Peter Sharp of Liberators International ... has created impromptu dance parties in the Perth CBD, he's shocked shoppers by dancing through aisles at the supermarket and, most recently, he challenged notions of racism by staging an act in which a blindfolded Aboriginal girl stood on the beach with a sign asking for free hugs - and received them. In Spain, Pete would wander the streets of Barcelona. Spain [had] just been smashed by the economic crisis. There's so much negativity, uncertainty for the future. I thought what we could do is create positive actions in a public space that prove to people that we don't need to feel this despair." Pete grabbed a bunch of his mates ... and welcomed a busload of tourists arriving in Barcelona as if they were celebrities. Next ... they started approaching people with biscuits and saying "How could you pay for this cookie without money?" At first confused, people soon started getting creative. Someone started singing opera for a cookie, others danced in the street. "It's just astounding how much creativity is out there - every single moment of every single day if you create the platform for that to be expressed," Pete says. If people were so willing to connect, to share love and joy when given the opportunity, perhaps there was no need for the distrust that permeates modern society. Perhaps, Pete pondered, we could rewire our brains to trust others, to connect with strangers, to spread love and kindness.
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