Community

I just went out of town for a work conference in New Orleans, LA. The first evening of the conference I listened to a panel of four women who had been completely impacted and changed by the flooding of New Orleans following Hurrican Katrina in 2005. I listened and watched as, nearly five years later, these women recalled the most devastating event of their lives. They took deep breaths, held back tears, cried and sighed. This event will most likely be the defining moment of their lives. But what was most impactful was listening to how they are surviving and their outlook on how to move on.

Community.

If you're reading this, you know the deal about New Orleans in 2005. Hurricane Katrina actually missed New Orleans, but due to the biggest engineering failure in US history, the waters of Lake Pontchartrain broke the levees and flooded most of New Orleans. In the end, over 1500 lives were lost and to date, there are still people missing.

In the wake of the devastation to present day, New Orleanians learned the hard way that the government could not support their efforts or supply their needs. They turned to community. It was the local communities and the strong women in those communities that have worked tirelessly to restore the city they love. The fearless leaders, the people who weren't afraid to face a giant, the neighbor who put themself last in order to help someone else is what is turning New Orleans around.

This concept has left a lasting impression on me. It seems that community all around me is crumbling. With a tanking economy, reduction of staff, people being asked to do more with less, the sense of community is faltering. Think about your communities...all the places you can call a community. Your city/town/county, your work, church, or school. How are you ensuring that you reach out to each person in that community in order to make it a better place?

The biggest impression the panel left with me was that they learned someone else couldn't take care of them...they needed to take care of them. They took responsibility because they cared. Another speaker at the conference, Meg Wheatley said, "Nothing about us, without us, if for us." The community actually needed to be involved in order for them to support the efforts.

So here's what I'm thinking tonight: I belong to several communities (home, work, township, county, city, state, etc). Some of them I care about more than others. I want to cultivate these communities by focusing on what's possible and who care's,  rather than focus on what's wrong. Any fool can point out what's wrong with something or someone. That's actually not brilliance at all.  But a truly caring, visionary person can see and ask, "What's possible?"

Between listening to some dynamic speakers and taking the opportunity to walk the French Quarter in New Orleans, I feel that once again, my experiences have broadened my perspective in such a positive way. So here are a few life lessons I've learned this past weekend:

• Don't take life so seriously. Everyone goes through devastating storms, but you need to take responsibility of what you can do and allow other people in your life help you through that. You also need to help other people through their storms and not pretend you haven't or won't weather a few.
• Focus on the people who care...not the people who don't.
• Laugh and Love! No cliche here. Really, both are needed. You need to truly love people, the very way that Jesus commanded. See past their flesh and reach for their soul and love that person.
• Embrace your life. You only have one shot and allowing other people to bring it down is robbing you of joy. You are in control of your reactions to situations.
• Take care of yourself first so you can take care of others.
• Have God in your life. I'm not Catholic, but being in St. Louis Cathedral was so awesome that I felt God tapping on my shoulder and saying, "Quit running from me, I will lead you to still waters and give you peace."

Thank you New Orleans! I haven't forgotten about you and know that there are still people all over the US rooting for you!

Irrational Fears

I have irrational fears.

My very sure world has crumbled around me, yet I feel the pressure to not cave as well. But it's getting harder.

I've been thinking for some time where did these fears stem from and why do I have them. I need to feel secure, yet nothing around me is secure.

• The country I thought was safe from acts of war was attacked on Sept. 11, 2001. I was scared. What if Cincinnati was attacked? What if D.C. was attacked again while I vacationed there only a month later? What if a crazed perfume lady squirted me with contaminated perfume while passing the counter at the mall (remember those emails?).
• My first real job after college was laying people off for about two weeks straight after Sept. 11, 2001. Was I valuable enough to keep my job? Did I matter? Turns out that my job wasn't affected, but I saw too many people that were hardworking, dedicated people lose their jobs to the suffering travel industry.
• I had a baby. My life changed (for the best), but could I still add value after being gone for three months? Turns out, I didn't care. I left my job to care for my newborn.
• Money was tight. Turns out, I actually needed to work. So, I worked odds and ends jobs to help contribute to the family income.
• Then I worked a whole bunch of different jobs trying to find my calling. Thought I found it a time or two, but turns out, none of them were. Quit again thinking I needed to be home with my baby. Then, my husband was hit on purpose by a drunk driver. Life changed again and nothing was as I thought it would be.
• I found another job working part-time in my profession. Turns out, my boss was the spawn of Godzilla. So, again, my hopes were lost.
• Found another position and started with very little expectations. Turns out, I've been there for over four years...a record for me.
• The economy has tanked...my dad lost his job after 30 years. I lose more faith in my secure world.
• My older brother dies and I'll never make sense of it. Turns out, life is effed up and unfair. Hmmm.

On top of all the above, I've been stabbed in the back by "friends" and co-workers (once even finding a very horrible email written about me to a co-worker's parents...and she even had the nerve to throw me a baby shower), thrown under the bus, and often I just feel kicked around. I'm like the stupid dog that you leer at that licks your face just to make you smile.

So, as I'm trying to figure out why I have irrational fears, I think I need to deal with the other fears and hurts from the past. I have become so untrusting. And I think some of this may be instinct, but also self-defense. I'm in one of those fight-or-flight moments in my life and I have no idea why.

Irrational fears...are they so irrational?

Before I Get Too Old

Things that I want to do before I get too old:

• Travel to Europe...yep...most of it. And, by train. I actually need to do some of this traveling relatively soon because it will serve to support some of the other goals I have before I get too old.
• Lose weight and get in shape. What fun is it to be fit when gravity starts severely working against you anyway?
• Write a book or two. I have several ideas and began writing a few...but not brave enough to do what I know I'm supposed to do. So, I need to get over it and just write it. But it's scary!
• Take life less seriously. I LOVE to cross days off my calendar. I have a bill calendar I do this to. But, as I was crossing some back days off, it made me realize that those days are done and gone and all the stupid shit I was concerned about that day doesn't matter. I need to learn this quick!
• Travel across the country via Route 66 (or what's left of it).
• Maybe get my Masters Degree...I've been thinking of this more and think I finally found the best program.
• Go on vacation by myself. This has nothing to do with not loving my family...but the thrill of traveling somewhere alone and exploring solo sounds fun to me.

Is There Life "out there?"

NERD ALERT:

I am watching National Geographic tonight about Mars. Nothing too different from what we've heard...what if life is on Mars, could there ever be life on Mars, are we alone in this universe?

So, I'll cut to the chase tonight on what I'm thinking:
I LOVE to entertain the idea that we aren't alone, that there is another galaxy where there is life that mirrors us. A place where maybe they didn't mess up. Living beings living together along each other peaceably. Maybe they are younger than life on Earth. Maybe they have some supernatural way of understanding where we went wrong as a human race and are warned to not make the same mistakes.

I love the thought that we aren't the only of our kind in this infinite universe. I am not a god...but if I were, I totally wouldn't just make human life on one planet. I would love to create, create, create. Heck, how many of you love to create farms and towns on Facebook? This brings you joy. Don't you think God would get joy from doing the same things.

Yeah, I don't know where all this is coming from tonight, but I haven't written in awhile and have nothing too deep to offer tonight. But, I would like to hear your thoughts.

Discuss...