Archive for the ‘World’ Category
Thursday, February 25th, 2010
The thrill of last minute victories.
Excruciating spills on the ice and downhill.
Poetry in motion – on skis, skates, snowboards.
The 2010 Winter Olympic Games have given spectators plenty of drama and delight, as we have watched the world’s athletes compete for gold, silver, bronze and sometimes just the priviledge of being a competitor on the world stage. While the distance of television can’t match the excitement of actually being in the crowd, those of us who have tuned in each evening have shared some amazing moments. (more…)
Posted in Best Self, Celebration, Commitment, Courage, Greater Good Thinking, America, InSpiritry, Anne McCrady, World, Events & News, InSpiration | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
“If there is any great secret to success in life,
it is the ability to put yourself in the other person’s place
and see things from his point of view as well as your own.” Henry Ford
As I worked on a poetry presentation this week, I realized that the the ideas I am presenting are not limited to writing — they are, in fact, InSpiritry ideas worth sharing! The workshop I have been developing is a lesson for poets about persona poems. For the uninitiated, the persona of a poem is the person speaking to the reader. In some persona poems the writer assumes an identity other than their own. That persona can be another person, an animal, a place, even something inanimate. In a persona poem, an alternate point of view means using an intentionally different way of speaking, to become that other voice. Enough about literary technique, though; back to my original reason for this post.
What drew me to widen my considerations about writing persona poems was my assertion that “persona poems compel us to consider how it feels to be someone else.” (more…)
Posted in America, Events & News, World, U.S., Greater Good Thinking, Holidays, Compassion, Best Self, Community, Anne McCrady, Literary, Peacework, Social Issues, InSpiration, Politics of Possibility, InSpiritry, Writing, Poetry | 3 Comments »
Friday, January 1st, 2010
2010 – Happy New Year!
Well, here we are. Ten years into the New Millenium. Post 9/11. Post Economic meltdown. Post Bush-Cheney. Several degrees into Global Warming. Several setbacks into Global Cooperation. The backside of the Great Recession. The end of a decade of decadence. Folks, straighten your chair backs, fasten your seatbelts and prepare for landing; somehow or another, we made it!
So – as we come to the end of this bumpy ride—what’s next for us?
I have no crystal ball to foretell the future, but my hunch is that, like so many generations of God’s people on planet Earth, we are about discover the consequences of having to collectively learn things the hard way!
Here are just a few of the tough lessons in store for us: (more…)
Posted in Consilience, Best Self, Nature, Greater Good Thinking, World, Celebration, Compassion, Holidays, Courage, Commitment, Collaboration, Economy, Community, Science, Politics of Possibility, Healthcare, Peacework, Environment, Creativity, Anne McCrady, InSpiritry, Greater Good, Personal Health, Social Issues | No Comments »
Monday, December 21st, 2009
“Celebrate the happiness that friends are always giving,
make every day a holiday and celebrate just living. “
Amanda Bradley
On this clear cold day with the sun’s glow waking my winter world, December is a perfect time to enjoy a spiritual lift. The cloudless sky seems to open to heaven itself, and outside my wind chimes are ching-chinging a cheerful song. With sunshine glossing the frost, the trees and birds and rocks and water are rejoicing along with me!
I think about how the month of December is a gift for the spirit, full of holiday cheer and family gatherings. Around the world, it is a time of spiritual celebration: Jewish Hanukkah, the Winter Solstice, Christmas, the Muslim New Year, and the African American days of Kwanzaa, among others. I like to think about how, in places far and near, the world is affirming that God is good, people are worth loving and life is a gift. (more…)
Posted in Celebration, Wisdom, Compassion, Memories, Holidays, World, Community, Personal Health, Christianity, Greater Good, InSpiritry, Anne McCrady, Spiritual | No Comments »
Friday, October 2nd, 2009
He was a Mahatma (Great Soul) and India’s Bapu (Father of the Nation).
October 2 is the birthday of Mohandras Gandhi, political leader, spiritual advisor, social activist and wise elder. Educated and of means, but having experienced the sting of racism while in South Africa, the domination of India by Britain and the brutal violence between Hindus and Muslims, Gandhi turned his life to what he called non-cooperation - just saying “no” to injustice. A student of Jesus’s teaching as well as other world religions, he practiced kindness and forgiveness in a sacred endeavor towards the Greater Good. Because of his leadership, people around the world were inspired. In tribute to Gandhi, the date of his birth was designated several years ago as the annual International Day of Non-violence. (more…)
Posted in Celebration, Best Self, Wisdom, Compassion, Problem Solving, Change, Courage, Commitment, Greater Good Thinking, World, Peacework, Spiritual, Social Issues, InSpiration, Politics of Possibility, InSpiritry, Greater Good, Christianity, Events | 2 Comments »
Friday, September 18th, 2009
“Better than a thousand hollow words
is one word that brings peace.”
Buddha
Monday marks the 2009 United Nations International Day of Peace. Observed each year on September 21st, the International Day of Peace is a global call for ceasefire and non-violence. In many places, it will the first time in months that a pause in fighting will allow humanitarian aid to get to people without food or medical care. In other safer locations, people committed to non-violence will gather to celebrate and learn about peacemaking. This year’s theme is WMD: We Must Disarm, a reminder that the letters ”WMD” can be transformed from their poisonous connotation to a message of hope!
Here in Texas on Sunday, September 20, the eve of the International Day of Peace, I will be participating in a brand new event called the Art of Peace Festival. (more…)
Posted in Greater Good Thinking, Celebration, Compassion, Commitment, World, Anne McCrady, Peacework, Politics of Possibility, Greater Good, InSpiritry, Events | 4 Comments »
Thursday, June 11th, 2009
“Poverty, Violence, War, Earthquakes, Floods…all reasons families are forced to live in Third World conditions.”
Last night, a line of dangerous summer thunderstorms raced across North Texas, full of sky-splitting lightning strikes, damaging winds, tornados, heavy rain and hail. As our huge, old trees heaved in the gusts and thunder rattled our windows, we heard a high pitched POP! and then total silence. (more…)
Posted in America, World, Greater Good Thinking, Compassion, Weather, Poverty, Mission, Community, Greater Good, Peacework, InSpiritry, Anne McCrady, War, Social Issues | 1 Comment »
Monday, May 25th, 2009
”Regard your soldiers as your children…
look on them as your own beloved sons
and they will follow you even unto death.”
Sun Tzu
Today is Memorial Day. The day for aging WWII and Vietnam vets to polish their medals, memorialize sargeants, call old friends. A day for men and women who fought in Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan to remember their comarades, rub their regrets, wear their honor. Today, mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers of amazing young adults lost in battle will dust off portraits of their special heroes, then tell their stories hoping they will never be forgotten. And on military bases around the world, soldiers will enjoy a good meal, shoulder chuck one another in pride, reread love letters, talk to family by phone or online.
The rest of us will mark the day too. (more…)
Posted in World, Community, America, Greater Good Thinking, Compassion, War, Anne McCrady, Peacework, Politics of Possibility, Greater Good, InSpiritry, Events | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009
The problems that exist in the world today
cannot be solved
with the level of thinking that created them.
Albert Einstein
Hope! Change! Possibility! Excitement!
The year 2009 began with a bang. The amazing celebrations surrounding the inauguration of Barak Obama as the new President offered Americans some much-needed optimism about the future. Some of us even let ourselves believe the worst was over!
While it was nice to have that brief January respite from the storm of bad news from around the world, February seems to have tossed us overboard: Worsening economic conditions. The catastrophic environmental crisis. Governmental gridlock. Terrorism. Genocide. Famine. Illness. And so far, most of our leaders are displaying a stubborn and often selfish allegiance to old ideas and older fears. (more…)
Posted in Anne McCrady, Economy, World, Events & News, InSpiritry, Greater Good, Politics of Possibility, Science, Creativity, InSpiration | No Comments »
Friday, July 4th, 2008
Peace and Love! Peace and Love! Peace and Love!
Ringo Starr
For some of us, these words are a familiar slogan from the 1960s. For others they are exactly the message the world needs to hear. For a few, Peace and Love is a tired cliche’. Whatever your first impression is, these simple words speak of what so many of us hope for in our lives: safety, harmony, nonviolence, compassion and acceptance. Peace. Our religions seek to instill it, our governments try to provide it, our politicians orate about it…and still is seems like a distant dream. (more…)
Posted in War, World, Music, Anne McCrady, InSpiritry, Peacework, InSpiration, Greater Good, Events | No Comments »
