Play Me, I'm Yours

Photo: Dean Sewell

As a lover of all instruments, I was pretty chuffed to learn about 20 pianos being placed all over Sydney, as part of the Sydney Festival. Each piano is decorated with coloured stencils that read: Play me, I’m yours, inviting passers-by to sit down and have an impromptu jam session.

Luke Jerram, the British artistic consultant behind Play Me, I'm Yours, sees the project as a way to bring people together.

“I've got a bit of a problem with art galleries because they only reach a certain segment of the community,” he said. “This provides an opportunity for people to be creative and to connect with a stranger.”

The outdoor pianos are chained to trees and signposts, and are covered with tarpaulins, but Jerram isn’t concerned about vandals or the weather. He bought the pianos cheaply on eBay and will donate them to the communities that play them during the festival.

Meet Dollar A Week

Hello SuperForest folk!

Recently, a friend of mine teamed up with five of her friends to establish a new initiative called Dollar A Week. I'm not sure what the response has been just yet, though I'm excited to help them spread the word and let it trickle as far and wide as possible. Here's the lowdown:

"In early 2007, a group of friends sitting around in Sydney, Australia, decided that enough was enough. Tired of looking at a world caving in under the weight of poverty, hunger and disease, this group of six or so 'no-one specials' awoke to the idea that they, just as they were, could make a difference...

Everyone had a dollar in their pocket that day. And, unsurprisingly, each of them agreed that they wouldn't really notice if that dollar went missing. In fact, they were willing to give it away. And another one, next week. And another one, after that. If only there was a way for that dollar to get to those who needed it most...

Enter: Dollar A Week.

Dollar A Week is a not-for-profit organisation that raises funds to provide financial support to various community projects and charities which are working to release people from poverty, hunger and disease all around the world."

The idea is so simple, which is why I think it will take off. It illustrates that when enough people get on board, small change can make a big difference.

Hope for the hopeless

I’ve been mulling over this for a few hours now as I wasn’t sure which way to put it. This weekend just passed, a few things happened that saddened me, angered me and, momentarily, lessened my positivity and hope regarding humanity.

Firstly, while riding on a bus headed into town, someone hurled a rock at a window towards the rear of the bus. It sounded like a bullet, the driver hesitated and, naturally, I felt quite scared and upset that someone would do that. Had we been travelling on an older-style bus (with regular glass windows), the rock no doubt would have launched right through the window and hit the passenger sitting beside it.

Secondly, following the rock incident, the driver stopped the bus and called the police to report the incident. The police told him that the passengers had to disembark and wait for the next bus while the police were on their way to investigate. A group sitting towards the back of the bus whined and harassed the driver as they were going to be late for whatever event they were headed to.

Thirdly, on another occasion, a schoolgirl made a racist slur under her breath that, had they heard it, would have offended just about half, if not all, the people on the bus.

Finally, while standing at the side of a road last night, waiting to cross, I turned to see a car suddenly swerve towards, then away from, me – if for no other reason than to scare the crap out of me. Following this incident, I got home and felt really down. I felt that people have no regard for each other and I started to harbour very negative thoughts. I felt helpless and sad for those who seek ways to torment others.

My boyfriend then said something that helped. “Ok, even if you tracked that kid’s car down and threw a tonne of bricks into his windscreen, his Dad would find the car in the morning and be very upset. He’d probably give someone else a hard time because he’d be so outraged. And the person he takes it out on might go and do the same to someone else. So the end result would be more unhappy people.”

This inspired a brainwave. If I woke up tomorrow morning, and was the nicest I have ever been, smiled at everyone I crossed paths with and just generally became, for lack of a more articulate expression, a beacon of light … that might set off a chain of goodness that stretches further than I could imagine. And then I thought of SuperForest. And how this is exactly what Jackson had in mind when he created it. To turn negatives into positives. Mission accomplished, dear friend.


Hugs to Daniel Gimenez for the pic.