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.

Revisiting Memories

Here is a poem I didn't even know existed till today. It mentions me and my changing names the week these high schoolers from Nashua, NH were building with us in Baton Rouge LA. Written by Michelle Cascio with assistance from her class mates I'm sure.

Baton rouge memory poem


Hammers banging, muscles tearing
PDQ and story sharing

Amid the toil, sweat and tears,
We over came our many fears

We made possible home ownerships,
While starting new friendships

Sable t-shirts, bright white sunlight,
Blood-red sunburns, purple bonds tight.

Up onto the house the tresses did go
With a few grunts and a bellowing “HO!”

We started out being quite scared
But all our work showed we really cared

Knowing us people so small can accomplish so much
We were rewarded with the family’s lives that we touched

Mystery lunches but expensive dinners
After just four days we are no longer beginners

Name tags mimicking almost nothing sensible,
All these new memories are indispensable.

The thoughts we thought, the stories we share,
Such good friendships are always rare.

Spilled soda, broken beds and no hot showers
Who would have known it would have been worth the hours

Bruises and burns and lots of sweat
That I’d enjoy it so much, I’d never have bet.

As the sunburns got worse, and all started peeling,
Jose taped a fudge round up on the ceiling.

As we swung the hammer high in the air
Every swing became precious and rare.

As we speak to the friends who sat at home, bored,
We are proud to say that we paid it forward.

The thought of Lockwood with a few fudge rounds
Is almost as funny as Lemay with so many throwdowns

Dormitory smells of moldy towels, stale fritos and sweaty feet
Dormitory shower stalls raining as cold as sleet

Out daily morning journey to Cypress Glen
Working hard with Sally, Cassandra, Kali and Texas men.

Tangela and Eunola we know for a fact
Will long remember this group of “Big Cats with Hard Hats.”

Walmart and catfish and getting lost
Turtles and gators and long plane rides
Raining and knockout and car rides galore
This has been fun and so much more.

I can’t believe the bonds we’ve made
And these memories will never fade.

These tears that run upon my face
Because we have to leave this place

The nights were never silent in the boy’s dorm
We were all so crazy, far from the norm

The mass and clutter was like no other
We did alright without having a mother

We became close and formed a bond so strong
This one will last oh so long.

update: Alex's Lemonade Stand Bake for a Cure

Thank you for your support of my fundraiser for Alex's Lemonade Stand. Through selling my baked goods we raised $240. I would like to continue this effort through the next several months, by offering a select few goods to be sold each month.

February will be Red velvet cake cupcakes or Sweetheart Cinnamon raisin bread.
March will feature Traditional Irish Breads, Soda bread or Honey-wheat oat Bread.

Donations will continue to be freewill. Orders for each month will be delivered the third Sunday of the month, unless requested otherwise. As always, Special orders for dietary requirements or special occasions will always be accepted. Please make your orders by the second Sunday of the month.

Finding energy

An important and often under noticed effect of Job hunting is the incredible amount of both emotional and physical energy it takes. I have found that in the last 2 months my energy has fluctuated an incredible amount from stupendous highs to valley's so low that even the dead sea (The lowest point on the earth) is not low enough.

In conversation with friends we have come up with four necessary practices to maintain a healthy energy level needed to continue your search with a clear mind.

1. Exercise your body. This doesn't mean you need to go out and run a few miles. I simply take a walk for about an hour every day or take some time to do yoga at home. When you are looking for a job funds are almost always tight so the emphasis is on activities that you can easily access at any time of day. If it's raining, grab a rain coat or umbrella and start splashing in the puddles. Or have a dance party in your living room to your favorite tunes.

2. Be Creative. I choose knitting and playing guitar. Some of my friends really enjoy beading, painting, singing, and cooking. The feelings of accomplishment, which wane the longer the job search goes, are necessary for exuding a positive and powerful self at interviews and on cover letters. The outputs coupled with creative activity is incredibly fulfilling, making a sense of accomplishment available every day. This creative activity can be anything from getting a block of clay and continually reshaping it or cooking up your Aunt's recipe for Vegetable soup.

3. Find peace. I chose spiritual practices of writing poetry, songs and singing. I also love meditating, or simply resting in silence(good to combine with my knitting). I like the smile meditation which is to envision your whole body smiling, even your liver. (Mentioned in "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert) You could also find a good book of poetry, or simply a great story, like that of inspirational leaders. (check out your local library, it's free.) My friend is reading about Shamanism, and another about Buddhist practices of prayer. I like the prayers of Thich Nhat Hahn.

4. Friends. Rest in the comfort of friends or family. You don't need to spend money to hang out with your friends. I like watching our favorite T.V. show together, or meandering through the farmers market. Sometimes just a lazy afternoon at the park reading our favorite books, is a great restful day.

Hope still reigns as yet another night comes.

Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: You don't give up.
~Anne Lamott

I often look at my life like a beautiful novel or movie in progression. At this moment in my journey the pages are heavy with hope, that each day something beautiful is a step closer. However each day the simple beauty of just being in the waiting place must be recorded.

There are those that continue to meet in basements and living rooms to work towards the hopeful future. These people are the ones who will always see your smile even as you cannot see it. The people who continue to encourage you to keep marching even though others in the waiting place are erecting new barriers of doubt and remorse.

May we each have a dutiful team that erects images of our victories just as we fall into their arms from yet another doubt filled day.

Can there be such a thing as hopeful doubt? I think that hope would not be as tough if there was not doubt. It is like that moment in Beautiful Mind, where Russell Crowe is being aked if he still sees the phantoms. He says yes, but I simply ignore them. I think that like his phantoms, yes I still see doubt, but I try desperatly to ignore it. Some moments are harder than others, but in the end, Hope will always win.

A New Direction

I think that perhaps I have going about this search in the wrong order. I have been trying to find a job that fulfills my life. I recounted the other day to a friend that I have stopped trying to find a partner who can fulfill my happiness. This concept that one person can make us eternally happy, seemed absurd to me years ago. I found that if I am going to be happy I had to find a source which did not rest in this elusive other being. I needed to find my spirit and the source of my spirit. In writing this I can conclude that I have replaced my job for that romantic partner.

I shake my head because at this moment my own voice is echoing in my mind, that often we learn the same lesson over and over again. Why I don't know, but it seems that I have just learned it.

A transcript of a radio show, helped me find this new lesson again. Here is a moment It is from a Meaningful life Center.

Try this exercise. Take out a piece of paper and try to draw a circle and tell me how perfect that circle is. No matter how talented you are, even if you’re an artist, you’re not going to draw a perfect circle.

Now, to get a perfect circle you need a compass. A compass has a needle and you stick it in the paper, hold it firmly, and then you draw a circle with a pencil around that center. What’s the difference between that circle and the one you drew without a compass? The difference is that one has a center and one does not.

No circle can be complete if you do not have a center. Even with a center, you have to have it firmly established so it doesn’t become jagged and incomplete. If your compass is continually shifting, you will not be able to create that perfect circle.

The center of our lives is not our work. Our work is the circle. The center is your spirit, your purpose, and your vision. The work that you do should extend from your center, not the other way around.

If you don’t have a spiritual center and the center you create around your work shifts—you lose your job or you get older, or you get bored with your work—then your circle can never really be complete because it is being driven by the means rather than by the ends.

So I guess I need to find my compass again.

link to the quote is
http://www.meaningfullife.com/personal/business/Is_there_More_to_Life_than_Your_JobQUESTION.php

Mastering our Passions

The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence but in the mastery of his passions.
~Alfred Lord Tennyson

A 2002 article on the ISOPH Institute website highlighted the growing trend that nonprofit professionals are returning to school to get an MBA. The necessity for such business, "for-profit" skills is increasing in demand, especially given the increasing scrutiny over spending and the decreasing sources of funding. I recently attended an American Humanics Management Institute, where several keynote speakers alluded to, even promoted the idea, that the old idea of nonprofits needing only people of passion was outdated. That passion should be pushed aside for candidates with the business acumen needed to drive the nonprofit world.

My recent experience at an interview highlighted this need for greater business acumen, when a question was asked about my ability to obtain funding. The question startled me, especially since nowhere on the job description was this skill mentioned. Perhaps it really startled me since I do not posses that skill. Since that meeting, I have noted that many job advertisements, regardless of the postions' title, request experience in development.

This experience combined with the idea that my passion, which has provided me energy and drive for further understanding of social injustice, is outdated frightens me.

The idea that nonprofits need to compete in a growing nonprofit market, where the number of nonprofits is increasing faster than the funding sources, is not in question. The questions are whether nonprofits should become more business like in order to compete and what for profits models will ask us to sacrifice? In the conclusion of the article on ISOPH the question is asked of whether nonprofits are better off becoming more like "for-profits" or whether they should look more deeply into the concept of what a nonprofit is. By looking more deeply and reevaluating what their mission truly is, a nonprofit may find that the creation of new paradigms for business can be created. They will find that their passion for service can be mastered.

My fear is that if passion is replaced by the perceived necessity to mimic the "for-profit" model, what will the new bottom line for nonprofits be if not to create a better world?


Link to ISOPH article
http://www.isophinstitute.com/sophist_no2_mbas.aspx

A Day On: Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase.
~Martin Luther King Jr.

Today I worked with other Hands On volunteers in Sacramento to celebrate and honor the life of Martin Luther King Jr. What did you do to honor his life?

The above quote will start a new chapter in the life of this search for a meaningful job. Seeing possibilities and the everyday struggle to keep yourself on the path.

Generosity

It seems that the holiday spirit visited me early since I have been baking up a storm. Orders for the Bake for a Cure tripled in this last week. People preparing for the festivities next week. $140 raised thus far. So for this week and Christmas I would like to acknowledge the generosity I have seen not only today but all through the year. Give thanks that people are truly creative and good.
Merry Christmas.

What is a meaningful job?

Well, my goodness, "what is the meaning of life?" you ask. "What is the meaning of "meaning" in your question? And whose life? A worms?
John Updikel

So I have been pondering what exactly do I mean by a meaningful job and how do I expect to find it. So I have two questions or thought streams about this concept.

First, since I am a word nerd, defining what meaningful is, has proven to be a philosophical and perhaps a psychological conundrum.

I ran across a Philosophy paper entitled "The concept of a Meaningful life," by Thaddeus Metz, on just what is the meaning of "meaning." The essay poses some very interesting questions. First it says that, like the quote above, defining what a meaningful life is, is much too vague a concept, which I agree with.

So now we ask is meaning solely derived from a desire to fill some spiritual or humanistic duty on earth. For myself, is it to assist humanity in its progress towards a more peaceful, wholesome existence?


I would say yes. But I believe that, as I stated in another blog, to make a more peaceful world at every level you must and can start at any level. By that I mean that peace does not limit itself to the cessation of armed combat. Some of our most violent confrontations take the form of verbal arguments. Not to mention the economic violence that certain powers assert over weaker groups or individuals.

Therefore I am confronted by my own argument. What is it that this meaningful job that I am looking for, since all jobs have meaning if striving towards a more peaceful society, contains?

Latter in the essay the author questions if meaning is associated with a certain level of happiness. Latter they dispute this since consuming ice cream makes me happy but I do not find meaning in eating it. Or at least I don't anymore ;).

all this questioning leads me back to what I hear at so many job seminars mainly, that your value should not be tied up in your career achievements. I see and hear about so many people who claim to be unhappy in their jobs or seem to have no feelings whatsoever about their job. They simply care that it gives them what they need to achieve the lifestyle they desire. This makes me feel that perhaps I am alone in my drive to find a job that makes me happy and also fulfills my desire to contribute to our progress towards peace. However, I know that I am not alone in my desire to find a meaningful job.

So my second question is, Is our desire to find a meaning in our employment new? This question is harder to answer and I could not find reference to it. I read about people throughout history and society who did amazing things in their lifetimes. But have we, in retrospect given their life meaning? Did they feel like they were fulfilling some cosmic role?

I hope that in the near future I can interview people who have attained the status of a meaningful life in our society. I would like to ask them if they knew or even felt that they were fulfilling their calling? Did they know it was their calling from the beginning or did it become apparent at the end.

Any thoughts on the idea?

Still searching

Searching through the blog archives I came across this blog. It seems that Andrei Yashurin A Russian blogger has been writing articles on truth. I stumbled upon his writings because he recently wrote an entry on a meaningful life. He speaks generously about the universe and the spirit which guides us. He says:

Peace doesn’t always come to us when we seek it for its own sake. Peace is a by-product of living a meaningful life. It is a natural state for those who realize their place in the universal scheme of things, and build their lives upon this realization.

The sense of meaning gives us an exalted vision. We begin to see ourselves and all the things which concerns our life from the universal perspective. What is the result? Small things which could trouble us before, lose their importance to us. We treat them as temporary setbacks and valuable lessons to learn from, rather than inherently tragic events. Knowing that all that happens contribute to our ultimate success, we don’t worry.

Meaningful life doesn’t depend on place which we hold in life. It is the attitude which inspires us to be our best, no matter what is our place. Even if it seems that there is nothing great about who we are and what we do, we live with a deep conviction that we are needed and important. We see ourselves not as victims of circumstances, but as responsible creators of our life. While being the best at where we are, we stay open to another stage of our personal unfoldment which will be revealed to us at due time.

To read the full entry please visit http://unityway.net/blog/?p=80

Dressing for the Job

There's an old saying that we should dress for the job that we want. How many articles have I read that instructs us to wear our way up in the world?

(Strangely do you think that is what most of the world is doing with our never ceasing drive of consumption. But I digress.)

So my friend and I were discussing what our resumes say about us. Here was her question "what do we do when the standard format for a resume does not pay justice to the work that we have done?" For example both her and I have had a substantial number of Administrative jobs at varying levels. WE took these jobs because at one time we were both under the impression that ANY job in the organization/field you want is a good one. Now we are both realizing that this may not be entirely true. Do we really think that the secretary is given the chance to lead or manage a project? Yes, but so rarely.

So we both took the same root, seeking leadership opportunities in the volunteer fields. Both learning and refining our management ability.

Now back to the resume, both of us now have substantial volunteer experience however, some employers don't even look at the volunteer experience. Some only care what you do when you are getting paid, as if this determines our character. Our problem is that resumes are geared towards the "standard" tract. School, work, more work and all with increasing responsibilities. But for many of us our desire to volunteer more substantially has interrupted our work seniority, taking us around the country and around the world.

My question is how do we dress our resume for our perspective jobs? How do we show that our drive for a cause has lead us up ever increasing responsibilities and ever deepening commitment?

You might ask why we don't work for the organizations we volunteered with. Well, for the most part they are small nonprofits, barely able to pay their current employees and both of us do have substantial debt from school and living.

Baking for a Cure: Day Five

Well I have officially sold one batch of amazing Chocolate chip cookies and one Blueberry pie. I also set up an online giving forum through face book. The process of simply starting this took a little more time than I thought. I guess you never really do know how to do something until you've completed it.

This reminds of a comment made by a potential employer. After I described my process of getting a volunteer program started, she asked, "Are you just making this up as you go?" I am still confused as to why she seemed so astonished about my desire to create something and follow through without a so called degree or training. I think most people even the ones that do have training end up making up most of it along the way. So why is this so astonishing?

My current process of creating the Bake for a Cure fundraiser has taken me from an "aha" moment to a "wow I never thought that it would take this much planning" moment, but I got there. I got there by talking and listening to people I trusted, by remembering the successful events of the past. However, it was my "aha" moment that drove me to create the process, without really knowing how it would turn out. In fact, I still don't know how it will turn out, but that's what I love. The moment you get to sit back and observe the most amazing creation, that you helped create but by no means were alone in making.

I think that's what really drives me. I have the passion to create in collaboration with a community something which, will in turn create more than I could ever imagine, or perhaps even see. I think that this is how you stumble upon your meaningful life. I am just walking along, I have an "aha" moment, then we create. We create something as simple as cookies to as complex as social movements. Think about the the amazing creators of our past hundred years or even today. Gandhi, Gaffar Khan, King, the musicians, chefs, teachers and even dare I say, us blogger's. Creating a little more beauty in the world, connecting people and feeding people.

Baking for a Cure: Day Two

So I have decided on a foundation, its called Alex's Lemonade Stand. It was started by Alex, a little girl fighting cancer. She decided to raise money for her doctors to research pediatric cancers through a simple cup of lemonade. To date her foundation has raised 16 million dollars and more importantly has caught the imagination and involvement of thousands of people from children to grown-up kids. I think this is a perfect fit for the simple fundraising I envision. Alex died peacefully at age 8, lets help doctors find a cure for pediatric cancers.

Plan:
compile a list of bakeable goods.
Compile a list of possible clients(or as I like to think of them fellow Meaningful life searchers.)
Find a tribe: a group of people willing to either support me through kind words(thanks Vickie), love and hard work(making all those cookies)
Breath and love

My Aunt sent me a link to her plan to create a Mediation practice. In it she speaks about her five point business plan that includes
1) Be conscious;
2) Be teachable;
3) Be of service;
4) Always say “yes” to a mediation request; and,
5) Be the exception to the rule.

Read more about how she explains each of these at her blog.
http://www.negotiationlawblog.com/2007/02/articles/mediation/how-to-start-a-mediation-practice/

Alex's Lemonade Stand Site:
http://www.alexslemonade.org/index.php

Baking for a Cure

After a depressing few days in San Francisco I encountered something that I have found to be true many times in my short life. Job hunting is perhaps one of the most self deprecating activities one can do. Speaking with a friend who has similar qualifications to me we questioned that if, highly educated, generally optimistic, and driven women can find it depressing to search for a job what does everyone else feel? When I apply for a job that, on paper, I have all the qualifications for and still do not receive it, what does that mean? Should I, in fact listen to some and apply for Starbucks and Whole foods? Or should I trudge on, sleeping on couches and at my parents waiting for the golden ticket to appear.

Well on my three hour drive home, I was trying to think of activities I could engage in to pep myself up, when I thought, "I love cooking. I should make cookies." Thankfully, in that same moment I knew that eating them would not making me happy. So I decided to start thinking of people I could make them for. First I thought of the Senior home down the street, second the Juvenile hall kids, third...Third I thought of a fundraiser my friend Olivia does. She makes cookies to raise money for a Children's Caner Research foundation.

So that's what I am embarking on momentarily. I am going to Bake for a Cure. I am going to bake Holiday goods on order for holiday parties. Breads, Cakes, pies, cookies. All for the betterment of the holiday party and for the children who deserve to be well for Christmas. I always love having home baked goods at parties but so many people have little time, or cooking self esteem to make those wonderful gingerbread cookies, Challah, or Pecan pie. I love making them and have lots of time.

So spread the word my new meaningful job is to help make the holiday's a little brighter through what I know best, cooking.

So it's been a week

So its been a week since my last update. I don't know if I have a great track record in keeping these things up but here we go. I am going to try and write even just short, perhaps uninspiring updates each day...

Now What

I was raised with the idea that I could do anything I set my mind to. In school, teachers and guidance counselors always emphasised college tracks. That for every career there is a recognized track that WILL lead you to that career. The thing with me is that while I knew I wanted to go to college and I knew that I wanted to be wildly successful I of course had no clear idea of what exactly that meant.

Well I should take that back, there were the dreams of being a Doctor, architect, small business owner, etc. All careers with very clear tracks. However, very few guidance counselors guide people into nonprofit careers, into Youth workers, mentors, community developers. So while I bounced back and forth between the "predictable" I chose to learn about the world. Starting with a fortuitous trip to Israel/Palestine when I decided to find out why people are so driven by religion and why people are pulled into conflict.

So...after a BA and an MA, I know that conflict is fueled by so many things within a community. The biggest indicator of a coming and acting conflict is a community breaking down into sects, of social strains showing themselves by a breakdown in services, rights and laws. This is when I decided to work in Community development.

This concept of Community development is so vague though. How on earth do I begin to chose what to work on?

I guess part of my inability to chose is attached to my inability to realize that there will be no wrong choice. "That" as my aunt put it, "I'm not choosing my lifelong career."
Now that I read what I wrote, my life long career has been chosen,and that is To help people remember what it means to live in a positive fulfilling community. To guide through my practice and to listen and learn from all the great teachers around me.

So then, I guess, I am just looking for my next gig...