America’s Future is Up to All of Us
Back in August 2005, I wrote an open letter to America where I spoke about the move away from greatness that we’ve made in our country. We can shift the course we’ve been on these last many years. With inspiration and true leadership, we can reclaim our souls and come back to the heart of what it means to be American.
“Leadership is not a solo act, it’s a team effort.”
James Kouzes and Barry Posner in The Leadership Challenge
Fundamental changes must occur if America, as we hope she can be, as she has been in part before, is to come alive. No one individual—regardless of intellect, experience, age, race, sex, or any other “qualification”—can create this country anew. Such a transformation will happen only through the work of the millions of us who are blessed to call America home.
Barack Obama is the only candidate of either party who understands this because he is the sole contender who really wants Americans to be fully engaged. Attend any meeting of WNC for Change, the local grassroots effort to elect him as president and you’ll see plenty of evidence of how active and autonomous Obama wants us to be. Come to the local Obama for America headquarters (107 Merrimon Ave.) and see how organized and effective a citizen-driven voter registration campaign can be. The other two candidates view us merely as voters, pursuing us to the polling place, coaxing or coercing us to give them our vote before showing their true colors with rehearsed and hollow “thank yous” and the swiftest of departures.
Barack Obama is unique among those aspiring to be president because his goal is to serve and lead rather than to rule and govern. He believes, as Abraham Lincoln described in his Gettysburg Address “that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Though other presidents have encouraged civic participation, Barack Obama is one of those rare individuals who understand that true power lies with the people and that “we the people” must be fully engaged beyond election day if transformational change is to take place. Those heading governments and businesses may craft and enact policies hoping to shift the direction of a country or company, but without the support and follow through of those on the ground, policies never come fully to life. By sharing responsibility with campaign staff and ordinary citizens alike, Obama is developing the leadership capacity of his followers and setting the stage for more powerful and sustainable results because success becomes everyone’s personal mission, not simply his own.
If you yearn for America at her finest—a country where your best is wanted and needed every day; where your welfare is equal to the welfare of all others; where your ideas, your voice, and your simple, consistent presence are valued for the irreplaceable gifts that they are—then Barack Obama is the only person worthy of your vote in this year’s presidential process.
Remember, however, that leadership is not the domain of a few gifted women and men, it is the responsibility of all people, not just the duty of our elected officials. If you are ready to be part of the movement that instills faith in those feeling hopeless, courage in those constrained by fear, passion in those who have lost heart, and inspiration in those without a vision, I invite you to join millions of your fellow American citizens who support Barack Obama. With Obama as president and each of us as fully committed participants in this developing democracy, America can fulfill her potential and be the country we know we can be.
Oneness — remembering our divine essence
People see God every day, they just don’t recognize him.
~Pearl Bailey
I sometimes think I’d like to be God. You know, have the power to have things just like I want them, make people do what I think they “should,” prevent the occurrence of things that I believe are unfair, unjust, or unexplainable in a bad way. Of course this desire stems from my own ego that says that I am omniscient and omnipotent.
Other times, I remember that I am God…and you are God…and my cats are God…and Iraqis are God…and Republicans are God…and criminals are God…and trees are God…and so on. This connection to our holiness is not an ego trip, it’s a reminder that we are all divine light and we are all part of an interconnected divine presence.
In the first mode of being, I feel superior, righteous, and apart from others. Its as if my thinking I’m all powerful clouds my brain and numbs my nerves, cutting me off from the truth of life. However, when I’m in the second way of being, I feel intensely connected to all life, see myself as neither above nor below, and actually have an acute sense (physically and spiritually) of the web of life in which I am at home.
I share all this as a preface to this video I found called Becoming Me. I think this story beautifully illustrates what I’ve attempted to say in my own words. I hope you’ll enjoy Becoming Me (which is, of course, about becoming “you” and becoming “we”).
If you don’t know what’s meant by God, watch a forsythia branch or a lettuce leaf sprout.
~Martin H. Fischer
Leadership that inspires
“Leadership is based on a spiritual quality; the power to inspire, the power to inspire others to follow.”
~ Vince Lombardi
I am so grateful to be alive at this day and time. Born as 1971 drew to a close, I have known history’s greatest leaders only from film, the printed page, or the stories that others tell about these amazing men and women. But now I’m privileged to be living as another remarkable leader takes his early steps.
This man is a leader akin to Gandhi, King, Mandela, Kennedy. He is the fire starter for millions around the US, helping us rekindle our own greatness and inviting us to bring our light to shine for all. Rather than telling us he’s here to take care of our every need, he reminds us that we each have a role in caring for ourselves and others — ours is a country founded “of the people, by the people, for the people.”
Yes, We Can!
Thanks to him we are remembering that we are a community, a country, a civilization. As much as we need this leader, he needs us — our destinies are interconnected, our futures arrived at by collective action. All across America people are reawakening to what IS possible, what CAN be, what WE can do, build, start, complete, provide. Thanks to this man, we are letting go of the false stories, the outmoded ideas, the tainted ways that we’ve been relying on. We know that positive change can occur AND we must take part if we want the change to come.
Join me in this worthy cause. Invest yourself in the future that’s possible. Stand up, make your voice heard, and give your gifts to our common endeavor. We have the power to create a new reality. Unite with millions of your fellow citizens in supporting Barack Obama as he seeks to serve as OUR next president. Learn more online via these links:
- Read about Barack Obama’s history
- Fact check what you see, read, and hear about Barack Obama
- Learn where Obama stands on the issues we all care about
- Find out how YOU can volunteer to help Obama’s presidential campaign
- Listen to Obama’s inspiring, rejuvenating speeches
Our collective tomorrow can be much brighter than today and our brokenness can be mended. With Barack Obama as our leader, we can make this journey…together…now…for good!
“Management is getting people to do what needs to be done. Leadership is getting people to want to do what needs to be done. Managers push. Leaders pull. Managers command. Leaders communicate.”
~ Warren Bennis
Go, Obama, go! Go, people, go! Yes, we can!!
Is the US economy a metaphor for our lives?
Downturn. Crisis. Recession. Stimulus package. Tax breaks. Pink slips. Foreclosures. Falling stock prices. Overvalued. Overpriced. Unregulated. These are some of the words being used to describe the current state of the US economy. Words you’re not likely to hear–at least in mainstream media and definitely not from politicians–are greed, lust, gluttony, foolhardy, crazy, unrealistic, unhealthy, disconnected.
Now, in no way am I saying that people deserve to lose their jobs, their homes, or their retirement savings. I know there is much hardship that many are now facing due to the shifting sands of economic fortune. I do think, however, that their are many ways in which we ourselves brought on this reality. Here are a few.
Spending more money than we have to spend. I got my first credit card my freshman year in college. Though I’ve been responsible with how I use it most of the time, I have gotten myself into debt (revolving debt that stayed with me for months) three times in my life (in 17 years of credit card use, mind you). While there are plenty of forces outside of ourselves that encourage us to spend copiously, the true fault lies at our own feet. We are the ones who choose to buy it now and pay for it later. Now we’re finding out what paying for it later can look like.
Confusing stuff with a price tag with stuff of value. Yes, the media tells us that trinkets, toys, and the telltale symbols of the “good life” are what we need, but again, we’re the ones buying that line and filling our lives with many things that ultimately have little to no real value to us. Sure there are material things I’m grateful to have and some items which I truly treasure. The problem for most of us is that rather than spending our lives building lasting value–deep friendships, memories of time shared with loved ones, meaningful work–we busy our lives traipsing after things whose value is fleeting at best.
Seeing continuous growth as the best, and only way, to live. I cringe whenever I hear people tout the many ways we can grow our economy. Is it good to have a market for our wares and demand for our products? Yes. Is it realistic or healthy to believe that growth is always good and should be a constant? No. Last I checked, unchecked growth went by another name — cancer. Life is cyclical. There are seasons of growth to be sure, and we reap our bounty at the harvest. Those times, however, are followed by months when the land is dormant and we allow the earth to regenerate herself in preparation for the next season of growing. Perhaps, living so far removed from the natural ways of life, we have forgotten that “there is a time for every purpose under heaven” and that growth was never intended to be a constant in our lives.
Being unwilling to make some of the “hard choices” in order to create what we truly want. While I don’t believe in suffering or having a mindset that we must deprive ourselves, I do also think that we’ve forgotten how to be discerning in our decision making. We’re currently working to pay off some debt we incurred last year. To do that, we shifted items in our budget to put more of our income toward elimination of the debt. So for a few months, we’ll have less to spend for entertainment or eating out, but I’m glad of it because this choice is enabling me to create something much more important — no debt.
Being afraid that less money will make us poor. I believe that one of the biggest lies in our culture is that money/material possessions equals happiness. By buying so many things and then needing money to maintain these things, we make it imperative that we must work, work, work. So addicted are we that the average US worker has less than 2 weeks vacation in a year, while our brothers and sisters to the north get nearly a month of vacation annually, and our European neighbors enjoy over one full month off from labor every calendar year. The rewards of less work include more time to use as we choose. In many countries, this time is spent savoring relationships, relaxing, and simply taking the time to live life day-to-day. I’ve rarely seen a correlation between money and happiness — in fact, after a certain point, money or material goods add no value at all to our lives.
Keep your life from becoming bankrupt of value
So here’s my advice for quick ways to add value to your life.
- Know what’s valuable to you. Is it more time for yourself? Time to cultivate new relationships? The ability to travel? Don’t let our culture or other people tell you what should be important in your own life. You make that choice.
- Start eliminating whatever doesn’t add value to your life. This might mean selling or giving away some possessions. This could look like changing your work, moving, redoing your household budget or otherwise making shifts in your choices. Again, don’t let the ideas of others overrule your own judgment.
- Be thankful for all you have. Each day remember that you’ve had enough air to keep you breathing and enough water and food to sustain your body. Once you start truly appreciating all you already have, chances are you’ll realize you need less than you once thought.
- Share what gives you value. When we generously offer the value from our lives to others, all of us become richer in the process. You can either give your valuable items away (e.g., donating your money or material goods to charity, allowing your neighbor to have food from your garden) or simply share them (e.g., loaning your favorite books and movies to friends, sharing your lawnmower with your neighbors).
- Live with the end in mind. Unless there are radical new scientific discoveries, we’ll all be leaving our bodily form some day. Envision your life at this end point. What legacy do you want to leave behind? What impact do you want your life to have had? Once you have some ideas clearly in mind, start making subtle shifts now to move toward a successfully fulfilled vision. Start putting money aside to give to a favorite charity. Give heirlooms you never use away to family or friends who will love and appreciate them now. Leave your legacy one step at a time and see how much richer every day starts to become.
If you have suggestions on how to live a rich, rewarding life, please share them in the comments section. I know your wisdom would certainly add value to this post.
Remember love
As we prepare to move into this new year, I want to share a delightful love poem with you. It’s called Do You Remember Love? Written down by James Jacobson, it’s wisdom about love and life from his dog Maui. He’s put the poem to music and has it as a video on his site, so I hope you’ll take the time to watch/read Do You Remember Love? Enjoy!
Regaining your faith — with one ride on the Internet’s waves
Have you ever felt funky, been blue, or worried whether we’d all make it ’til tomorrow? I know I have. Now, I’m fortunate that I have lots of ways to levitate myself out of the spiritual lowlands. In case you’re looking for a new mood booster or method of spiritual rejuvination, I wanted to share a brief story from my life.
I wasn’t feeling hopeless. In fact, I’d just had a fantastic week–started new work, took the GRE for entry to graduate school, heard some awesome music on the radio (How Glad I Am by The Greyboy All Stars). Nonetheless, I was delightfully surprised to take an inspiring, hope-inducing surf of the net just because I was unsubscribing to a mailing list.
That goal of unsubscribing from a email list took me to the great social networking site, Zaadz.com. While going about my business, an ad for “WePluribus — We the people. No exceptions.” caught my eye. Cool people making conversation-starting t-shirts in an eco-friendly way. From the main WePluribus page I went to their blog where I read about Bishop Carlton Pearson (a man with an amazing life- and faith-changing story; I’ve heard his story on This American Life before–phenomenal!) and found out about an organization called Common Tables whose objective is to “establish 750,000 small dinner groups that overcome barriers, misconceptions, and fear-based thinking about diversity and inclusion to recognize one single truth – we have much more in common than we do in difference.”
Now I hadn’t intended to find any of these sites except Zaadz, but that’s what happened. And because it happened I found out about some really great folks doing good work in our world and I got an unexpected “happiness and hopefulness booster.” So I share this story for to remind us all of two things.
- There is ALWAYS and in all-ways some great stuff happening in this world.
- Being open to taking a path you hadn’t intended to follow can lead you right to the good stuff.
The transformative power of gratitude, thankfulness and appreciation
Gratitude is something I consciously bring into my life on a daily basis. At the evening meal, my husband, Bruce, and I express gratitude for one or more things that happened or simply were during the day. Some days our words of thanks flow easily from hearts filled to the brim with appreciation. Other days we might really have to think about what we actually feel grateful for. Regardless of how easy or hard it is for us to identify that for which we are thankful, we have maintained this practice for over 5 years.
How gratitude has changed my life
People who know me would have said that I’ve always been a grateful person. This is true. Actively choosing to identify and name that for which I am grateful, however, has, in itself, been a blessing in my life.
- Gratitude makes even the toughest days easier. To me, practicing gratitude is like standing in the dark woods with the flame of a candle the only light and saying, “wow, look at that light” rather than, “man, it’s dark out here.”
- Gratitude reminds me of how rich and blessed I truly am. In American culture, we’re bombarded with messages that tell us to think we need more stuff or better stuff to be truly happy. The truth is, I’m happy and blessed regardless of the amount or quality of stuff in my life.
- Gratitude opens my heart with compassion. When I am conscious of how blessed I am, I also realize that there are people throughout our world who do truly suffer. I tend to then take action to do what I can to help ease that suffering, so they too can feel grateful for their lives.
- Gratitude makes me more grateful. Like an ascending spiral staircase, feeling grateful for one thing often triggers gratitude for another which reminds me of yet another thing for which I am thankful. Taking that first act of noticing opens my eyes to other blessings which I might have missed if not for that initial choice to see with thankful eyes.
- Gratitude simplifies my life. Like many people, I sometimes get caught in the tsunami that is modern culture. By practicing gratitude, I become aware of how little I truly need to be happy, healthy, and fully alive. Gratitude slows me down and kindles peace in my heart and mind.
- Gratitude makes me attractive. My gratitude practice makes my inner light shine brighter and others (people, animals, energy) are drawn to me to bask in that glow. It’s like being your own generator of positive, life-affirming energy when you consciously choose gratitude.
I would be grateful to know about your experience with gratitude. How has it changed your life? What keeps you from feeling grateful? What most profoundly evokes your gratitude? Please use the “comments” area to share or trackback to this post from your site.
Gratitude Quotes
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion to clarity. . . . Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
~ Melody Beattie“I do not think of all the misery, but of the glory that remains. Go outside into the fields, nature and the sun, go out and seek happiness in yourself and in God. Think of the beauty that again and again discharges itself within and without you and be happy.”
~ Anne Frank“It seems to me that we often, almost sulkily, reject the good that God offers us because, at the moment, we expected some other good.”
~ C.S. Lewis“Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.”
~ Mary Jean Iron
Spiritual Cinema Circle — The best movies you’ll ever see
Since 2004, Bruce (my husband) and I have seen some of the most heart-warming, funny, inspiring, thought-provoking, interesting, unusual, meaningful, and magical movies. The films include features, documentaries and shorts. Some are animated, most are live action. Many films are from foreign countries. All of them are independent and unique.
We’ve seen these amazing films through our membership in the Spiritual Cinema Circle, a DVD club that specializes in uplifting and inspiring films. These are movies for people who want cinema that opens their heart, expands their mind and stirs their soul!
Each month, members pay $21 plus shipping and receive 4 films on DVD. The DVDs are yours to keep so you’ll get to build a library of inspiring films (this is one of my favorite parts of membership because then we can share our favorite films with others). Members of the Circle also get access to members-only teleconferences with amazing people such as Marianne Williamson, Neale Donald Walsch, Deepak Chopra, James Ray, and more!
The Spiritual Cinema Circle (SCC) generally offers a special trial membership deal (you often pay just the shipping for that month), so you can check it out risk-free (you may cancel at any time and for any reason).
“I love movies, but the movies I get from Spiritual Cinema Circle love me.”
~ Gary Zukav
Spiritual Cinema Circle Films for September 2007
Believe In Me (feature film)
A young man dreams of being an important basketball coach until he is forced to take a job as the coach of an all-girls team. Though he fears his short career will come to an end, what actually happens is nothing short of a miracle. The joy, tears and friendships captured in this wonderful film remind us how important it is to put our faith in a higher plan. This is a film for the whole family!
7 Days With 7 Dogs (short film)
Two of SCC’s original filmmakers spend a week taking their furry friends from one beautiful doggy heaven to another. This short documentary reveals the joy that comes from giving something wonderful to others.
5 Wishes; The Conversation (short film)
This insightful film probes the depths of what it takes to find peace and comfort within ourselves and our relationships, while opening a door to new possibility.
Now You See Me, Now You Don’t (short film)
This intense, award-winning film from Hungary conveys its powerful message through suspense and chilling action. A simple story unfolds to reveal healing in many forms.
See previews of these films by visiting the Spiritual Cinema Circle’s Preview page. Click on the month of September for the films described above, or watch any previews that interest you.
Earn money with the Spiritual Cinema Circle
Another great thing you can do if you find that you are a huge spiritual cinema circle fan, is join their affiliate program. This allows you to earn money for people you refer to become members. You can find out more about the SCC affiliate program using the link below.
All the links above do connect to our affiliate account and potentially earn us money. If you prefer, you can visit the Spiritual Cinema Circle directly at spiritualcinemacircle.com.
“I love from Spiritual Cinema Circle because every month a DVD with entertainment that is right in line with my spiritual approach to life arrives in the mail. I’m always so excited as I know I’ll appreciate what I see.”
~ india.arie
