You all know who you are.
Saturday, April 8, 2017
I Want To Be Like Warren Haynes
Not because of his musical genius and contributions, which are prodigious. Because of the person he is.
It's Going To Be Beautiful
It's difficult to read the news these days. Chemical weapons, missile strikes, upheaval at the NSA, Russians using Facebook to influence the democratic elections of the most powerful country on the planet...the list really could go on. Chaos and mayhem abound.
Our president is ill-equipped to deal with these situations. He is not versed in history or cultural affairs. The president surrounds himself with sycophants and family loyalists, none of whom are qualified for the very serious business of running our great democracy. The president is not temperamentally fit to be president.
These are not simply the opinions of a country bumpkin blogger in New Hampshire. Learned and wise leaders from a broad spectrum of political ideology are coming to grips with the seriousness of this situation.
As a businessman, the president made a career of destructive disruption to business process to leverage financial leverage. He is no Carl Icahn, but the president's piggy bank is full of nickels. Running a country is different - especially today where economic, climate and political instability have us teetering toward calamity on all fronts. What's needed is steady, wise and collaborative leadership moving us away from hyper-partisanship and into an age of empathy and cooperation.
Instead, we're stuck with Orwellian euphemisms and golf course diplomacy. This is serious business. We deserve way more than we're getting.
It's not beautiful.
Our president is ill-equipped to deal with these situations. He is not versed in history or cultural affairs. The president surrounds himself with sycophants and family loyalists, none of whom are qualified for the very serious business of running our great democracy. The president is not temperamentally fit to be president.
These are not simply the opinions of a country bumpkin blogger in New Hampshire. Learned and wise leaders from a broad spectrum of political ideology are coming to grips with the seriousness of this situation.
As a businessman, the president made a career of destructive disruption to business process to leverage financial leverage. He is no Carl Icahn, but the president's piggy bank is full of nickels. Running a country is different - especially today where economic, climate and political instability have us teetering toward calamity on all fronts. What's needed is steady, wise and collaborative leadership moving us away from hyper-partisanship and into an age of empathy and cooperation.
Instead, we're stuck with Orwellian euphemisms and golf course diplomacy. This is serious business. We deserve way more than we're getting.
It's not beautiful.
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
The Power Of Convening
There is a strong desire to gather in groups to have meaningful conversation. There is so much value in bringing people together to talk about issues that are important to them. Value in sharing and inspiring and also value in learning about people.
The organization that I work with is beginning to move in this direction. Towards convening and empowering, sharing and listening and toward progress. At a recent meeting with nearly 40 in attendance, many of the participants stayed well beyond the end of the meeting to engage in more conversation. It's a sign that the participants found the experience to be meaningful and wanted to continue some of the conversations and exchange of information and ideas.
This is the cutting edge of 10,000 year old technology. Bringing people together to solve the real challenges we face and not hiding behind the anonymity of social media. Once we discover what binds us together, our differences matter less. It is the discovery of shared values that overcomes the minor differences that are used as wedges to keep us at odds with each other.
Convene.
The organization that I work with is beginning to move in this direction. Towards convening and empowering, sharing and listening and toward progress. At a recent meeting with nearly 40 in attendance, many of the participants stayed well beyond the end of the meeting to engage in more conversation. It's a sign that the participants found the experience to be meaningful and wanted to continue some of the conversations and exchange of information and ideas.
This is the cutting edge of 10,000 year old technology. Bringing people together to solve the real challenges we face and not hiding behind the anonymity of social media. Once we discover what binds us together, our differences matter less. It is the discovery of shared values that overcomes the minor differences that are used as wedges to keep us at odds with each other.
Convene.
Monday, April 3, 2017
There Are No Coincidences
What a coincidence.
We went on a walk yesterday afternoon to enjoy the nearly 50 degree temps on April 2. Granted, this is a little cooler than normal, but in comparison to the Nor'easter delivered on April 1, it was downright balmy and more than welcome.
Our walk was delayed by 30 minutes or so by various circumstances that popped up. A phone call, a conversation, a change of walking clothes - it doesn't take much to alter the logistics of any human endeavor. Even something as simple as a walk when it involves more than one person.
We began our walk not knowing which direction to take. The previous day's storm had delivered 12" of snow and, given the expected warmer temperatures coming, the city chose not to clear the sidewalks. We chose to walk in the road although traffic was unusually heavy for a Sunday afternoon in Concord.
We decided to move from the main road we were on to one of the side streets. We wove our way in and out of a neighborhood and its cross streets to emerge at an intersection with Warren Street where the sidewalks were somewhat cleared.
As we walked up the short hill, we saw someone walking towards us. It was a man, also choosing to walk in the street because of the messy sidewalk situation. As we neared each other, there was a familiarity that was trying to gain entry into my consciousness. It was one of those rare events that your mind has difficulty understanding and recognizing because of how rare the circumstance is.
When we were 15 or 20 feet apart, it dawned on us and our good friend, Bob Perry, what was happening. We had stumbled upon each other in the oddest of circumstances in the middle of Concord, NH. To help understand how unusual this is, know that Bob lives in Strafford, NH, a full 30 miles from Concord. Bob had come to Concord on this Sunday, April 2, because he had a meeting at Concord High School that had been postponed from the day before. He had parked on a side road, off of Warren St., adjacent to the school, but not being familiar with Concord, was swept onto Pleasant Street (which runs parallel) and was turned around looking for his car.
So that's how we found each other, a half mile from his car, down on Warren Street. It was a wonderful happenstance and I was overjoyed to see him. We decided to walk together to find his car and had a lovely visit catching up and promising, of course, to do better at staying in touch.
Walking away from this serendipitous occurrence, I couldn't help but feel the power of the universe in putting people in your life at the right moment for what you need. This was not a coincidence. The universe was sending us a message that needs to be slightly de-coded.
We went on a walk yesterday afternoon to enjoy the nearly 50 degree temps on April 2. Granted, this is a little cooler than normal, but in comparison to the Nor'easter delivered on April 1, it was downright balmy and more than welcome.
Our walk was delayed by 30 minutes or so by various circumstances that popped up. A phone call, a conversation, a change of walking clothes - it doesn't take much to alter the logistics of any human endeavor. Even something as simple as a walk when it involves more than one person.
We began our walk not knowing which direction to take. The previous day's storm had delivered 12" of snow and, given the expected warmer temperatures coming, the city chose not to clear the sidewalks. We chose to walk in the road although traffic was unusually heavy for a Sunday afternoon in Concord.
We decided to move from the main road we were on to one of the side streets. We wove our way in and out of a neighborhood and its cross streets to emerge at an intersection with Warren Street where the sidewalks were somewhat cleared.
As we walked up the short hill, we saw someone walking towards us. It was a man, also choosing to walk in the street because of the messy sidewalk situation. As we neared each other, there was a familiarity that was trying to gain entry into my consciousness. It was one of those rare events that your mind has difficulty understanding and recognizing because of how rare the circumstance is.
When we were 15 or 20 feet apart, it dawned on us and our good friend, Bob Perry, what was happening. We had stumbled upon each other in the oddest of circumstances in the middle of Concord, NH. To help understand how unusual this is, know that Bob lives in Strafford, NH, a full 30 miles from Concord. Bob had come to Concord on this Sunday, April 2, because he had a meeting at Concord High School that had been postponed from the day before. He had parked on a side road, off of Warren St., adjacent to the school, but not being familiar with Concord, was swept onto Pleasant Street (which runs parallel) and was turned around looking for his car.
So that's how we found each other, a half mile from his car, down on Warren Street. It was a wonderful happenstance and I was overjoyed to see him. We decided to walk together to find his car and had a lovely visit catching up and promising, of course, to do better at staying in touch.
Walking away from this serendipitous occurrence, I couldn't help but feel the power of the universe in putting people in your life at the right moment for what you need. This was not a coincidence. The universe was sending us a message that needs to be slightly de-coded.
No Lamb In March
The old adage for March goes something like; "In like a lion, out like a lamb, or in like a lamb, out like a lion."
There was no lamb in March. It began cold and raw and essentially remained in that state for the duration. February was warmer. To add insult to injury, March spat a Nor'easter at us that delivered 12" of heavy, wet snow on April 1. How's that for an April Fools delivery?
I've always considered March to be the cruelest month. Not just this year, but nearly every year. Sure, March delivers spring to us, technically falling on March 20 or 21. The reality is that March is where winter hangs on by its fingernails, digging its claws into our psyche, keeping our optimism for hope springs eternal at frozen bay.
Cheers to March being done and moving, if slowly, into the realm of new life and blooms. I'm eager to hear happy birds, finding food aplenty in the yard and nourishing their offspring. Watching parents and children gather at baseball and softball fields to watch their kids play games that will soon slip from memory with people who will not.
There are no guarantees. The planet forms and transforms, absorbing, adapting and presenting itself. There are lessons here for the inhabitants.
There was no lamb in March. It began cold and raw and essentially remained in that state for the duration. February was warmer. To add insult to injury, March spat a Nor'easter at us that delivered 12" of heavy, wet snow on April 1. How's that for an April Fools delivery?
I've always considered March to be the cruelest month. Not just this year, but nearly every year. Sure, March delivers spring to us, technically falling on March 20 or 21. The reality is that March is where winter hangs on by its fingernails, digging its claws into our psyche, keeping our optimism for hope springs eternal at frozen bay.
Cheers to March being done and moving, if slowly, into the realm of new life and blooms. I'm eager to hear happy birds, finding food aplenty in the yard and nourishing their offspring. Watching parents and children gather at baseball and softball fields to watch their kids play games that will soon slip from memory with people who will not.
There are no guarantees. The planet forms and transforms, absorbing, adapting and presenting itself. There are lessons here for the inhabitants.
Monday, March 27, 2017
3 Keys To Happiness
Bo Lozoff wrote that there are three messages woven through all of the spiritual wisdoms that would help lead to happiness.
The first is to be cautious of materialism. Be careful of what you want and live a simple life. We've all seen the trappings of consumerism. Christmas shoppers being mauled during Black Friday like the running of the bulls. Shoppers leaving box stores and loading up trucks and SUVs with gigantic purchases, and our landfills overflowing with those same purchases a short time later.
For me, living a simple life means reducing those moments. We all make compromises in life, but I have tried to make a stand during holidays to not engage in exchanging gifts. I insist on nothing but warm wishes for birthdays and try to consume only what I need. This also means gifting older items to those in need or recycling to help preserve resources.
The second message is to dedicate yourself to something you truly believe in. Find a cause, a practice or a movement you think is beautiful and important and devote the time, energy and resources to engage in it deeply. I am searching for this - I am back at church and engaging in community there. I am also exploring options with NH Listens. I am ready to energize myself with a devotion to something beautiful.
The third message is to establish a spiritual practice and commit to it on a daily basis. Being still and listening. Seeking answers from within. My practice is a combination of writing, music, exercise and meditation. The meditation is the most important. I spend 30 minutes a day in quiet meditation looking for guidance from within.
How am I doing? How is my practice going? I think I'm nibbling at the edges on the verge of a breakthrough. I am moving to 60 minutes of meditation a day by using a scheduling system. Not rote practice, but a way to structure my time to ensure that I invest in what I truly want first, and then let the spontaneous emerge while my state of mind is more healthy.
This is my plan for April. Become more structured with my approach, but leave lots of room for experimentation in the practice and emergence of new thinking.
The first is to be cautious of materialism. Be careful of what you want and live a simple life. We've all seen the trappings of consumerism. Christmas shoppers being mauled during Black Friday like the running of the bulls. Shoppers leaving box stores and loading up trucks and SUVs with gigantic purchases, and our landfills overflowing with those same purchases a short time later.
For me, living a simple life means reducing those moments. We all make compromises in life, but I have tried to make a stand during holidays to not engage in exchanging gifts. I insist on nothing but warm wishes for birthdays and try to consume only what I need. This also means gifting older items to those in need or recycling to help preserve resources.
The second message is to dedicate yourself to something you truly believe in. Find a cause, a practice or a movement you think is beautiful and important and devote the time, energy and resources to engage in it deeply. I am searching for this - I am back at church and engaging in community there. I am also exploring options with NH Listens. I am ready to energize myself with a devotion to something beautiful.
The third message is to establish a spiritual practice and commit to it on a daily basis. Being still and listening. Seeking answers from within. My practice is a combination of writing, music, exercise and meditation. The meditation is the most important. I spend 30 minutes a day in quiet meditation looking for guidance from within.
How am I doing? How is my practice going? I think I'm nibbling at the edges on the verge of a breakthrough. I am moving to 60 minutes of meditation a day by using a scheduling system. Not rote practice, but a way to structure my time to ensure that I invest in what I truly want first, and then let the spontaneous emerge while my state of mind is more healthy.
This is my plan for April. Become more structured with my approach, but leave lots of room for experimentation in the practice and emergence of new thinking.
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