Where love and wisdom abound and the belief that iron sharpens iron so a friend sharpens a friend.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Turn 2011 Speed Bumps Into 2012 Launch Pads
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Oppressed or Impoverished
The debate is not new- is poverty a choice? As absurd that may sound to some, to others it is a thought that is spoken in some circles. That thought is, if you are poor, especially in the 21st century, its because you choose to be. Of course, the argument isn't that straightforward in reasoning, and the debate has many valid points on both sides. In short, poverty is being without needed resources. So for those who believe one chooses poverty, the answer is frankly- get an educated or skill and get a job or make a living. On the other hand, those who believe that relieving poverty is more than securing resources, the solution is much more complex.
Oppression sometimes is a word left out of the poverty conversation. Yes, oppression is considered when speaking of developing countries or cities with a recent history of struggling economies from lost of major companies or key goods or services to maintain a competitive and attractive city for business. Yet, I contend that oppression is one of the main causes of poverty. Quickly, allow me to assert the obvious, a lack of jobs, poor money management or financial illiteracy, and no skills or education are major factors that most can agreed on within the poverty debate. Yet, oppression is at the core of this social dilemma. My position is derived from a few questions: 1. If a person is in second or third generation of poverty, faced with racist stereotypes, living in subsidized housing and receiving public health and food benefits, is he or she keenly knowledgeable of the route out of this situation? 2. If no one in a family has finished high school or college and has chronic unemployment gaps, development disabilities, has experienced employment discrimination and homelessness, is the solution clean cut? 3. If the words assets, 401k, interest rates and balanced budget have never crossed the conversations held in the home, can on understand building wealth? And finally, four words: Substance, or emotional, or sexual or physical abuse? All of these unfortunate situations can cultivate a "spirit of oppression" even if external influences did not actually perpetrate (discrimination, inequality, etc) the oppression.
I am not presenting anything new here. Those who consider the poor among us think that the solution may not be simple but is possible to solve if the one living in poverty will have a little bit more encouragement, training, and sheer will. In addition, the religious sector would add repentance and faith to the equation. I say, faith and sheer will is what gets most people who are impoverished through the day. And many people, in their circles have been given a hand, shoulder and many positive words. And training, well, do you know what one must do to receive housing, public assistance and health care? Well, first, have a child and to be unmarried. Only if a greater effort for a solution to send people to community college than to the next line where you can sign up for a free turkey at Thanksgiving.
Oppression zaps hope as quick as you can turn a light switch off. The sneers, the racist slurs, the abuse at the hand of your neighbor, the exposure to community neglect and violence, the obvious class war being the despised people in a certain zip code. All of these negative energy drives can pierce through and stop the laughter of a child and the dreams of an adult. Oppression begins to live in someone once the fabric of society covers the poor with shame. Then the opportunities seem to be designed for an elite group, and healthy foods appear in particular grocery chains that are too expensive, and quality books and technology show up in certain schools and college libraries; clean parks and family events are across town and church and business leaders are uncomfortable coming to your house for frozen dinners or to pick you up for Sunday service or for work or for parenting class. Oppression knocks loudly at the door of those main society ignores or are even embarrassed by. And, more boldly, oppression reeks from hearts and minds of those who we despise and talk about when we think we have "made it".
Some may think, impoverished and oppressed are the same. The difference is this: Give an impoverished person a job, he or she will eventually live a decent life. Give an oppressed person a job, he or she will battle with self to keep it. The mind will tell her you will never make it. The heart will tell him, you are not worthy.We must do more than give jobs, much more. And the solutions are complex and varied. But any one solution must begin with a compassionate heart, a servant attitude, and the belief that no one, not one human being, wakes up every day wanting to live in poverty.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Preparing for significance
Notes for Chapter One)
Maya Angelou quoted, "Ask for what you want and be prepared to get it." And throughout many spiritual, self-development, counseling, and teacher circles the same mantra is usually spoken. Furthermore, I have heard and said the following: If you believe it you shall receive it or if you speak it, you will see it; or seek and it will be found. Positive, powerful, and encouraging words, right? Those statements is not the issue I have pondered. I agree, a cheerful heart does the body and mind good. On the other hand, it's the "between point" I wrestle with. There is a place between unbelief and belief, thinking and speaking, and seeking and finding. That "place" few pundits, pastors, preachers, teachers, coaches and counselors prepare to provide a solution for. This place, position, or state is what most people call the "gray area", when things in life are not clear, difficult, and confusing. I have had my share of gray areas and stood in the between place many times, shocked, dazed and confused or sad, mad, and defeated. That is why I am pushed to reflect a little deeper into this feeling of awkwardness of life. And I have a resolution, an insight, a possible explanation for it-- preparation. Preparation for significance.
Have you jumped in water, in a pool or ocean on a scorching hot summer day with expectation of cool relief? You emerge in the water, and as you go deeper the cooler the water feels. A quietness is all around you, peaceful, then you need air and a sense of urgency rush over you. You swim up, quickly; you see the sun's brightness the closer you get to the top, and finally you reach up to push that last time to reach the surface and gasp for air. This illustration gives you a picture of the preparation for significance.
The path to significance is stretching yet glorifying.I discovered that problems are merely exercises to gain knowledge, wisdom, understanding and contentment. Yes, a permanent solution to heated and hated problems is contentment: the realization, on earth, we will walk a thin line between meaningless and significance. In order to learn, we must lose. In order to succeed, we must fail. To navigate through what seem to be suffocating problems, we must rest and not resist....breathe. And in that deep, cool and quiet place, a place of peace above understanding, is where significance resides. Preparation for significance comes when you toil with tears of submission, with encouraging speech, love, and faith. Trusting the process. Significance comes closer each day when you choose to dive into the deep, with quiet confidence, learning, not running from the lessons, welcoming ascension. Living higher than the problems, greater than yourself.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Just a quick thought: Moving more than things
Change is challenging but inevitable. The only thing constant is change. So if we know change is coming why is it always difficult to process when it arrives?
My first thought is the comfort of the "knowing" is much pleasant than facing the unknown. We are creatures of habit; we like the eat the same foods, go to the same places, hang with the same people, and work and live at the same places. Furthermore, for most part, its the same with our minds, we think the same thoughts, believe the same facts, have the same opinions and feel the same way.All this familiarity is healthy in our developing years, security and safety is important throughout our lifetime, but I will assert that when we become "adults", staying the same is unhealthy, unnatural, and even dangerous to our growth. You see, what doesn't grow, eventually dies. Moving our minds and bodies are essential to our growth, our becoming greater and purposeful.
As I look for a place, plan the transition, spend money on transfers, use time and energy to pack up personal items, and throw away some things, and give other things away; I realize that moving more than things is another way of life. If we want to attain a goal, get married, lose weight, buy a home, graduate from college, raise children, own a company, travel to another country, or whatever the action may be, there is a moving process; a learning; a leaving, giving up or giving in. Change is at the core of moving from one person, place, or thing to another. The moving process will be discomforting and maybe even frightening, but new things, greater things are possible with moves, with changes. Giving up old useless habits, negative people, unhealthy foods, defeating thoughts, cluttering items or thoughts make room for a the launching of the next level of life.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Leadership in the wilderness | Faith & Leadership
Favorite paragraph:
"Olson explains that the manna story is not about what they were eating but rather about “God’s trustworthy generosity, the need for equity in the distribution of resources related to basic human needs such as food, and reassurance in the face of common human urges to hoard out of fear and anxiety for the future.”
The manna principle of leadership recognizes that even in times of wilderness and chaos, “the sabbath economy of manna, grace, gift, equality, and trust will have the final say over the economy of Egypt and the Pharaohs of the world,” Olson writes.
And I’m guessing many faculty and staff of today’s colleges think of others as the agents of manna leadership, especially looking to their presidents, vice presidents and trustees.
But in the broadest and most important sense -- and especially in faith-based institutions -- all are called to be manna leaders. The journey to a new place is a shared responsibility, a collective project that derives its authority from a cooperative attachment to mutually defined commitments, values, and smart visions and strategies.
One person cannot do it all when in the wilderness. There are too many moving parts when trying to find solutions to complex problems."
A Manna Leader: WOW! Being a leader who cultivates an environment of peace, planning, and prodding to get to the promise and prosperity!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Social Construct Gone Bad- A response to Thandie Newton's speech
Thandie Newton: Embracing otherness, embracing myself | Video on TED.com
Friday, August 5, 2011
Poor Dads: A “Perfect Storm” of Adverse Events Works against Young Families
Poor Dads: A “Perfect Storm” of Adverse Events Works against Young Families
MADISON — In the beginning of the 21st century economy, almost half of all kids are being raised by at least one parent with a low educational background (high school degree or less by age 30) and a poor expected economic future. More than 40 percent of all births are out of wedlock (28 percent for non-Hispanic whites; 72 percent for non-Hispanic blacks; and 51 percent for Hispanics). And the chances that an unmarried biological father and mother will have a child with different partners are 55 to 65 percent (using conservative estimates).
A new book—as much an accessible examination of a major social challenge as a monograph by some of America’s top social science thinkers—explores these growing problems and possible policy remedies. “Young Disadvantaged Men: Fathers, Family, Poverty, and Policy,” a special issue of The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, combines a researcher’s perspective with reality checks from the worlds of policymakers and social service practitioners.
First, the numbers: By age 30, between 68 and 75 percent of young men with a high school degree or less are fathers. Only 52 percent of all fathers (21 percent of African American fathers) under age 25 are married at the birth of their first child. Older fathers are more likely to be married by age 30. Sixty-five percent of all first-time fathers are married when their first child is born, but only 31 percent of all black men under 30 who are first-time fathers are married at the time of the first birth.
To make matters worse, far fewer young fathers go on to education post high school (29 percent of fathers age 30 and under compared to 41 percent of all men age 30 and under). Finally, 62 percent of fathers with a high school degree or less earned less than $20,000 in 2002, suggesting that most young men with little education, low skills, and poor employment records have acquired family responsibilities that they will find difficult to meet.
The economist Timothy Smeeding, a volume co-editor with Irwin Garfinkel and Ronald B. Mincy, calls the situation a “perfect storm of adverse events” that is affecting younger undereducated men, their children, and the mothers of their children. So Smeeding and his colleagues convened a national conference at the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin–Madison where economists, sociologists, and public policy experts presented their latest work to describe the problem; provided cross-cutting commentary on culture, race, and family functioning and longer-term relationships; and examined child support policy, school-to-work transitions, dropout, incarceration, and fatherhood-strengthening policies.
“Young Disadvantaged Men” presents the best thinking of national experts on the issues of immediate concern to those working through research, policy, and practice to reconnect disconnected dads to their children and thereby improve child and family economic and emotional well-being.
http://www.irp.wisc.edu/newsevents/whatsnew/2011/fathers-May2011.htmThursday, July 21, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Finding Good Venture Ideas (part 1) | Social Enterprise
Finding Good Venture Ideas (part 1)
- Children come to your Preschool or Daycare but parents don’t know you have Psychologists or Speech Therapists on staff and they can get assessments and/or therapy at your site while the child is already there.
- Companies are your shredding/document destruction customers but don’t know you also are an EWaste collector and can take their computer monitors and other EWaste
- You help parents find child care but they don’t know about your Nutrition Education classes
- Childcare providers take your training classes both don’t know about your Toolkits or Activity Guides.
- You collect, fix and sell furniture appliances etc for your thrift or resale store. You could advertise to donors and shoppers that you repair these items and let them bring theirs in.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Socially Conscious Entrepreneurs
Socially responsible business practices — including organic, fair trade, handmade, giving back and going green — are becoming the norm for for-profit, as well as nonprofit, businesses. We’re committed to covering this side of small business with our weekly wrap-up of news affecting businesses that have embraced this socially responsible model, combining a for-profit business with nonprofit sensibilities.
The Vatican's view
Add the Vatican to the list of those weighing in on the need for socially responsible businesses. Carol Glatz of the Catholic News Service reports on the recent Executive Summit on Ethics for the Business World, during which Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican’s secretary of state, said that there is no way businesses can remain ethically neutral. Bertone said business leaders must have a social conscience and see their work as part of a new social contract with the public and civil society.
Catching mom's eye
Socially responsible businesses looking to attract moms with their online marketing better be offering them something worth their while. A BusinessNewsDaily report this week points to new research that says two-thirds of moms preferred coupons and discounts in ads, while less than half wanted ads that simply provide useful information. In addition, the study from About.com found that online ad tone and format also are important to moms.
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Those searching for a higher education degree in social responsibility should check out a guide from the University of Wisconsin. The Big Ten school has released a guide on the numerous colleges across the country that offer programs with a focus on sustainability. Universities with their own offerings include Michigan, North Carolina, George Washington, Stanford and Yale.
Ditching the catalog
In an eco-friendly move that’s also lightening the load of its sales force, one clothing company is going electronic with its catalogs. BusinessNewsDaily writes this week about the Tom James Co., a clothing and apparel manufacturer that has replaced its sales team's printed catalogs and brochures with electronic versions pre-loaded onto iPads. Each member of the company’s 450-member sales force is equipped with iPads.
Lights, camera, action
Socially conscious businesses wanting to pump up their public relations potential need to use video, according to one expert. David Murdico, managing partner of Supercool Creative, a Los Angeles-based viral marketing agency specializing in online video creative, writes this week that video can bring the positive actions of these businesses to the forefront and help move brands closer to both new and existing fans and customers. The advice was part of Murdico's top 10 ways that video can be used by PR professionals to help brands tell their stories.
Truth or myth?
Social entrepreneurs should not let myths hold them back from starting their own venture. This week, BusinessNewsDaily dispels some of the top urban legends of the business world. The largest — that 50 percent of businesses fail — isn't true, according to the Small Business Association, which says seven out of 10 businesses survive at least two years.
We hear about a lot of socially responsible businesses each week. Here are this week’s favorites:
Apple Visual Graphics: An environmentally friendly printing company that has cut petroleum-based products out of the printing equation. The business is recognized by the Forest Stewardship Council and certified by the Rainforest Alliance as a green printer.
On Twitter @AppleVisualNYC
JP Selects: An online site featuring eco-conscious health and beauty products. A percentage of the proceeds from sales of JP Select's brand partners’ products will go to the Grow Appalachia hunger initiative and John Paul DeJoria’s Peace, Love and Happiness Foundation, which supports humanitarian efforts worldwide.
On Twitter @JPSelects
Mar Y Sol: A socially responsible brand that collaborates with artists in New York and artisans in Madagascar to create authentic handmade accessories using natural materials sourced from forests in Madagascar. The sale of the products enables families in Madagascar to gain economic independence.
On Twitter @MarYSolBags