The Readers Blog is a group blog, a collection of provocative, passionate people who represent a broad geographical, professional, personal and vocational range. New bloggers from other places and other points of view will join the conversation from time to time. Here, we invite them all to share their perspectives and opinions on the issues that matter to them most. And we invite you to respond. Let the dialogue begin!
I love the quote,"Children are messengers to us from a world we once deeply knew but we have long since forgotten," by Alice Miller. I know for a fact that I have learned more from my children than they have learned from me. I call them my gurus! I am amazed, sometimes on a daily basis, the things I learn from my kids. I still believe 100% that children are here to teach us, not the other way around. We have been conditioned to believe that we have to teach them, but I know that is just not true.
Children can help us to learn about ourselves and about life, if we choose to listen. When we are able to stay out of the mind set of having to have power over children, we can learn and grow. When we open ourselves up to their unconditional acceptance and love, we will grow leaps and bounds. When trust is present in the relationship as our children grow, the relationship stays authentic, and we learn from each other. If trust is present, children will keep sharing their views and observations and insight with us. If the trust is broken, children learn to hide who they really are, and the authentic relationship is no longer. Read more...
Recently I came across a very interesting article. It was about forgiveness. I always wrestle with that virtue, sometimes more poignantly than others. I often find it very challenging to forgive, especially if I feel I have been deeply betrayed or wounded. But for me it can be equally as difficult, or more so, to humble myself enough to ask for forgiveness when I have hurt another, intentionally or unintentionally. Read more...
Ariane de Bonvoisin, author of The First 30 Days: Your Guide to Making Any Change Easier
In 27 years of counseling, I have found that what Ms. De Bonvoisin says is always true. Always. No exceptions. Read more...
A world flag -- wow! Isn't it gorgeous?
Aside from the brilliant colors -- something that always catches my eye -- this flag is a clickable fount of information. The flags represent all the members of the United Nations. On their website, you can click on each flag and learn a little something about the country it represents.
"The world flag was created in 1988 to raise global awareness, inspire innovative solutions and promote action toward challenges facing our world today. It serves as a powerful symbol to inspire action and celebrate the pursuit of positive change. The flag has flown from New York to Nepal and continues to make its way around the planet spreading its message of unity," says the website. Read more...
I believe in a beautiful and useful policy. Meaning, a thing has to be either beautiful or useful, if it is none of these then I just throw it away. Ten times out of ten I have discovered that I never regret trashing them.
The trash in our life includes old clothes, old utensils, old cosmetics, old electronics which do not work, old shoes that hurt and bite, old towels that scratch more than absorb the dampness of our body, tennis balls that have lost their bounce, golf balls with dings, rusty tools, rusty relationships, rusty emotions, old angers, old hostilities, old newspapers, old lovers who still hurt, negative emotions and ghosts of boyfriends/girlfriends past. Yep, all in the same breath. Read more...
With the economy in disarray, it's a little counterintuitive that a conference on funding social causes would be booming. But over the last three days the Social Capital Markets conference in San Francisco drew close to 1,000 investors, fund managers, foundations, social entrepreneurs and corporate executives in just it's second year in existence. Attendees came from 32 different countries to connect with other leaders and innovators and find new ways to "accelerate the flow of capital to good," as conference co-founder Gary Bolles put it. Read more...
It was almost a decade since I had been involved with climate change activities, so I was happy when I was invited to a capacity building session held in Kathmandu in July by the Climate Action Network South Asia (CANSA). CANSA is part of a global network of NGOs addressing climate change issues in the region.
I was eager to learn about the current science of climate change and how well nations around the world are responding to it. To my dismay, I found that global carbon dioxide emissions have increased by 70% in the last 20 years. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that the evidence is even stronger that human factors have exacerbated the climate change process. In fact, we are knocking on the doors of a Climate Catastrophe, if our planet's temperature rises more than 2 degrees Celsius and the atmospheric carbon levels move towards 400 parts per million (ppm), when it should remain below 350. Read more...
Ode's mission is very inspiring for me. I love the idea of news that uplifts. And I am equally taken by the vast beauty of ordinary people living extraordinary lives. Ever since my first brush with Ode, I have felt my world expanding, precisely because my eyes and heart are opening wider and more deeply to recognize the awesome task of being human.
And of course, as my self opens inwardly, people and events come to me outwardly. So, I am living the privilege of discovery, one human being at a time. Read more...
It's rare to see peace mentioned in Newsweek except insofar as peace is lacking so I was pleased to see a one-pager in Travel a few weeks ago about the 600-mile Israel National Trail. The Trail is a hiking path that crisscrosses the entire nation of Israel. It was modeled on the Appalachian Trail. It bears the markings of three stripes as guides, painted on the rocks in white, blue and orange. (It intrigues me that the mystical meanings of those colors are, in order, all light, creative expression and joy.) Read more...
As I witness children getting ready to go back to school this week, my mind heads down the path of questioning why we do things the way we do. The questions flood my brain. I see signs like the one below. Why is the school system in such a state that they need this "kickoff". I see children that are very sad and sometimes really angry about having to end the summer before summer is officially over. I see them angry that they have to go to school at all. They tell my kids that they are lucky they do no have to go to school. My sons are sad for the kids that don't have a choice, and wish that all kids could have a choice to do what feels right to them.
My son and I went for a walk tonight and we talked about how one of his schooled friends asked him if he had ever done a math worksheet. My son told him no, why would I need to do that? I do math in my life all the time, but I don't need to prove that, by doing a worksheet. We talked about all of the ways that he learns math concepts even though they are not called "math". We talked about how if he needs to learn something, he can find the answer when he needs it. We questioned who gets to decide exactly what a human being "needs" to learn by the time they are 18? We wondered how people can get together in a meeting to decide what is best for every student that comes to their school. How is it possible to do this if we are all individuals having different interests and different learning styles? I know that teachers and administrators do their best, but how can they really do what is best for each student? It isn't possible. Teachers have their hands tied as well, because the students must test high so that the schools get their funding. Teachers have a difficult job. Read more...
