in an era where humanity shares more information than ever before, yet our emotional processor (the human heart) has not received a parallel upgrade. The effect of that is apparent when we look at how anxiety, fear, and depression seem to have gone viral inside our hearts.
Yet you are one of those who ask: “What if we could not only disrupt but reverse despair?” Who wonders if hope, boldness, radical compassion, and beauty could go viral? The answer to that question is a resounding yes, and it began with something as simple as a mirror and rewiring the stories we tell ourselves.
IN TIMES OF TERROR, WAGE BEAUTY is a step towards that disruption. It is a 91-page guide that blends story and power, epigenetics and forgiveness, heritage and futurism into an invitation to heal, dream, and grow. Consider it as part of the building blocks for a better world, as well as a remedy to our existing one.
Look up, then look around you, then look in.
Now is not the time to be timid.
If you are playing small...
Apologize to the ancestors.
WHY Does THIS Book Matter NOW?
Beautifully designed. Exquisitely written. IN TIMES OF TERROR, Wage BEAUTY is a guide for healing and hope in the 21st century. It is the first release of futurist Mark Gonzales, who synthesized 20 years of global work (as well as decades of attempts to heal his father's wounds) into this gorgeously stunning journey into story, systems, and the human heart.
Each chapter opens with an illustrated signpost that points us to a core value, followed by a story to guide us through memory, wounds, and dreams.
This is key in this moment where information overload has resulted in numbness. For while there is no shortage in theories of change (personal or systemic) that we could reshape our existing reality with, we have yet to figure out how to move the human heart to be open to implementing these theories.
In a digital era, IN TIMES OF TERROR, WAGE BEAUTY reminds us of original connection technologies, the ones that connect us with the human heart, heritage, our ability to innovate, and transform.
Stories of Impact
The impact section is a look into HOW creatives, professors, change makers, innovators, lovers, and so many others are reshaping our future, and the small (and bold) ways we are playing in that.
Whether it is in the intimate topography of relationships or the geography of the imagination, the high stakes environment of a start up or the high risk environment of a family reunion, each is a beautiful example of how to WAGE BEAUTY.
Personal impact
A curation of personal stories that remind us how essential radical compassion is, how there is no Facebook for connecting to ourselves, and how self-love may truly be the hardest part.
Social Impact
These are the ways change makers, social workers, and care givers are using WAGE BEAUTY in their work, whether it be through family forgiveness, storytelling as a global health strategy, or naming the unique value adds one brings to the world in a collective environment,
Global Impact
Sector leaders, NGO workers, and start up founders are at the forefront of disrupting old industries and piloting new ones. These are the ways such individuals are exploring the critical work of self transformation in their industries and ventures.
We weren't made in America.
We MADE America.