Sources of Thought and Inspiration

You'll notice to the left that I have begun a list of sources of thought. I would love to hear what your sources of thought are. I am always reading something, whether that be a book, magazine or newspaper article. I especially love finding sources of inspiration.

Recently I came across an organization called Urban Boat Builders. they work with youth to learn the fine art of hand building wooden boats. The organization has been incredibly successful in giving youth those feelings of accomplishment that I talked about earlier, as key to a healthy outlook on life.

Funnily when I sent the link to my friend who lives in St Paul, MN she had already begun to work with that very organization. I love how things like that work out.

I would love for us to share those people and organizations that inspire us. By doing this we are increasing our sense of accomplishment, that the people in the world really are working to create a better world. We also get to discover more great organzations and people who might be interrested in the very work we wish to do.

Happy Chinese New Year

A gem is not polished without rubbing, nor a man made perfect without trials.
A flower cannot blossom without sunshine nor a garden without love.
~Chinese Proverbs

May this new year reveal in us all our ability to love one another and may our trails be brief and full of learning.

Yes we Can

I found this most beautiful song/montage on http://thepeacetree.blogspot.com/
The tears filling my eyes emerge from a depth of hope being tapped by a canidate and more importantly a movement which will and is changing this nation. Thank you to the creators of this, will.I.am.

Whether you are for Obama or not this video shines a light on the grassroots movements throughout this country and world which will change america for the better. Which will help people remember that we are indeed all in this together. If we forget that then we are lost. Yes I see pain, yes I see suffering, yes I see hate, but I also see and know that people are always capable of great good. We have changed for the better and we will continue to change for the better. Join hands and hold this precious world in faith and hope, knowing that tomorrow always depends on our actions today.

Meandering through the cyberworld

If you watch a dog walking down the street, paying no mind to anything he finds at his feet, suddenly, the dog abruptly turns to the right. With his nose to the wind there is no telling what the dog will land on. The dog is just walking along when, oh new smell, and then continues walking, oh new smell, oh new smell. In fact he may take several more abrupt turns before he stops at a resting place.

My brain operates similarly. While I found it an intriguing way to procrastinate in college, and deepen my knowledge of archaic philosophy, now I find it works to my advantage in the search for jobs in the nonprofit field.

Take for example a recent walk that I took while perusing Idealist for their latest job posts. I saw an intriguing nonprofit name. I followed the link to their homepage, to meander through their work. I found a list of their partners on a PDF image of a recent benefit dinner. So I started to look at one partner's web page. On that web page I found a link stating that they were a member of the emergent village. After finding out what the Emergent Village was, a week later I ended up at an emergent village cohort meeting. At this meeting people discuss issues relating to faith, the church, and society at large. I had a really interesting discussion with the other members and look forward to future discussions. I didn't land a job, but I have found a fulfilling place to discuss topics of concern to me.

Lesson: let your nose guide you through the world, you never know where you will end up. However, if you have a paper due the next day only follow your nose around the block vs. around the world.