InSpiritry

Be the change you wish to see in the world.  Gandhi

With the Republican nominee decided and the Democratics yet to find consensus on a candidate,  the Presidential primaries have offered some interesting revelations:

• Women are not all voting for the only woman running.
• Blacks are not all lined up behind the one Black candidate.
• Experienced Senators are having trouble getting credit for long careers of hard-fought accomplishments.
• New young voters have turned out in record numbers for a candidate who seems young.
• The buzzword has been “change.”

What is going on?

I would suggest that we are experiencing the early pangs of a syndrome we, Baby Boomers, should recognize:

A Generation Gap!

Yes, there is growing evidence that the country is divided along generational lines with a disconnect between old and young.  Think about it:

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On a rainy afternoon this week, as I worked at my desk, I got the phone call I had been dreading for months: 

 ”Anne, it’s me. I thought I better call. I am leaving tonight for Iraq.”

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These days, whatever your nationality or political leaning, it’s easy to feel a sense of despondency about the condition of our world.

• American leaders blame Arab extremists.
• Arabs accuse the West.
• The Jews fault the Muslims.
• Iran suspects Christians.
• Democrats indict Republicans.
• Republicans blame China.
• China complains about American liberals.
• Liberals point to Conservatives.
• Christian conservatives say it’s God’s will.

In our fear and anger, we all demand action, but when it’s time for action, we ask indignantly,

Who me? What can I do? (more…)

Today, January 21, 2008, is Martin Luther King Day, the only American national holiday to commenorate an African American. As you celebrate it, consider the idea that this could be the day you have been waiting for — the day you decide take up Dr. King’s challenge to follow your heart and make a difference in the world.  Indeed, today is the day: (more…)

Don’t ask what the world needs.

Ask what makes you come alive, and do that…

because what the world needs

is people who have come alive!               

Howard Thurman (1900-1981)

Howard Thurman was an author, philosopher, theologian and educator, who after meeting Mahatma Gandhi became passionate about the ideas he heard from the great spiritual leader. Back in America, he went on to work for civil rights and to write about non-violence in words that informed Martin Luther King’s thinking and inspired other civil rights leaders of the mid-century.

As we make our resolutions for the New Year, plan our futures and even consider the politics of American presidential race, Thurman’s suggestion about doing what makes “you come alive” may be just what we need to hear! Many of us lead lives that, while addressing the needs of the world, can feel…well, uninspired. How can we change that in 2008? (more…)

Sleep in Heavenly Peace…

During this last week of the Christian Advent season and near the end of another violent year in the world, true Peace deserves our consideration more than ever. That said, for spiritual people of all traditions at any time of the year, there is no greater hope and no more essential calling than Peace. It is our most pure path to God.

But what is Peace? (more…)

“…a little child shall lead them”

Meet Laura.

Laura is a ten year old American girl who is ready to lead. With a belief in every person’s power to make the world a better place, Laura has launched a December, 2007 project called Twenty Five Days to Make a Difference. For those whose faith experience includes a season of Advent as well as those who just love Christmas, Laura is giving us a new approach to the holidays. How? (more…)

 

In India, where the streets are full of homeless children, a compassionate woman created a 24-hour toll free hotline to connect street children with food, shelter, medical care, safety and access to people who care. Who staffs the phone lines? Other children who have been saved from a life on the streets! 

In South Africa, hundreds of thousands of people every year lie alone in their squallid homes dying of AIDS. Now, thanks to a wonderful nurse, some patients are being given home hospice care. Who would provide that kind of care? Young people once unemployed and hopeless, now trained to ease the pain and suffering of others!

 In the U.S., thousands of low income high school students never make it to college because there is no one to show them how to apply or how to find funding. One man took action. His four-day College Summits  offer help with college applications, essays, scholarship applications and financial aid forms. Of those who attend, 80% get into college!

In his new book,  How to Change the World – Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas, noted author David Bornstein, whose first book shared the story of the Grameen Bank and microfinance, offers a look at the inspirational individuals like these who have used their innovative ideas to change the world rather than accept the status quo. Bornstein describes them as “social entrepreneurs”, a term increasingly used interchangabley with “social enterprise” to describe those who combine creative innovation, corporate strategies and social awareness to address persistent problems. (more…)

 Save the Women and Children!

Most of the casualties were Women and Children!

Who will protect the Women and Children?

The phrase “Women and Children” conjures up, for many, a vulnerable population in a dangerous situation. There are, though, some of us who believe that women and children are far from passive victims to violence who need more violence to save them. In fact, we believe that, because women and children innately know that aggression begets aggression, women and children also are motivated to seek alternatives to violence (military, economic, social and domestic). Further, we believe that once empowered, women and children will naturally find peaceful solutions– that women and children are the solution. (more…)

In several conversations of late, I have been reminded of how overpowering the world’s problems seem to most of us. We would like things to be better, but global situations like terrorist threats, war, extreme poverty, religious persecution, human rights and famine seem, well…just too global!

Maybe there’s our answer. We keep our perspective at a global level. What if we reduce the world’s terrible dilemmas to personal proportions — to our everyday lives? Maybe then, we can see that we really can “make a difference.” (more…)