Tuesday, September 23, 2014
LET'S TALK ABOUT . . .
"PREEMPTIVE INTERVENTIONS"
Last night the United States launched preemptive airstrikes against ISIS in Syria. The world is reeling with conflict; daily we hear about wars and rumors of wars around the world. There will be much controversy around the coalition's strikes last night. There are always questions regarding whether or not any chosen solution is in fact the best way to try to stop, hold in check or settle a volatile situation.
Interventions are considered, debated and employed every day in a variety of situations. Parents, families, schools, businesses, mental health programs and agencies, legal and judicial systems, societies around the world, religious organizations, health organizations and those worldwide entities like the UN or World Health Organization are engaged in interventions every day. The objective is to intervene in order to actualize some desired outcome.
One of the principles behind such attempts is like that of chaos theory: if you interject just the right amount of chaos into an already chaotic situation it may calm the entire system down. We see this illustrated in chemical interactions, in physics and nuclear science, when the fire department sets a back fire to stop a progressing fire and we see it in various therapies in physical, emotional and mental wellness.
Interventions may be good. They may not be good. They may be questionable. They may appear good in the immediate but fail to produce that same good in the big picture or in the long run. They are highly debated, even controversial. What can we say for certain? They are attempts to stop, hold in check or limit some undesired pattern or outcome.
Not all interventions find their origin in the efforts of mankind. Nature often produces interventions in both adaptive and maladaptive forms. Why? I think sometimes the natural realm is trying to re-establish some kind of stasis within itself and its systems when they are thrown out of balance; a constructive attempt to reconstruct a workable, balanced system. On the other extreme, we see viruses mutating in order to survive the onslaught of chemicals that would annihilate their existence; which can often produce an even more destructive or deadly virus than the original one.
In the whole realm of innovation and technology we are constantly trying to correct actual or anticipated problems by creating what we hope will be creative and beneficial solutions. This is one of the goals of research in various fields of endeavor. There will always be those who pervert any attempted good produced through research and development.
Our legal and judicial systems work hard every day to intervene in the best ways described and prescribed by law to stop, check, intervene in situations and attempt solutions that will bring some kind order in society. Again, we all know that it will never be perfect and there will always be those who work and pervert any system mankind attempts.
Is there any way we can know for sure that intervention is a good philosophy over against natural processes just simply playing out, like survival of the fittest in nature? As a philosophy of problem solving, restoration, reclamation or redemption, I believe it has veracity. In other words, as a corrective or positive, proactive, constructive attempt at solutions, I believe it has merit. I believe such an approach is as old as time itself.
From the beginning of time intervention was swift, immediate, meant for good and to give hope to those who recognize the deeper predicament of humankind. It is sure! Do you see it? Do you know its out-workings in your own life and situations confronting you every day? What do you believe?
Until next time . . . this is, Just Janice!
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
LET'S TALK ABOUT . . .
"LIVING IT FORWARD IN HOPE"
So many are talking about how to view and move into the future with a deeply held sense of hope. This is especially true of today's youth. They are unsure about the world and the future they are inheriting from previous generations. This uncertainty generates anxiety, hopelessness, shifts in ideology and philosophies about how to pragmatically live out their day to day lives.
They perceive the world is out of control on so many levels. Civilly, nations are facing huge issues in terms of dealing with the sociological fallout of social media, medical and mental health, the abuse of power and aggression, shifting financial trends and market projections, immigration issues, shifting class structures. An example, medically, is the Ebola crisis in Africa.
On the world stage, we are dealing with nations and populations in crisis due to famine, at war over resources and living under the threat of usurped national boundaries. The rise of terrorism with all its various expressions around the world, especially ISIS, are unnerving. Narcissism has given way to anarchy in some situations and sectors of the world as a political philosophy rather than a recognized pathology.
Climate change with all the natural disasters of the past year: heat waves and droughts, floods, volcanos, earthquakes, water spouts and tornados, hurricanes, landslides and mudslides, huge sink holes are popping up, or maybe I should say "bottoming out" all over. Secondarily to all of this, are the crop failures, the shrinking lakes and reservoirs where drought has occurred, the swelling lakes and rivers where unprecedented rainfall has been experienced. As well, there are dead fish washing on shore, dead birds falling from the sky, the absence of bees, and the increased number of locusts and grasshoppers in other parts of the world.
There is so much going on! We have immediate access to any or all of it through social media. It begs some kind of a response. How do we responsibly live out our lives as world citizens. Many are choosing to not even "be in the know." It is too stressful. Others feel like they have to know in order to be prepared if any of it comes knocking on their door. Still others throw up their hands, shake their heads and walk away, feeling impotent to effect any change. What can we do? Can we do anything to make a difference in our worlds on a day to day basis?
I think we need to be "realistically hopeful." Sound like an oxymoron? It's not! So many think hope is like wishful thinking, "I hope that happens." There are more than one kind of hope. There are existential hopes that no one can take away from you if you are grounded in them.
In my last blog I distinguished between a temporary, "pay it forward" deed of kindness and a "play it forward" commitment based on living out one's ruling passion. I wonder what difference it would make in our worlds this week if we participated in living it forward by telling at least one other person the reason for our hope, temporary or existential.
Until next time . . . this is, Just Janice!
"LIVING IT FORWARD IN HOPE"
So many are talking about how to view and move into the future with a deeply held sense of hope. This is especially true of today's youth. They are unsure about the world and the future they are inheriting from previous generations. This uncertainty generates anxiety, hopelessness, shifts in ideology and philosophies about how to pragmatically live out their day to day lives.
They perceive the world is out of control on so many levels. Civilly, nations are facing huge issues in terms of dealing with the sociological fallout of social media, medical and mental health, the abuse of power and aggression, shifting financial trends and market projections, immigration issues, shifting class structures. An example, medically, is the Ebola crisis in Africa.
On the world stage, we are dealing with nations and populations in crisis due to famine, at war over resources and living under the threat of usurped national boundaries. The rise of terrorism with all its various expressions around the world, especially ISIS, are unnerving. Narcissism has given way to anarchy in some situations and sectors of the world as a political philosophy rather than a recognized pathology.
Climate change with all the natural disasters of the past year: heat waves and droughts, floods, volcanos, earthquakes, water spouts and tornados, hurricanes, landslides and mudslides, huge sink holes are popping up, or maybe I should say "bottoming out" all over. Secondarily to all of this, are the crop failures, the shrinking lakes and reservoirs where drought has occurred, the swelling lakes and rivers where unprecedented rainfall has been experienced. As well, there are dead fish washing on shore, dead birds falling from the sky, the absence of bees, and the increased number of locusts and grasshoppers in other parts of the world.
There is so much going on! We have immediate access to any or all of it through social media. It begs some kind of a response. How do we responsibly live out our lives as world citizens. Many are choosing to not even "be in the know." It is too stressful. Others feel like they have to know in order to be prepared if any of it comes knocking on their door. Still others throw up their hands, shake their heads and walk away, feeling impotent to effect any change. What can we do? Can we do anything to make a difference in our worlds on a day to day basis?
I think we need to be "realistically hopeful." Sound like an oxymoron? It's not! So many think hope is like wishful thinking, "I hope that happens." There are more than one kind of hope. There are existential hopes that no one can take away from you if you are grounded in them.
In my last blog I distinguished between a temporary, "pay it forward" deed of kindness and a "play it forward" commitment based on living out one's ruling passion. I wonder what difference it would make in our worlds this week if we participated in living it forward by telling at least one other person the reason for our hope, temporary or existential.
Until next time . . . this is, Just Janice!
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
LET'S TALK ABOUT . . .
"PLAYING IT FORWARD CHALLENGE"
We often hear stories about someone paying for someone else's coffee or donut going through a drive-in window and starting a short-term trend. In some cities it has caught on like a competition to see where they can log the most consecutive deeds of paying it forward. I smile when I hear about such a break out of goodness and am always curious about how long any one endeavor can last before someone breaks the chain.
Everyone knows such events are temporary and will only last a short time; and yet, we long for their reassurance that kindness is still alive and well out there. I watch as others listen with anticipation regarding how long such a run of goodness will last. I listen to the sighs when it is announced that it has come to an end for another day.
When I was a young teen I heard a woman teach about the potential of a life dedicated to doing good, no matter the cost and without compromise. So what would happen if we decided to not just pay it forward but "play it forward?" We need a tee-shirt that says on the front, "Don't just pay it forward . . ." and on the back, "play it forward!"
I would love to challenge the youth of today to "play it forward." They are inheriting a world and a future fraught with multiple challenges on multiple levels. How will they "play it?" We need young people who are energized by ideologies committed to impacting the world for good. They are not always going to agree on what that is or what it looks like. If everyone just gives up and resigns themselves to indifference and impotence we are in real trouble. Why?
Have you ever noticed you do not have to nurture weeds? They survive all by themselves. Have you ever noticed you do not have to teach a child to be selfish? We teach them to share. Perhaps goodness, like sharing, is something we have to consciously, intentionally nurture in ourselves and in this world in every generation. We can't do everything but we can do something!
One of the greatest fears I hear about committing to doing good, even if only in one's own corner of the world, is that "nice guys finish last." Is life a competition? While it is true that there will always be people who take advantage of other's goodness for their own selfish ends, that does not predicate that the value of such an act is determined by what other's do as a result of the act itself.
One of the other deterrents I hear is, "I'll do it if you do!" We shoulder check when it comes to the responsibility of doing something we either do not want to do or where we fear we may be the only one required to do whatever it is while others do not have to. Sometimes this is about doing something that goes against the natural grain in ourselves. We can come up with a hundred reasons or excuses not to do something.
If we really want to live feeling good about living in such a manner then we need to figure out how to align our inner and outer worlds. That is where so much of the conflict arises. In other words, can we do a good deed for a genuinely good reason? Can we participate in the "right" we embrace for a "right" reason? Can we authentically speak truth? Can we bring that kind of congruence and integrity to the way we choose to live out our lives?
When we look inside of ourselves we may be able to pull it off to certain degree or for a certain period of time and then we all bump into the fact that we are all limited, finite human beings. So then what? Is it possible to look outside ourselves for either the ideology or strength to somehow rise above such limitations? I would suggest it is! Look at the historic examples, like Mother Theresa.
The "ice bucket" challenge requires little of us for a brief period of time and yet it is for a good cause and capable of contributing toward a much greater good. What if we seriously considered starting a pay it forward challenge somewhere in our lives this fall? What if we decided to really think about our lives and what it is that is our ruling passion and to commit ourselves to that for a season, or a lifetime? What if we took the "play it forward" challenge?
Until next time . . . this is, Just Janice!
"PLAYING IT FORWARD CHALLENGE"
We often hear stories about someone paying for someone else's coffee or donut going through a drive-in window and starting a short-term trend. In some cities it has caught on like a competition to see where they can log the most consecutive deeds of paying it forward. I smile when I hear about such a break out of goodness and am always curious about how long any one endeavor can last before someone breaks the chain.
Everyone knows such events are temporary and will only last a short time; and yet, we long for their reassurance that kindness is still alive and well out there. I watch as others listen with anticipation regarding how long such a run of goodness will last. I listen to the sighs when it is announced that it has come to an end for another day.
When I was a young teen I heard a woman teach about the potential of a life dedicated to doing good, no matter the cost and without compromise. So what would happen if we decided to not just pay it forward but "play it forward?" We need a tee-shirt that says on the front, "Don't just pay it forward . . ." and on the back, "play it forward!"
I would love to challenge the youth of today to "play it forward." They are inheriting a world and a future fraught with multiple challenges on multiple levels. How will they "play it?" We need young people who are energized by ideologies committed to impacting the world for good. They are not always going to agree on what that is or what it looks like. If everyone just gives up and resigns themselves to indifference and impotence we are in real trouble. Why?
Have you ever noticed you do not have to nurture weeds? They survive all by themselves. Have you ever noticed you do not have to teach a child to be selfish? We teach them to share. Perhaps goodness, like sharing, is something we have to consciously, intentionally nurture in ourselves and in this world in every generation. We can't do everything but we can do something!
One of the greatest fears I hear about committing to doing good, even if only in one's own corner of the world, is that "nice guys finish last." Is life a competition? While it is true that there will always be people who take advantage of other's goodness for their own selfish ends, that does not predicate that the value of such an act is determined by what other's do as a result of the act itself.
One of the other deterrents I hear is, "I'll do it if you do!" We shoulder check when it comes to the responsibility of doing something we either do not want to do or where we fear we may be the only one required to do whatever it is while others do not have to. Sometimes this is about doing something that goes against the natural grain in ourselves. We can come up with a hundred reasons or excuses not to do something.
If we really want to live feeling good about living in such a manner then we need to figure out how to align our inner and outer worlds. That is where so much of the conflict arises. In other words, can we do a good deed for a genuinely good reason? Can we participate in the "right" we embrace for a "right" reason? Can we authentically speak truth? Can we bring that kind of congruence and integrity to the way we choose to live out our lives?
When we look inside of ourselves we may be able to pull it off to certain degree or for a certain period of time and then we all bump into the fact that we are all limited, finite human beings. So then what? Is it possible to look outside ourselves for either the ideology or strength to somehow rise above such limitations? I would suggest it is! Look at the historic examples, like Mother Theresa.
The "ice bucket" challenge requires little of us for a brief period of time and yet it is for a good cause and capable of contributing toward a much greater good. What if we seriously considered starting a pay it forward challenge somewhere in our lives this fall? What if we decided to really think about our lives and what it is that is our ruling passion and to commit ourselves to that for a season, or a lifetime? What if we took the "play it forward" challenge?
Until next time . . . this is, Just Janice!
Thursday, September 4, 2014
LET'S TALK ABOUT . . .
"APPLES ANYONE ?"
Fall is upon us. Schools are opening their doors to students. Parents are franticly making sure their children have whatever school supplies or funds they need to enter into another year. It is often a challenge for families to find the finances to supply all their children with whatever they need. Kudos to organizations that help by running campaigns to collect or supply what cannot be easily purchased by many families.
I loved school. I loved shopping for school supplies. I still find it hard to resist walking through that section in a store and not wanting to reach out and just run my hands over the notebook paper, binders, etc. I realized recently that it is an act of appreciation and hope on my part. Education can play a life-shaping role in our lives. For many it is a pathway to a different kind of life or to a life that would be out of reach without it. Education can provide a kind of hope for the future.
Teachers are a kind of resource in their students' lives. Everyday students access the resources provided by their teachers in order to learn, grow and define themselves. Many of these teachers are so much more than just teachers. They are advocates, protectors, counsellors, mentors, role models, mediators, "anchors," even "stepping stones" in the lives of their students. We all know this is not always the case. Teachers can also have a negative impact on the life of the student for a lifetime. If you stay on an educational track long enough you will probably have a story on each side of the continuum, both positive and negative. This fall let's focus on the positive wherever possible.
Can you think of a teacher who made a real positive difference in your life? How? Do you think they ever knew the difference they made? Did you ever have the opportunity to acknowledge that difference and thank them? I wish I had: so this blog is dedicated to Mrs. Staniford!
Mrs. Staniford was my fifth grade teacher. She was quite a proper lady. When I think back over it now, she was one of the first strongly boundaried women I ever spent much time around. Shortly after entering her class in the fall she asked me to stay in for a talk over one of our daily recesses. I had no idea why. I just hoped I was not in any kind of trouble. I could not imagine what she wanted. I was taken aback by what was about the follow in that encounter.
She explained to me how busy she was and wondered if I would have any interest in staying in for one of the shorter recesses of the day and helping her with tasks like cleaning the chalkboard erasers, running errands to the office, photocopying, etc. If I were willing to help her she was willing to purchase a hot meal ticket ($1.50/week) for me and slip it into the stack she received from the cafeteria every Monday morning. She assured me that none of the students would ever know.
As I would help her I realize now that she was acting in the capacity of a casual mentor. She was that stepping stone person in my life that encouraged me to work hard and get an education. She told me that education was the pathway I needed to pursue toward the future I wanted. I readily accepted the job, the meal ticket and the advice. She invested in me and was instrumental in helping me chart the course for the next season of my life.
I do not believe my experiences with Mrs. Staniford were or are unique. Every day teachers invest in their students and change lives. They are often out there in the trenches fighting battles and standing in the "gaps" no one may ever know or acknowledge. This year if we get a chance perhaps we can find a way to acknowledge and thank those that faithfully invest in our children. Perhaps you still have the opportunity to thank some teacher who was instrumental in your life in a positive way in your own past. This year as you pack those backpacks and lunches, don't forget the "apple for the teacher."
Until next time . . . this is, Just Janice!
"APPLES ANYONE ?"
Fall is upon us. Schools are opening their doors to students. Parents are franticly making sure their children have whatever school supplies or funds they need to enter into another year. It is often a challenge for families to find the finances to supply all their children with whatever they need. Kudos to organizations that help by running campaigns to collect or supply what cannot be easily purchased by many families.
I loved school. I loved shopping for school supplies. I still find it hard to resist walking through that section in a store and not wanting to reach out and just run my hands over the notebook paper, binders, etc. I realized recently that it is an act of appreciation and hope on my part. Education can play a life-shaping role in our lives. For many it is a pathway to a different kind of life or to a life that would be out of reach without it. Education can provide a kind of hope for the future.
Teachers are a kind of resource in their students' lives. Everyday students access the resources provided by their teachers in order to learn, grow and define themselves. Many of these teachers are so much more than just teachers. They are advocates, protectors, counsellors, mentors, role models, mediators, "anchors," even "stepping stones" in the lives of their students. We all know this is not always the case. Teachers can also have a negative impact on the life of the student for a lifetime. If you stay on an educational track long enough you will probably have a story on each side of the continuum, both positive and negative. This fall let's focus on the positive wherever possible.
Can you think of a teacher who made a real positive difference in your life? How? Do you think they ever knew the difference they made? Did you ever have the opportunity to acknowledge that difference and thank them? I wish I had: so this blog is dedicated to Mrs. Staniford!
Mrs. Staniford was my fifth grade teacher. She was quite a proper lady. When I think back over it now, she was one of the first strongly boundaried women I ever spent much time around. Shortly after entering her class in the fall she asked me to stay in for a talk over one of our daily recesses. I had no idea why. I just hoped I was not in any kind of trouble. I could not imagine what she wanted. I was taken aback by what was about the follow in that encounter.
She explained to me how busy she was and wondered if I would have any interest in staying in for one of the shorter recesses of the day and helping her with tasks like cleaning the chalkboard erasers, running errands to the office, photocopying, etc. If I were willing to help her she was willing to purchase a hot meal ticket ($1.50/week) for me and slip it into the stack she received from the cafeteria every Monday morning. She assured me that none of the students would ever know.
As I would help her I realize now that she was acting in the capacity of a casual mentor. She was that stepping stone person in my life that encouraged me to work hard and get an education. She told me that education was the pathway I needed to pursue toward the future I wanted. I readily accepted the job, the meal ticket and the advice. She invested in me and was instrumental in helping me chart the course for the next season of my life.
I do not believe my experiences with Mrs. Staniford were or are unique. Every day teachers invest in their students and change lives. They are often out there in the trenches fighting battles and standing in the "gaps" no one may ever know or acknowledge. This year if we get a chance perhaps we can find a way to acknowledge and thank those that faithfully invest in our children. Perhaps you still have the opportunity to thank some teacher who was instrumental in your life in a positive way in your own past. This year as you pack those backpacks and lunches, don't forget the "apple for the teacher."
Until next time . . . this is, Just Janice!
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