The great owners, striking at the immediate thing, the widening government, the growing labor unity; striking at new taxes, at plans; not knowing these things are results, not causes. Results, not causes; results, not causes. The causes lie deep and simple—the causes are a hunger in a stomach, multiplied a million times; a hunger in … Continue reading Turning I into We: Great Suffering Leads to Great Change
There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about. ~Margaret Wheatley Up until a few months ago, my mother would snort when I said that 2020 was going down as the most charged year in history. You weren't around for 1968, she'd say out of the side of her … Continue reading Lessons Learned through Our Unique, Collective Pain
One can choose to go back toward safety, or forward toward growth. Growth much be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again. ~Abraham Maslow I was talking to a friend the other day on the phone, catching up a bit while I weeded one of my garden beds. "I forget things … Continue reading Choosing Forward Motion
When I found I had crossed that line, I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person. There was such a glory over everything; the sun came like gold through trees, and over the fields, and I felt like I was in Heaven. ~Harriet Tubman She stood at just five feet, two … Continue reading There’s Power in Everyone. There’s Power in You.
Rainbows introduce us to reflections of different beautiful possibilities, so we never forget that pain and grief are not the final options in life. ~Abherjhani Yesterday morning I nearly spit out my coffee. There, right before me, splashed across the full header of a national newspsper was the headline. The Supreme Court had decided: LGBTQ+ … Continue reading A Welcome Rainbow
Note from Michele: This week we have a guest post from Kate Tanner, who recently graduated from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. I think you'll find her perspective on our world right now enlightening - and inspiring. Thank you to Kate for sharing your story: Two presidential elections bookend the bulk of my teenage … Continue reading Raised on Change
So the bottom line is this: if we want to bring about real change, then the choice isn’t between protest and politics. We have to do both. We have to mobilize to raise awareness, and we have to organize and cast our ballots to make sure that we elect candidates who will act on reform. ~Barack Obama America is … Continue reading No peace.
It was Memorial Day 2009, and President Barack Obama spoke: “If the fallen could speak to us, what would they say? Would they console us? Perhaps they might say that while they could not know they’d be called upon to storm a beach through a hail of gunfire, they were willing to give up everything … Continue reading The best of us. The worst of us.
It is hardly possible to build anything if frustration, bitterness, and a mood of helplessness prevail. ~Lech Walesa Learned Helplessness: noun. A condition in which a person suffers from a sense of powerlessness, arising from a traumatic event or persistent failure to succeed. It is thought to be one of the underlying causes of depression. … Continue reading (Un)Learning to Quit
Don't just count your years. Make your years count. ~George Meredith Tomorrow is my son's birthday. He'll be eight. That means that eight years ago I was terribly uncomfortable, wondering when everything was going to change (the uncertainty was the worst). Now, eight years later, I am again terribly uncomfortable, wondering when everything is going … Continue reading The gift of a day
