Legacies

MINERVAS!

2010-02-04T10:46:00.001-05:00

So many things happening... www.minervas.org that is growing and expanding, now has it's own Facebook group http://www.facebook.com/pages/MINERVAS-Women-Changing-the-World/275355798698

Become a friend, and share it with others!

Nice people dying

2009-08-29T06:50:00.003-05:00

The past few days were filled with coverage of the funeral of Ted Kennedy and people sharing memories about him. What a wonderful person he was. As I listened to the huge array of areas in which he made a difference, in small and in big ways, I joined the multitude of people who hadn't met him personally yet felt sad about his passing.

But then I thought - Passing. Going through a place and continuing. What an interesting word. Actually, it's not when the person disappears that he passes. Rather we need to think of the life as passing. Now - what mark are we making as we pass through this life, this planet? It's not a surprise when the ride is over, to say oh!? he passed!!?!

He was passing his whole life....

Another thought I had was the heritage. Some journalists talked about the end of an era, the Kennedy era. I thought - now that Ted is gone, what do WE all need to do? individually, collectively? Like in a tribe, when the shaman dies, is this the end of the wisdom and healing? It isn't. Others pick up on what they had the chance to learn.

It made me think that it may even good that an exceptional person dies, so that the responsibility of starting to do what the other was doing can expand onto others. Otherwise it's like one person doing the dishes, no need for others to do it.

Memorials of what

2009-05-26T06:42:00.002-05:00

Being a stranger in a culture provides interesting opportunities to look at things from a perspective that is not bound to that culture. Because the culture we are born into is like having a painting hanging on a wall since we came to the world, we don't see it any more.

So I was reflecting these days about the meaning of a memorial day. Besides shopping frenzies at malls-in-sale-mood and bbq's, what are we celebrating? The deaths of soldiers and officers? The causes for which they lost their lives? Ok, I can hear an answer. It's not a celebration, it's honoring them. Since they gave the ultimate gift - their life, it's the least we can do. To have bbq's and shop for sales, put flowers at commemorative plaques and monuments, may be a few speeches, and start thinking of it way ahead, looking forward it when making travel plans for the Memorial Weekend.

So is it may be a capitalistic stimulus action, to promote spending? Because it seems odd to me to celebrate war and armed, planned violence against each other. It seems to me old fashioned, to resolve disputes with explosions and killing. It doesn't sound smart, intelligent, a great example to live by, an inspiration of the heights of human mind and talent. It doesn't seem to be a symbol of values to guide our life: go kill or get killed. It doesn't speak well of human race, pretty backwards if I may say so, since in Nature there is no war, only eating each other for strict survival, with zero animosity. Now I yet have to find the war that was fought for survival. I mean, not ego survival, not to restore damaged narcissism, not to defend the national identity whatever that is, not to retaliate aggression, not to prove what we are able to, not to defend our values that symbolize who we are, and to which we get so attached that we end up taking them for who we actually are.

I'd propose a new memorial day, it could be the day to Learn From History, what not to do again, it could be the Learn from Nature day, to go back and be more animal-like. They are smarter and have figured out how to live on this planet for centuries, whithout disrupting their home and without arguments with other species.

we are so many

2009-05-19T05:50:00.003-05:00

Early morning on Sundays there is an NPR program called Speaking of Faith, hosted by Krista Tippett. Every week she brings some new angles on topics related with making meaning, beliefs, values and spirituality. She interviews poets, scientists, philosophers, Nobel Price winners, and creates profound dialogues. Over the last months she has opened a blog called Repossessing Virtue (I don't understand that title) http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/first-person/repossessing-virtue/ where anyone can post their thoughts and experiences about dealing with the economic crisis. I was writing my June newsletter and went into that blog to search for some quotes, and was fascinated to read the comments posted there! What a depth of thinking, what an inspiring input, and above all, it made me think that these are common people, these are people we are crossing on the street. These are not a small group of exceptional thinkers, they are regular people, making a difference in the everyday just being themselves and in their small circle of influence. Well, we actually never know the boundaries of our circle of influence... You see, they post their reflections on a blog, I read it and write about them in a newsletter http://www.limglobal.net/readings/publi_archives.html and on my blog, you may go back to the link now and read more by yourself, talk to others about it....

Yes, we are so many, and growing. Tipping point is getting close.

Obama and Chavez

2009-04-18T16:55:00.006-05:00

I am thrilled with this gesture. Obama reaching out, bridging the nonsensical prejudices that indicate that the people that don't think like you, that live by values that you don't share, that act in ways that you don't accept - that you just plain ignore them, and don't talk to them. As if that would solve everything, would make them disappear, vanish! How will we ever get an understanding going, if we don't start acknowledging the other, no matter how strange they look? I always remind myself that as far from me that the other person seems, this is the same distance that the other sees mi.

I read abouthat this gesture of reaching out and giving a smile and the hand. And then I read the words of Chavez saying "I want to be your friend". I may be naif to see this as an interesting statement, but given the choice to be cynical and distrust, or to be naif and believe, I choose the second. As a matter of fact, being naif and believing has given me more positive surprises so far than I could imagine. Why not?

We forgot it

2009-03-04T09:50:00.003-05:00

I feed peanuts the bluejays, and they come every day and ask for it, since they count on it. When we are travelling and no one is at home, they just don't get their used portion. When we come back, it always takes a few days until they notice things are back to usual. This time I noticed an interesting behavior in the bluejays. They were very happy to take their peanuts and fly away with them. But after a few take-outs, they began to dig and hide them in one of the planters. I have seen animals hiding their food many times in my life, dogs, squirrels, I know it happens. Yet, I was looking at it differently today. I said to myself: They are saving the peanuts, they are putting them away for a time when we're not at home for example. They are not eating more than they need today.

Then I immediately thought about the global crisis we are in, product of greed, of excessive consumption, of the take-make-waste mentality, where we are the 20% of the population that has been eating so much more than we needed, and 80% is paying the bill - together with the 20% of course too, just in a milder way.

As i was reflecting on that, I heard in the news that Gandhi's sandals will be auctioned this week in New York, and the bid expects to sell them at USD 20 or 30,ooo. Now, what is this telling us about our values, if someone is willing to spend that money to own a pair of sandals from one of the most virtuous persons? Definitely it will not help him walk in Gandhi's shoes...

At what point in history did we forget we were part of Nature, and forgot the wisdom we were carrying because of that? At what point in time did we become less smart than birds?

More than a moment

2009-01-21T07:29:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, Inauguration Day, over 2000 instant messages were being posted on Facebook through its link into CNN Live. Over 2000 one-liners from all over the world. I wanted to print a screen shot and it came out as 55 pages. :-O

Joy, hope, excitement, tears, amazement were some of the emotions shared. Many comments refered to "what a great moment".

In this fast paced world that takes over the more contemplative one, where short attention span is such a generalized disease that it is almost taken as normal, I shouldn't be surprised to read those words - what a great moment. Yet I think it's not a moment. Yes, yes, a moment is all we have, the snapshot of now, the inmediate present... However observing what was taking place I think it is not about a great moment. It's about a time, a chapter in history, that has been in the make for long time, marinated in good and in bad events. May be what happened yesterday was a moment of collective awareness raising, of noticing that something was going on, and we all were actors in it.

Can't wait to wake up

2008-12-12T09:10:00.002-05:00

Yesterday as I went to bed, I thought: OK, so how many hours until I can get up again? There is so much to do, that I cannot keep myself quiet, I cannot wait to get up and continue living in this so exciting times.

I was thinking of one of the 10 nominees from the recent Heroes serie on CNN, a man who said something like "Who wants just to work to make a living? The possibility of making a difference in someone's life is the most profound and gratifying experience!". And a young woman who likes to jog in the mornings and decided to invite to run with her the people from a homeless shelter (she also was nominated) indicated that may be something is wrong when just being kind to others becomes the reason for a special heroic award. :-)

I don't think something is wrong, I think something is finally straightening up, getting right. That it makes the news, as opposed to go unnoticed. That is can inspire others, that it tells us about a world we actually can get excited to live in.

Talking about excitement, what about this headline on BBC today:

The US is set to lead the world towards a new climate deal, according to John Kerry - but only if other countries pledge emission curbs too. The former US presidential candidate said here at the UN climate conference that the aim of agreeing a new global deal next year must remain on track. But a deal could not work unless it covered all countries, he added. Mexico indicated intentions to halve emissions by 2050, one of the strongest plans from a developing nation. The country's environment minister Juan Elvira invited other developing countries to join the Mexican initiative, which could see the establishment of a cap and trade system, enlarging the global carbon market. But the idea will have to go before the president for final approval, possibly in February. Environmental groups applauded the Mexican move, which would make it one of the first developing countries to set itself targets for reducing emissions, although they are "aspirational goals" rather than binding commitments.

Blowing in the wind

2008-11-19T09:41:00.002-05:00

I received this letter that a friend of a friend forwarded, and me too, I had to share it with others.

It was sent by an former Peace Corps person.

My dear friends, Today I have had to travel from the island of Borneo...from SABAH and the town of Kota Kinabalu. Then to Kuala Lumpur where I had a 5 hour lay over and finally arriving very late at night in Bangkok. The election has already begun.... Today, in honor of the election, I am wearing an Obama '08 button on my lapel. If the treatment and reaction throughout my day is any indication of what our world might become....I am overwhelmed with optimism. First, every single place I went, someone noticed the button and called out, "OBAMA!". There were international administrators from across the region at the Hotel. Many of them nodded and smiled, and even the non-Americans who reacted with huge enthusiasm. One man from Australia stopped me to talk politics for 10 minutes. The crew working behind the desk all gave a thumbs up...the taxi driver did not charge me for taking me to the airport. I must explain that, once at the airport, I am one of very few Americans among Asians from all over this region. I might possibly be the only blond in either airport I have been in so far today, and won't see many if any Americans until Bangkok. I do not speak the language...thank goodness they speak English. Upon seeing my button, everyone, without exception, smiles. I have received preferential treatment all day long. They didn't make me pay extra for a heavy bag, they treated me in short, like royalty. The stewardess told the pilot, who stood up in the cock pit to give me a thumbs up. Even the immigration official barely looked at my passport. He was much more interested in knowing an Obama supporter and what I thought would happen today. When I was buying dinner at a very American McDonalds (the only place to get something to eat), the entire crew behind the counter (not one American) came to say kind words to me. The man who exchanged my money asked how I could do anything so far away from the USA. I told him, with some amount of pride, that I had voted by absentee ballot. He took my hand and said, "thank you so much for voting for Mr. Obama." There were actual tears in his eyes. While waiting at the airport in Kota Kinabalu and girl about 9 years old saw my button. She smiled broadly. I said hello and she asked if I wanted Obama to win because she did and her whole family did and that that morning they said a prayer that he would. I told her that I thought Barack would like that a girl all the way in Kota Kinabalu said a prayer for him. She asked could I tell him that they were praying for him and I said I would send an email to his headquarters. She was so excited that she ran to tell her parents. Her father came over and asked me if I knew Obama. I told him I had seen him speak, but never met him. He said that his whole community was praying for Obama and that he appreciated that I would write an email to tell him. He took my hand and said, we are praying for all of the American people too. This was the second stranger to take my hand today. It was my turn to have tears in my eyes, because this man, who I didn't know, was completely sincere. I thanked him. He said, "all of us, together...do you understand?" I said, "All of us together." We parted...smiling! I write this as I sit in the airport at Kuala Lumpur waiting for hours for the plane. The women who guard the doors have on muslim headdresses , orange pants outfits and lime green jerseys. They are shy and reserved, yet they give me the thumbs up, and quietly whisper, "Obama" as I walk by. There are Thai and Chinese, and Indonesians and Indians surrounding me...The languages, dress, foods are all interesting. And sitting right next to me is a Buddhist monk, in just his orangish/yellow robes and shaved head. He smiles broadly when I look at him. He says frankly, "I like Obama." The man behind the counter is Malaysian. He asks if I voted and when I confirm I have he laughs really loud and says something to the other official sitting next to him. This man laughs too. They both look at me intently. The one, fighting to find the right english begins, "This is (something in Malay). I smile saying I don't understand. He looks at his colleague and rattles something in Malay...The man says just a minute. He gets out a book. It is an english translation book. He says something to the man and hands him the book....pointing to a line on the page. The 1st man turns back to me and says...."this is fan/tas/a/tic...fan-tas-aahhh-tic...how do you say?" I tell him, yes, he is right "Fantastic". They laugh again at their attempts. I laugh too. He stamps everything forcefully, "wham! wham! wham!" And then he says something none of these officials ever take time to say, "We hope you will come back and visit our country!" "Of course, I say, of course." I don't quite know how to explain the full meaning of his invitation. Americans haven't been at the top of the list for quite awhile and traveling around, it isn't hard to sense. Our leaders reflect who we are as a country/nation. I have always been proud of my family and Oregon. I have not always been proud of our leaders and the choices they make. Today I am proud...I am proud of our country and I was tearful watching a top French official trying to explain to the BBC reporter why the whole world is watching this election and praying that Obama will become our president. Well, thank you for letting me share. Tomorrow at 7am we head to the American Embassy gathering to watch the election results come in. We are attending with world leaders and diplomats. We are to dress "smart casual".. It should be quite the experience...one I hope brings new hope to our country and the world. with love always,

(She)

connection

2008-11-10T18:49:00.002-05:00

Are you familiar with sandpipers? they are tiny birds that I find on the beach, they have an incredible speed, they walk so so fast that their little legs are hard to see. They don't like to get wet, so they walk along the shore picking little bugs and watching the waves to get out of their way. Well - not always.

Today I was walking at sunrise, and I saw a sandpiper. Normally they go in groups, but this one was on her own. As I walked closer I saw a big truck coming on the beach, it's actually not a truck, it's a machine that flattens the sand, not sure what for, but there is a driver and that's what he does every day. I didn't want this big truck to scare the bird, so I stood between the bird and the trucks path, several yards away, because I know the driver avoids to disturb people.

It worked, and the bird continued picking her bugs. But then something weird happened. She suddendly looked at me, and began to walk towards me. She was no longer facing the waves, but instead walked slowly towards me, until she stopped, only 2 yards away. And the hyperkinetic bird paused, she just stood there watching me. I was so surprised of this unusual behavior! She didn't even move as a person passed jogging, as a fisherman approached. I wondered if she was hypnotized :-) But then I finally connected, and we spent a few minutes in the same dimension, we were both part of Nature. I also took a few pictures, beyond having this timeless moment. So here she is.

When a person is more than a person

2008-11-05T08:22:00.003-05:00

I am not the only one who cannot stop the tears of joy, witnessing this event that has reached across borders, races, age, gender, religions. I had a hard time switching off the TV this morning, I wanted to see more and more, the echoes and impact of the great news of last night. I didn't want to miss any report of what people in Hong Kong, France, London, Sydney, China, Iran, Beirut, Kenya, were feeling and saying. I felt connected to their joy, their tears, their screaming as much as to all the emotions expressed across the 50 states of the US.

I received an email from an organization I didn't know, and I don't recall receiving an email from there before. It's called Union of Concerned Scientists ( http://www.ucsusa.org/) and the message was just a statement, no petition. It was an announcement of what their areas of concern are, and how they want to work with the new administration to put brakes on global warming, to work towards a world free of nuclear weapons and to restore scientific integrity. It made me think that this is just the first sign. Obama is not just a winning candidate for a presidency in a country. He represents hope, he invites to believe in ourselves through his "Yes we can" mantra, he is offering himself as an example of standing up for our values and pursuing our dreams. He is also a unifier - looking to create bridges to those that think differently.

By watching the world's reaction, I realized that sometimes a person is more than a person. Sometimes a person is the spark that lights up something big, that was ready to happen. I have been seeing, reading and witnessing the growing movement that is shifting the world as we knew it. As Oprah said last night, there is a new expansion of awareness going on in the world.

Sometimes a person is the spark that lights up something big. But wait a moment, aren't we all potential spark producers?

Whose?

2008-10-01T12:02:00.002-05:00

I went for a walk on the beach at sunrise today, and there were lots of shells. It changes everyday, sometimes there are lots of fresh see algae, sometimes there are more broken corals, or seaweeds, sometimes there are only a few broken shells. What I do find however without exception is dozens of plastic caps, plastic bags, cans, glasses and many other signs of “civilization” expelled by the sea. Anyway, today there were lots of shells. I picked up a specially pretty one, with an intriguing shape and strong orange colors, then I picked up another one, a green one! I thought there were no green shells! And then I picked up a very unique piece of brain coral. I felt so happy with my three wonderful pieces. But as I continued walking, I thought if I actually should take them home. They don’t belong to me, I reflected, they belong to the sea. I imagined if people took home all the beautiful shells they could find on the sea shore. Then I imagined myself walking on a beach, with no shells. Just with plastic caps and cans. Ouch. I didn’t like that image at all. But then I thought, the sea has enough shells! A few shells that we people can take here and there, what difference can this make!? And another voice inside me replied: to think that there are enough resources in Nature is a commonly held assumption. There are enough fish to overfish, there is enough water, there is enough oil, there is enough….Hm. May be not? I imagined again the beach covered with human junk and no shells, and beautiful shells going into the landfill as people were moving homes and discarding them.

I put them on the sand, and took a picture of them. Then I hesitated to let go these precious findings, but finally I threw them back into the ocean. I felt so light, so good. I took home what was mine, the picture to share with others what is out there, what we don’t own. To each one its own.

Angry world

2008-09-28T07:59:00.003-05:00

I found some enlightening reflections written by Sarah van Gelder in the intro of a book called Making Peace: Healing a Violent World. I could quote her, but I prefer to state it in my words, that way I learn it better. What she observes is that making peace happens every day, in small and almost unnoticed ways. It happens when a mother tucks in her child into bed for the night, when a teacher helps young people put their emotions into words, when a neighbor reaches out to solve a disagreement. She says making peace is so common that it is nearly invisible. What makes the news however is the violent world. She thinks we need to make meaning of violence, because it is shocking, and the media report on it permanently. (I would say the media doesn't really help make meaning, it just portrays it). But one way or another, the fact is that on television, in the newspapers, in the movies and in the video games - what we see is a very violent and cruel world. This creates what communication scholar George Gerbner calls "the mean world syndrome". This syndrome results from being exposed all day long to stories about violence, abuse, selfishness, greed, dishonesty . That makes us react with fear and distrust, our esteem for others is diminished and the world seems a mean and violent place. What makes this worse, is that is becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, and we all make it come true. If we believe we live in a mean world, we get scared and try to protect ourselves, building emotional and physical walls around ourselves that further alienate us from each other. So we miss getting to know our neighbors, especially those that look, talk or think differently than us. The more we think we live in a mean world, the more we focus on defending ourselves and since the fear is in our minds first, we act pre-emptively. And this only generates more distrust and similar reactions from others. We will never get over the syndrome by defending us and building walls. The good news is that we can change the game by doing something very easy, very simple: reaching out to find out who the other is. Exploring what his or her needs actually are, and seeking to find what we have in common. And be ready to be surprised to discover that we humans are all bound to the very same needs: to be respected, to be appreciated and loved, to feel safe.

Fear

2008-09-04T15:07:00.002-05:00

I was reflecting how many of the behaviors we don't understand about other people are the manifestation of fear. I have been paying attention to this over the past months: so every time I am puzzled by an annoying behavior, a surprising reaction that is different from what I expected, I am exploring this theory. For example when I encounter people being rude, aggressive, or pushy; when I meet someone that is showing off, or building walls around him or herself, putting a distance with others. When someone is trying to put himself above others, or ridiculizes others... I wonder if this is not a simple reaction to feeling fear. The interesting thing is that as I think of it this way, it changes my visceral reaction to them too.

Transportation

2008-08-13T08:36:00.002-05:00

Something really interesting happened to me this morning. I was walking out of the building, and in the moment just before I opened the door, I felt something falling on my shoulder, sliding down rapidly and as I do my first step outside, I saw it landing on the floor. It was a very small lizzard, a little bit more than an inch. He rapidly moved into the fresh air and disappeared. That strange event made me smile - I felt I had been his vehicle from the inside of the building, to the outside, where he really belongs after all. As I continued my walk I thought that was exactly what I wanted to be : a vehicle for other people to get where they belong, where their real self can expand and blossom.

Think shrimp

2008-08-05T19:15:00.003-05:00

I had a disorienting moment yesterday. I pulled out of the fridge the small tray with shrimp I had bought at the supermarket. USD 2.52. Very cheap, OK, a small tray, but still cheap. Then I played back in my mind my purchasing process. I was standing in front of the fish sector and comparing prices. These shrimp were cheaper and looked good, they were from Thailand. There were others (not sure from where) that were more expensive. I bought the Thai shrimp. But yesterday, as I looked at it, I said to myself - USD 2.52 -? REALLY?? What is the hidden ticket, the invoice that I am automatically charged, without even knowing how much it is or agreeing to it? Because these shrimp came all the way from Thailand. They were maintained frozen across the oceans, shipped and unloaded and re-packaged and distributed in the US - all thanks to fossil fuel. Which is making the CO2 layer thicker, the air warmer, retaining more polluting particles like in a mesh, which we breathe and try to cough out. It's warming the ocean which creates a different wind dynamics and we have more storms, my insurance costs raise, not to talk about real storm damage. We get droughts, forest fires, bacteria spread in the waters - what is the REAL invoice I'm being charged? I thought back, four decades, not more. Imported goods were a luxury, not a daily convenience. We seemed to be smarter those days, considering a luxury only for selected occasions, if bought at all. When did we lose that good judgement?

About bir(d)severance

2008-07-26T10:43:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I received in my inbox an email with a ppt slideshow with some nice pictures of birds and an accompanying text. The text was refering to how birds build their nests, twig after twig, carrying them some distance. What happens when a wind or another cause destroys the nest? What they do is - they begin again and go for one twig after another until they re-build their nest. They don't languish in sadness, nostalgy, regrets, anger, disappointment - as much as we know at least. They follow their vision and re-build.

That message, so simple, was however a "just-in-time" for me, since I was mourning a disappointment from the day before. Then I thought - if a bird can do it, why can't I?

I shared this with a few and they liked it so much, that I decided to share it with you.

Pain or fun?

2008-07-24T05:47:00.006-05:00

A week ago I read about the new message of "wecansolveit.org", and I liked the positive approach. A few days later I talked to Roger Saillant who just finished a fiction novel, where he and a colleague write a fun, yet educational piece about use of energy in our times. He explained to me that he wanted to bring the message to youth in a different way. I was reflecting on both episodes and realized that they were suggesting that awareness can be fostered with creativity and lightness, with joy and hope.

But I also think that unless we don't feel the pain, we don't change habits. Hm.

And then again, we do so many things for pleasure, for going after what we like, every day... I am curious if we were to list the daily things we do, do we do more to avoid problems and pain than to have joy, feel pleasure, satisfaction or joy? Or the other way around?

Given the choice I think I would rather go for the joy than for avoiding pain. When we are avoiding problems or pain we are gray, tense, like a compact folded paper. When we go after joy and fun we are light, shiny, radiant, like colored feathers floating in the sun.

Yes, I guess it does make sense to seek to connect the awareness of the legacy we should work on - with the joy and fun.

The answers are in Nature, they say. I see.

What are we doing

2008-07-12T11:07:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I listed to a disquieting report on National Public Radio: A new research published in the journal Science indicates that a third of the world's coral species may now be headed toward extinction. The reasons found so far are destructive fishing boats and warming ocean waters because of global climate change. The reefs hold 25% of the world's marine species, and are considered the rain forest of the ocean. Warming waters create diseases and multiply algae that kills the coral. Ocean waters are becoming more acidic because they absorb carbon dioxide, and coral reefs cannot survive in more acidic water. Commercial fishing and global warming. And the G8 are talking about reducing carbon emissions by... 2050!???? May be we need to be more aware of where we, each one, is contributing to global warming in the every day. And where the fish come that we are buying.

The power of trust

2008-06-30T16:44:00.002-05:00

I heard on the radio today that the first food shipment to North Korea finally took place, organized by the UN and the Global Food Program. For long time GFP was trying to bring support to the very poor population, but access was not granted. Today I heard the shipment was authorized. Four days ago, the Bush Administration took NK out of the list of terrorist sponsoring countries, after Pyongyang submitted a 60-page report on its nuclear program. A few months ago, the first visit of the NY Symphonic Orchestra broke the ice. Journalists were allowed to accompany the musicians, get interviews, visit the nuclear facilities. As I was listening to this news, I asked myself how much we create our enemies. I mean, people do things we don't like, and we catapult them into a category, "evil", "mean", etc and we act accordingly. Which does no less than reinforce the separation among us and the others. I was asking myself what if we would address those situations with trust instead, with the intent to understand, with curiosity and spirity of inquiry. What if we would treat threatening individuals as people with reasons, with fears, with human needs , I mean, treat them as humans, instead of outside of humankind? I am playing with the thought that there are no mean people - there are sick people, psychologically traumatised, emotionally empoverished. How would we go around if we held that assumption, instead of holding the assumption that there are others out there who want to harm us? It doesn't change the fact that some people punch knives into other people, or point and use guns, murder, steal, lie. But it changes how we label them. I remember a few years ago a woman who was "kidnapped" in her home by a criminal who was escaping from the police. After several hours of talking, of her addressing him in a caring way, another part of him came out: he became "human", emotionally touched, and surrendered. He talked about this event as a transformational experience and called her "angel". What did she do? She just changed how she looked at him. Interesting, what impact that can have. This gives me a lot to think...

Changing budget planning

2008-06-28T10:02:00.002-05:00

I was thinking that we're witnessing more and more natural disasters. Flooding here, tyfoons there, fires and droughts, tsunamis and earthquakes. And this won't stop - it just will get worse, as we're getting the consequences of our impact on nature. So I think that governments need to revisit their budget planning, and switch funding for just-in-case weapons and military actions to support of population in disaster-relief actions. What was seen as a "exceptional" case in the past, has now become part of our reality, something we should expect and prepare for. Who is listening out there?

Deadly sins, updated by the Vatican

2008-06-09T12:48:00.002-05:00

Surprise! The Vatican considered it was about time to review the deadly sins, and released 7 new ones, called "social sins". They don't replace the old ones, but certainly tackle more contemporary problems. They include : 3. Drug abuse 4. Polluting the environment 5. Contributing to widening divide between rich and poor 6. Excessive wealth 7. Creating poverty (And i'm not listing #1 and #2 because I don't agree with them :-) - and since I'm not a journalist, this is OK. But if you are curious now, you can find them at Bloomberg News http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=email_en&refer=uk&sid=aQLLScKV3f.A Instead, I would suggest this list 1. Consumerism 2. Excessive use of natural resources 3. War 4. Polluting the environment 5. Contributing to widening divide between rich and poor 6. Excessive wealth 7. Torture and abuse What is your version of the top 7 new social sins?

Lureeta reports

2008-06-07T09:00:00.003-05:00

Around 4000 US soldiers donated their lives in Iraq. But to count more accurately the toll of war, a report from Inter Press Service claims that the death toll in Iraq has likely passed 1 million. Dahr Jamail is a journalist who has done some of the best 'on the ground' reporting from Iraq. Check http://www.americanswhotellthetruth.org/pgs/portraits/Dahr_Jamail.html and http://dahrjamailiraq.com/weblog/ . He is the author of Beyond the Green Zone: Dispatches from an Unembedded Journalist in Occupied Iraq.

Now I've jumped into a space shuttle and I'm looking down to the Earth. I'm Lureeta, a journalist from a different planet, outside the Solar System. I'm reporting about this planet they call Earth. I am reporting about how inhabitants live here. At the time of counting lives lost in a man-caused cause, what difference does it make where they were born- I will report the estimated toll is over 1 million.

Mindless wisdom

2008-05-25T08:34:00.002-05:00

A few days ago I went for a new experience: Barack Obama was in the area and I decided to go and see him. Well, I decided to go and see - what a such an event looks like, since I hadn't been to similar events before. I went as an ethnographer: to experience the venue, the people, the energy, the faces, what happens while people wait, the logistics, who attends, the colors, the noises, the smells, even the temperature, and of course, also him as he appeared. But what I actually wanted to share here was what happened before and after. I parked my car and as soon as I had to go out of the car a tropical storm fell over us in full force. I grabbed a big golfing umbrella and could not really see where I was walking, because of the wind and me trying to divert the rain coming from different directions. As a result- I didn't really know where I left the car. I was a bit concerned by this, but my main goal was to arrive at the building. During the time attending the event I kept thinking how I would find my car again. I left a bit early to avoid the crowd, and fortunately the rain had stopped. But I had no clue where I had come from! And the huge parking area, criss-crossed with roads and diagonals, sprinkled with palm trees here and there, was keeping safe thousands of cars. There was no way I could possibly know where I had left it. So I thought that since I had no clues, signs or recollection in my mind, I had two options. One was to wait until the evening, when everyone had left. The other was to give up on trying to find the direction with my mind, and let my unconscious guide me. I don't think I have ever done this purposely before, but I tried it. I said to myself: I'm not going to try to find my car, I will just let go, and simply walk, wherever my feet take me. May be they know, or may be there is a level of knowledge inside my body tht my mind cannot reach. Guess what!? Within three minutes of virtually mindless walking, I saw a car that looked like mine. And yes, that was it. This episode impacted me deeply. I am now reflecting how many other times could I use that mindless knowledge to guide me in the right direction. How many time we all could.

From awareness to action

2008-05-15T12:03:00.001-05:00

A couple of days ago I learned about the Complaint Free World campaign. This campaign is designed to help people become aware of the habit of complaining, and to realize that complaints are not really changing anything in a positive way, they are only creating an unhappy environment for self and others. To help create awareness there is a purple rubber bracelet, that you put on your other arm each time you catch yourself complaining. The funds collected from the bracelets are donated in turn to several causes. I found it a great initiative - practical, simple, and with potential for impact on many people's life. Because awareness is the first step. Then I personally would suggest to convert the complaint into a creative act, for example a suggestion, a request, an offer that addresses the reason for the complaint. I already like the world I envision, with an expanding virus of lightness and better feelings, as we stop complaining and feel actors that can impact the world, in our little, daily ways...!

Power and Responsibility

2008-04-27T10:15:00.003-05:00

I was listening this morning to an interesting chapter on an NPR's program - the title was Power and responsibility. They were featuring three different stories that illustrated the connection between power and responsibility - but not of conventional powerful people: the power of regular individuals - like you and me. This triggered some thoughts for me. What is power, anyway? who has the power? Ok - the power ...for what? A nice topic for one of my "meaningful conversations"... ;-) I replied to myself that we all have power - for many different things. We may not have the power we wish - to change things outside of our area of decision, but the limits of the area of influence are blurry - and I've never been able to quite know where they are . I even came to ask myself if there are any limits in the area of influence we have - ? Then we have to talk about responsibility. What is the responsibility that comes with power? I think I've seen the most dramatic scenes in movies when the worn out hero finally gets into a position of power over the evil one, and has all the power to kill him, and he takes a moment, looks into his eyes, and doesn't. Interesting, the hero can kill him and many others if they are both playing hiding, but it's more difficult to kill bluntly looking into the bad man's eyes. When doing so, the toll is expensive, and the hero can only keep his title of hero if he sinks into post-murder depression, guilt feelings and changes career. Doesn't it sound familiar? So what is the responsibility that comes with power, then? I think that we may not consider the huge potential of our influence - because of the responsibility that comes with it, and may be the fear of not wanting to carry that one. In those terms, it's simpler to stay selfdeclared as powerless. Hm.

Crossing a threshold

2008-04-07T09:44:00.002-05:00

David Korten, in his wonderful book The Great Turning indicates that around the 1980 we crossed an evolutionary threshold, by placing a burden on the life support systems of the Earth beyond the sustainable limits. In the last 50 years the population grew more than double, from 2.6 billion to 6.4 billion in 2005. The number of motor vehicles is ten times what it was in 1950. Fossil fuel use is five time what it was, and global use of water has tripled. It is only 27% of the world population who enjoyes material affluence to consume goods and services. We are consuming at a faster rate than the resources of the Earth regenerate, that means that at this rate of consumption we would actually need 1.2 Earth equivalent planets. But we only have one. So we are depleting the natural capital of the planet: minerals, fossil fuels, forests, fisheries, soil, water. We are extracting these resources at the expense of our children and the next generations.

The WWF (World Wildlife Fund) publishes a Living Planet Index, that tracks the health of the planet through its freshwater, ocean, forests and coastal ecosystems. The index declined 37% between 1970 and 2000. They say it's unlikely to reach zero - a dead planet - "because the planet will surely rid itself of the offending species long before this occurs".

We need to begin thinking differently

2008-03-31T10:32:00.000-05:00

I ready in the fabulous magazine Yes! http://www.yesmagazine.org/ that 1 square kilometre (247 acres) of hot desert receives solar energy equivalent tp 1.5 million barrels of oil. That means that worldwide several HUNDRED times more energy than we need. Similarly, analysts who have studied the solar resources of the US Southwest found that concentrating solar power could provide nearly 7,000 gigawatts of capacity, this is SEVEN times more than the current total US electric capacity. So the thought is - if we have so much energy at our disposal, more than we need, available from the sun alone, just waiting to be captured by processes currently available, we could take the budget invested in the war in Iraq and spend it on developing the energy this way, we wont need to fight for oil anymore, we don't need to send soldiers to get hurt and die, we don't need to kill civilians, pay for weapons. And if there is some money left over, we can create a microfinancing system for people to grow their vegetables and plant trees. I bet one day someone will read an old posting, dated 80 years ago, and laugh and share it with his friends with a comment: Can you believe they were just thinking of this as a possibility!?

more than 4000

2008-03-25T08:51:00.002-05:00

I was watching yesterday on CNN how a person somewhere in Vermont set up a small white flag for every soldier killed in Iraq. The field is on a major road, and he did it so as people drive by they have a visual reminder. I am not sure a reminder of what. Of how many lives was has cost? of how many US soldiers killed? Of the price of war as the option to solve conflicts? I would like to see a field with one white flag for every life it has cost. Whether US soldier, or soldier from another country. Whether civilian, contractor, Iraqi, just counting lives. May be it could help to spend a while in a space shuttle, and see the earth from above. From there it's more clear, that it's just lives of planet habitants. There is this great game I've read about in Paul Hawken's book "Blessed Unrest", where he invites a group of executives to think and plan life for one year in a space shuttle, the size of their choice. They have no restrictions in what they can do or take on board. It becomes interesting to think of the earth as a large size shuttle, and we are all travelling on it together.

Interesting ad

2008-03-12T12:45:00.003-05:00

I saw a very interesting ad yesterday in a movie theater in Munich, Germany. A man was sitting, fishing, on a pretty dirty looking dock, looked like in mid of a city, harbour, something like that. Another man passed by, walking his dog. The fisher man looked pretty bored, and it made me think of a recent comment that man have an easier time setting their minds blank, therefore the passion for such a calm activity like fishing. After a while, the fisherman pulled out something, and it was some kind of glove. He took it off the hook, and piled it on his side, where there were already some other objects that he had fished, garbage. The dog walker shook his head. Then a message came on the screen, big. Use your time purposeful. Give time, not money. And then an address of an non for profit organization was displayed, an organization that needs volunteering support. Nothing against fishing - but many times when I see the different ways we spend our time, I ask myself if it is really the best way to spend that half an hour - and what difference a half an hour could make in someone's life.

Quote

2008-02-27T13:45:00.002-05:00

I found a great quote from Ghandi: " The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems." May be even more of those tiny little things to change in what we are doing daily, and how we're doing it...

Little Tiny Things

2008-02-21T23:32:00.002-05:00

I am puzzled tonight. I feel as if a cardboard box just fell of me. The days bring many noisy, large events and things. Things to do that are necessary, like paying bills and shopping for food. Things that are noisy like writing proposals, negotiating deals, writing articles, talking to important people, meeting new people. Taking airplanes, going through security hoping nothing makes the alarm ring. Things that are clumsy and wide, like fixing techno-problems. Things that are soft and thick, like working out for your health. Things that are shiny and empty, like watching TV.

But today, i noticed the importance of tiny, little things. I compared them with insects, with the tiny little flies that are in the roof of the shower. They are so tiny, they almost are not. But they are (ask a fly!).

What made the cardboard fall off was a tiny little event, a person changing his mind. Simple as that. I don't expect anyone to understand. It's like the little flies. But for me, that little, tiny thing made me realize that it's in those little things that i'm really me. A simple event, like my building considering to start recycling. Nothing major, it's not saving global climate change. It's just a tiny, little thing.

Ps

2008-02-12T22:41:00.002-05:00

Ok, there is more. The presenters, young and dynamic, animal loving animal keepers were very clear and repeated the message: Man is not the owner of the Planet. Man is here to keep and take care of the Planet. Man is the most threatening enemy of these species. What we need to do? Reuse, reduce, and use renewable energy. Hm Not bad, but if I was not concerned and worried with this from before, I doubt I would have got the message. And even less understand what it means to ME. Reuse - you mean what? Reduce - meaning exactly what? I am not so sure people are easily making the connection between those words and their daily behavior, their daily comfort patterns and habits. Look at me - still not driving a hybrid...

The movie that I didn't want to be in

2008-02-12T22:32:00.002-05:00

Have you ever seen on TV these movies of the future, where the humans of the future dressed in skinthin glossy metalic catsuits have a nostalgic talk refering to the times when there were animals on the planet? Well, last Sunday I went to the Zoo, it's called The Jungle Island, and it has lots of animals and also educational shows. We atttended several different shows, and after a while something was burning in the entrance of my stomach. And it was not the hotdog. I realized that as they presented the white tiger, they indicated it was a species in extinction and that bla bla bla. Then they brought a tea-colored tiger and explained tigers used to come in a variety of colors, like the domestic cats. No longer available. Out of stock. Then they called in a cute little chimpanzee, and described his age, where they are indigeneous from, and that it's an endangered species because of logging or .... Then in the show of the birds, a wonderful condor flew from one angle to the other of the stage, and they explained his habits, where they habit, and that it's a species in extinction,with approx 200 left. Then they portrayed a strange tall Indonesian bird, and commented that it's a bird in extinction. Then they.... ENOUGH! I thought it was a fictional movie, on TV. I thought we were far from there still. I thought it's the bad thing that can happen to us if we do... if we don't.... I thought I was not part of the movie. Wrong assumption.

I wish i had a camera

2008-02-10T20:12:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I drove on a road, a few blocks away. It used to be a huge area belonging to the horse race track. The main building was converted into an additional casino with restaurants, and more recently work began to use much of the parking area of the race track for more restaurants, plus some condos. The machines are parked along the road, workers are clearing the trees and brush vegetation. In mid of the piles of earth, roots upside down and wilting bushes, a white crane was standing, with the long neck extended, next to the workers, the trucks and the excavating machines. He was not afraid of being so close to the noise and the people - i guess because he was so much more afraid of what he was witnessing: with the removal of all that natural vegetation, he and other birds, animals, insects - were all left without their home. Needless to say that South Florida doesn't NEED one more mall and one more condo. My heart was torn apart as i watched this silent observer. A bird - who is part of a race that has been able to survive without wars, without terrorism, without black Fridays, without credit card debts, without genocides, without creating an ozone hole, without depleting fisheries, without logging, without contaminating waters. Of course, what would a bird know about development and progress.

Transparency

2008-01-29T12:46:00.000-05:00

As I was navigating through the website of outdoor garments Patagonia, I came across this page http://www.patagonia.com/web/us/footprint/index.jsp I was amazed to see how they share the itinerary of their goods on a map, from design to sale, and then share for each step what is the distance travelled, the energy consumed, the carbon emission and the waste produced. This honest account, stating both the "good" and the "bad" of their current production cycle filled me with hope, as they are setting an example, raising the bar, creating a new standard, that will make me ask: Why is this other company not doing that? This is the wonderful virtuous circle that I have been observing....Ah! Each of us is shaping the world, one decision at a time. What world do you want to live in?

Time doesn't pass when we don't learn

2008-01-21T21:26:00.000-05:00

Do you remember when you learned at school how the Conquistadores disembarqued in Latin America and began to end whole civilizations of aborigins? How they exchanged little mirrors for precious stones or resources, brought in deseases that killed the locals, used the superiority of weapons to conquer, emprison, enslave, kill, or push them into other lands? Do you remember when you learned how the Native Americans were persecuted, pushed out of their lands, killed, emprisoned? Are you thinking thanks God this is over, that such a thing belongs to the past, and let's see how we can repair the damage done, honoring the few remaining ones, may be doing postal stamps with their images, showing their handcrafts in art galeries, providing them free zones so they can run casinos? Well, I have some bad news. I just learned that what I thought was business of the past centuries - is actually very current. Happening today. According to Amazon Watch, a environmentalist organization, there is illegal logging in four of the five indigenous reserves set aside for uncontacted peoples in Peru. These indigenous tribes by choice have not been in regular contact with the outside world. The common cold or flu is often fatal to them because they have not had previous exposure to the diseases and have not developed the appropriate immune defences. Illegal loggers brought such diseases to the Nahua tribe in the 1980s and more than half of them died. While logging is the most urgent threat to these isolated indigenous communities, oil and gas exploration has also become a significant problem. Last month the Inter-Ethnic Association for Peruvian Jungle Development, AIDESEP, applied to the courts for a ban on oil exploration and drilling in parts of the Peruvian Amazon inhabited by uncontacted tribes. Enforceable land rights would go a long way to helping indigenous people in Peru. But keeping extractive industries like loggers out is an enormous challenge for any country. Brazil has struggled with this, largely unsuccessfully, for decades. "Logging is a multi-billion dollar industry in Brazil -- 80 percent of which is illegal, according to the government," says Bill Laurance, a tropical forest ecologist with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institution, in Balboa, Panama. Deforestation rates have slowed in the past couple of years because of a crackdown on illegal logging, Laurance told Tierramérica. That crackdown came after the 2005 murder of U.S.-born nun Dorothy Stang, who had been helping local people oppose illegal logging in the northern Brazilian state of Pará. More than 100 people were arrested in a multi-million-dollar illegal logging network, including 40 people working for IBAMA, Brazil's federal environmental law enforcement agency. Slowing deforestation in the Amazon is an enormous challenge. The rise of so-called "carbon markets" offers some real hopes, if a country like Brazil can obtain credits for "avoided deforestation" and the corresponding reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, according to Laurance. Brazil is the fourth largest emitter of greenhouse gases resulting from deforestation. The World Bank recently announced a 250-million-dollar pilot fund to pay tropical countries like Brazil for preserving their forests. Avoided deforestation is an inexpensive and simple way to slow climate change and brings additional benefits, including preservation of ecosystem services and biodiversity.

anyone

2007-12-29T08:30:00.000-05:00

Yesterday i saw a small shot on TV about a teenager somewhere in the US who had to stay home from school because of some sickness, for a short period, and decided to use that time to begin collecting donations for buildind a school somewhere in Cambodia. She wrote letters and got the participation of World Bank and i forgot what other organzations. They were showing her at the inauguration of the school. Obviously this didn´t happen all in 2 months, but I was thrilled by the thought that anyone is only a decision away from making a difference. It connected with the book I´m currently reading, Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson, a US mountain climber who after an accident in the mountains in Pakistan ended up in a small lost village, was taken care by their people. and left promising to build a school for them. A couple of years after he completed that promise, and today, 10 years after, has built over 60 schools in small villages. I wonder if they have heard of each other. I will check if i find their emails and write to them.

1.46

2007-12-06T10:35:00.000-05:00

A couple of days ago I heard fragments of one of the 18 CNN-Heroes stories. This one was featuring Steve Peifer, a US American that is providing food to schools in Kenya. He mentioned that when he visited one school he saw kids lying on the dirt floor. He asked the teacher why this was so, and heard that they ate at the beginning of the week, then they would sit straight, but as days go by they are weaker. He decided to put his energy into providing food for these kids, and since has developed an organization that provides lunches for 28 schools in Kenya and more recently also started providing computers for kids to learn. US$ 1.46 is what it costs to feed one child a whole month. 1.46 1.46 1.46 1.46 1.46 I went to sleep with that number bouncing in my head - and in my stomach. 1.46

eight million

2007-11-23T21:18:00.000-05:00

Eight millions tons of trees. They are cut down in a year to provide the paper for the catalogues that are produced and mailed in the US. Half of the Planet's forests are gone, forests have been elimintated in 25 countries and 29 countries have them reduced to 10%.

Over one billion peole living in extreme poverty depend on the forests for their livelihood.

The production and disposal of catalogues consumes more energy than three milion cars.

Do you need more reasons?

Go to http://www.cataloguechoice.org/ and cancel your unwanted catalogues today.

Under the surface

2007-11-17T18:09:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago i was in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. As the traffic gets loud at 5 30 am, I decided to get up and find a park where people would be doing Tai Chi. I have been doing Tai Chi in Florida, and I loved the idea of finding some of those more "real" Tai-chi doers, which I have seen before in the parks of Beijing and Shanghai. I walked for 15 minutes and found a big park. It was around 6 am and many people were already there. I saw a group of about 30 Vietnamese standing in a circle, doing some movements that sounded familiar to my learned Tai Chi. I stepped closer and finding a little space in the circle, smiled and began to imitate what they were doing. I have to say that the people found this very funny and all started to laugh and to say comments to each other, in their language. I smiled and was happy to bring some laughter to them :-) . Who seemed to be leading the movements after a while came over and stood in front of me, without words, and began to correct my movements, to ensure I would do them properly. The session lasted for over 30 min, during which the whole group seemed very entertained with my participation. When it was over and they began to disperse, I went to say "hi and thank you" to those who were still around, although they didn't speak any English. A women from the group waived at me from a few steps away, and I went closer to her. She invited me with some gestures to join her, and we began walking. We did three rounds of the big park, smiling at each other, and trying to combine body language and simple words. She asked me Where you? (i said USA, Florida) - You childrin? I disappointed her by saying no. You hasban? I said yes, You work? I said.... i'm a teacher. It was to complicated to explain what i do, and education is certainly part of my job. She pointed at herself and said "Engineer". At some point we had to cross a busy street and she took my hand. As we reached the other side, she didn't let go my hand. We walked 15 minutes hand in hand, silent and smiling. It felt strange. I stepped out of myself to see the scene, and imagining telling the story to my friends. Then I went back into myself, and it made perfect sense. We were connected - and it was not through the visible similarities or rather differences. Under the surface, we connected through the energy, the invisible link that connects us all. As a friend would say -"the link is always there, you just activated it". After the third round, she pointed at her watch and said You tomorrow? I explained, with body language and words, that I was taking a plane that afternoon, to Singapore. She looked at me a bit surprised, and smiled. We hugged, like two old friends. Which we were, indeed.

2012

2007-11-16T17:22:00.000-05:00

I read about a book called 2012, which refers to the Mayan Calendar. The Mayan Calendar indicates that in 2012 there will be a breakthrough in humanity, getting to a higher level. I am not surprised to read that - I'm finding more signs every day of concern about the values we espouse and those we live, the need to bring consistency into our lives, concern about closing the gap of those who have and those who don't, concern about realizing that the planet and the people are all interconnected. Is it like the virus marketing approach, where news information and ideas are spread by word of mouth? or is it that because i'm focused on it now, I happen to see it everywhere? And - does it matter ? May be the belief is enough - to make it happen. I will research that book.

winning and losing

2007-11-12T12:35:00.000-05:00

I had a wonderful moment last night, as I was watching Bill Maher's program. While I have found him as an interesting character, because he has been allowing himself to be critical to things that for many years i thought were undiscussable in this country - some months ago I was disappointed as I heard him talk very excitedly about winning and victories, about loser. I don't watch his programs frequently, but I was disappointed that a person which I considered reflective and smart would still be caught in the illusion of victories and defeats. I tried to find a way to share my thoughts with him, but was unable to find a "contact me" space in his website. Too bad - he doesn't want two way communication. Yesterday though i had a great moment - as I heard him questionning what winning and losing was, and reflecting that actually there is no such thing as a winner and a loser, that a winner is always a loser and viceversa, if we are able to see beyond our little square, and appreciate the larger picture. In other words (my words now): if i think I win over you, it's just a shortsighted thought, a misperception. Like a pendulum, my winning "over"you will sooner or later bounce back to make you the winner and me the loser. This is yin/yang. To believe that we can defeat others is an illusion, that doesn't stand the proof of time. The only way to avoid this is to seek win win solutions to our challenges. Any other solution is fragile, and the right balance will fall over our head, the bigger the violence we inflict on others, be it people or environment- the harsher the bouncing back effect. What a great contribution, Bill, to use the media to give some food for thought to the audience. We need to learn to see outside our little squares, the larger picture.

Got impact?

2007-10-20T06:15:00.000-05:00

I'm filled with joy this morning. I spent the last hour exploring the new site that Anderson Cooper set up for the upcoming special program Planet in Peril.

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/planet.in.peril

Yes, it's a harsh collection of threats, environmental tragedies and bad news - but they will get only worse if we don't face them and begin to take action, to change our individual behaviors. Simple as that, uncomfortable , yet powerful and effective.

What i loved of it is the snow ball effect it's creating. In the last months we've seen the new series called Heroes where positive actions by regular individuals are shared, promoted. What an inspiration. http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/cnn.heroes/

I don't know how, but suddenly another site was developed: Impact your world http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/impact/ This site brings together information about organizations that welcome individual support in the areas of disaster recovery, poverty, children, health, refugees and homelessness, planet.

And each one of these three sites is unfolding and blossoming in new sub-sites and new projects.

The latest i found is called Be the Change - a group of young people going into the world to make a difference. So - got impact?

More than disappointment

2007-09-29T17:36:00.000-05:00

I had to wait a few days to calm down my feelings of astonishment and anger after what ended happening at Columbia University. So happy I was, admiring the intellectual maturity of inviting to dialogue, of opening a space for expression to someone that has very different views... so big was proportionally my shock as i listened to the embarrasing welcome speech of the president. I put myself in the shoes of someone who goes to a country that is a big adversary, gets invited to speak in one of the top academic institutions - and then, like in a trap, gets attacked in the very welcome speech, publicly. For those that have travelled into other cultures, the value of showing respect in public is unparallelled, and constitutes one of the most offensive acts. I couldn't believe my ears, that such a high positioned academic executive would use words like petty, lack of intellectual courage, etc. Was this necessary? Probably, for political reasons, not to lose funding, as i heard the day before that funding should be suspended to someone who opens doors to such a person. This was, in my perspective, even worse. Because it felt like a trap. Invite me, and they you slap me publicly in the face. What i think was poor judgement, was that it also put the student, faculty and employee population of the university into risk. Offending the president of another country is a symbol, and every person walking into Columbia becomes a symbol of the offender. In times where we hear daily how individuals don't hesitate to sacrifice their own lives to send a message, to attack or make a statement, this behavior was to me dangerous, irresponsible and definitely not setting an example for how to deal with different views. I once read when in doubt, think what your mom taught you. And to top it all, i was frozen by the lack of reaction in the media to such a poor behavior. Am I the only one seeing it? I want to quote the Seven Questions for a better World, developed by a global community of artists, lawyers, mothers, activists and professionals at the first International Women's Susstainability conference. "Every time you make a decision, you affect your community and ultimately the world. The following seven questions were developed to act as a guide for making sustainable decisions. 1. How does it create conditions conducive to life? 2. How does it make me/us proud? 3. How does this create a legacy? 4. How have we listened to diversity of voices? What voices have we left out? 5. How have we changed the rules of the game? 6. how does it contribute to blended value? 7. How have we considered the whole system?

If not dialogue, what

2007-09-21T12:56:00.000-05:00

I was puzzled this morning to hear about the debate, whether Columbia's University decision to host Iranian President was right or wrong. How can an institution grant a space for someone to speak, if that person holds points of view that are not shared by others? Also if that person behaves in ways that others don't find fair, acceptable, right? But then, if an educational institution leaves out of its campus those that hold points of view that are not shared by others - the challenge becomes to identify who are the "others"that indicate what points of view are the 'right'ones. Who will define what is fair, acceptable and right? That is a further challenge. Specially if we take into account that there may be multiple perspectives from where to evaluate it. What is right for some is wrong for others. So what do we do with all those who don't think and act as we like it? As I look back at what I've been taught at school, how history dealt with this problem, I see that depending on the power available, and of the threat perceived, sometimes it was solved using force - guns, fire, encarceration, expulsion. The spectrum goes from one extrem - extermination of the other - to the other extrem: denial of the presence, pretending the other doesn't exist. In some rare cases, though, the way to deal with differences was peaceful yet persistent, searching for understanding and dialogue. An example thereof are the bushmen of the Kalahari, who have as a rule to talk and talk until an agreement is reached that satisfies both parties. Gandhi, Mandela, M.L.King are a few of those. Pretending the other doesn't exist, closing doors to dialogue, to listening, may be a bit too much of magic thinking - that the differences that I don't hear of, don't exist, and will soon dry off. I have had so far a different experience: the less that I listen to something, the louder it gets.

Can't help to think Spring

2007-09-01T08:59:00.000-05:00

I grew up in the Southern hemisphere, and September means the month of Spring. Yes, it begins on the 21st, but just saying September has a feeling of balmy air and flowers. So although i'm in another hemisphere now, September still has the same meaning for me. And this morning i felt so much Spring. I woke up hearing about Clinton's new book Giving - How we each of us can change the world, and was very intrigued about the title. I knew he has been doing charity organization around the world, but what was this? It resonated so nicely with my steady message : we are all leaving a footprint, we may well choose what it can look like.... So i went into the internet and ordered the book, and was thrilled to see it was being sold at Wal- Mart.Yes! the more public it is made, the better!! I hope it is written in a nice, inspiring way. Then Ichecked CNN/impact, a website I heard advertised on TV. Surprise! Check it out. http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/impact/ The wonderful initiative of organizing and rating different ways to contribute, make it more accessible. Do you want to donate money? choose from the best rated charities, by category: poverty, animals,refugees, children, planet in peril, natural disasters... Do you want to volunteer time, or objects? Find support in how to channel your idea. I loved it!! I was observing the mutually stimulating initiatives: Keeping them honest, the program of A.Cooper, CNN/heroes to make public the small private great individuals who do little great things for others; now this IMPACT site, the book.... Ahhh. This is just beginning .

Autonomy and belonging

2007-08-27T13:22:00.000-05:00

I found an interesting paragraph in a chapter by Sharon Daloz Parks, in the book Can Ethics be Taught?. She indicates that individuality and freedom are the greatests achievements of modern culture, but we have fallen into a trap of individualism, which defends values of autonomy, personal competence, achievement and freedom to a point that now frightens rather than empowers us. "We have lost sight of the relationships between the individual and the social system, between freedom and responsibility". Yet, she observes, the individual fulfillment for most is still connected to finding a personal, meaningful place in a community.

Her reflections point to the submerged value of being connected to others, establishing relationships that enrich our lives through giving and receiving. Interesting, that we strive so much for autonomy and freedom, and yet gain our deeper satisfaction when being valued, appreciated or needed by others, when we experience belonging...

Tipping point

2007-08-01T08:45:00.000-05:00

Just a few days ago I posted on the LIM News http://limglobal.net/readings/arl_newsletter.htm the remarkable role that Goldman Sachs, leader in the investment market, was playing, by applying the Principles for Responsible Investment and issuing a new framework called ESG (Environment, Social and Governance). They presented it at the Leadership Summit in Geneva beginning July, and also the results of a survey that showed in hard figures how business that were abiding to the corporate responsible practices were also performing better - that one was not in detriment of the other. That was great news - but even better what I read this morning: that according to the latest news, GS was actually losing a notch compared to the main competitors in the area.

"Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, and Bear Stearns are simply improving their sustainability performance faster than Goldman, whose energy portfolio has both cleanest and dirtiest energy holdings (perhaps it has dirty holdings in order to clean them up, but who knows.) On the social side, Goldman has not washed its hands of subprime market holdings that verge on (and perhaps classify as) predatory", according to a report of research firm Innovest Strategic Value Advisors.

What this made me realize is that we are witnessing a race to the top - a virtuous cycle where the key players are competing with each other - who is the best. But for once - it's not who is the toughest, but who is the most ethical. I get this feeling that the world is entering a tipping point zone.

Africa

2007-07-17T22:39:00.000-05:00

Africa, Africa... Some years ago I shared my dream to go to Africa...There was something I felt I had to bring, to offer, to give, to do there. My mother replied ' Any place can be Africa...'

That is so true. We all have our little corners of Africa, opportunities that are looking at us while we pretend we don't see them.

Today I received this images from Africa, the African one. I wondered how many countries there are in that continent, that I was never taught the names at school. I wondered if Africa is the Latin America of seventy years ago. I asked myself if Africa was the attic, the basement, where we store the things we don't want to see, and yet we cannot throw away.

I've pasted the images, most of them. Each image is from a different African country.

What will you do when you grow up?

Live Earth

2007-07-11T12:01:00.000-05:00

I was thrilled to witness last Saturday's Live Earth event, connecting virtually millions of people from all over the world. In this environmental literacy campaign we need not only spread the word and inform, increase awareness, but also we need to bring close to each individual what can be done. What I, you, he, she can do. Simple little things, that we haven't thought about. My friend Stephanie, who is eager to do the right things for the sustainability of the earth, asked me what she could do. That made me think that we need more information, we need to know and understand more about what are simple things we should stop doing, we should start doing... Like parking the car in the shade, shopping with a cloth bag... We need lots of those lists, circulating over the internet, making us aware, helping us remember, until they become habits, not too difficult to adopt - yet making a difference.

One

2007-06-26T07:34:00.000-05:00

Frequently when I share a story about some corporation engaging in initiatives that impact the environment or the community I hear the reply: Well, but haven't you heard what they did with....? That is NOT environmental friendly at all! (or not socially friendly, or not ethical, or...). This reply falls like a bucket of water to extinguish the fire of the passion with which I talk about these initiatives. In addition, it leaves me with the feeling that I am a naive, uninformed person, out of touch with the 'real' world and that I have a way to go to really grasp what corporations, business or the world is about today. After many of those buckets, and with my fire lighting back again and again, I finally gave some thoughts to this. And I realized that the reply probably speaks of the huge wish people have that it would be true, that things could improve, that ethics could be growing - and as big as the hope-is the fear of disappointment. Therefore, rather stick to the cynism and hopelessness. But then, I also know that they are talking about real data. I know those data, or many of them. I am aware of the things that are not going well in some of those corporations, after all I read and listen to the news. Is that reason enough to discard the valuable initiatives? Sustainability issues are complex challenges. It is not about just fixing one corner, one aspect. They are interconnected problems, with multiple angles. If we expect one corporation to get it all right, in every sense and every day, we are up for a long wait. I think that in the meantime, we need to hear more about what is working, how some are daring and doing things, one person here one person there. We need to get inspired by those 'ones'. It is of no use to dismiss them, because those little stories are the ones that are making a difference.

Too little too late?

2007-06-09T08:09:00.000-05:00

I am amazed at the increasing space the environmental topics are getting in all the media. I am thrilled, excited, and happy for the media finally helping educate the population, also creating pressure on decision makers. But also I’m puzzled with the target of 50% reduction on emissions by 2050. The debate is who signs up, who commits to it, who doesn't. 50% by 2050!? With the climate repercussions I’m reading in the news, with the invasion of new insects, spreads of diseases, droughts, flooding, artic melt, nature life extinction just to name a few, does anyone seriously believe we can leisurely wait until 2050 to have 50% less emissions? As I talked to a colleague who I won't name but who is a world renown expert in climate change, I asked him this naive question. He smiled and said ' you're right..., but even to this goal it is difficult to commit... That still doesn't make it the right goal - i contested, and he looked at me and said It's almost unethical, isn't it? to fight for a goal that is not what is actually seriously needed.. I wonder if we just will need to be hit by more dramatic climate disasters, in order to review this goal. Hey, what were we talking about, 2050!? We may be in BIG problems by then. We cannot wait that long. But I also realize the challenge, the power of denial, the resistance to quit the comfort of our current way of living. And I say this thinking of myself. Why is it that I am not thinking of moving out of Florida, why is it that I’m not selling the car and buying a hybrid, why is it that I'm using air-conditioning all night? As I went yesterday into a shop to buy a decorative pillow for my new sofa, I had this image, that I was rearranging the chairs on the deck of the Titanic...

Interconnectedness + The Cyclical Process of Life

2007-06-04T07:43:00.001-05:00

Continuing with the systemic thinking, inspired in Fritjof Capra's book The Web of Life (1996), I was reflecting on the violent scenes in Germany, where people were protesting against the coming meeting of G8. Used as we are to react as opposed to analyze, the protesters are reacting and the police is reacting. This seems the natural thing to do, as the action seems to generate more impact and effect than reflection. Now if we try to test the two systemic thinking principles - our interconnectedness (we are all connected, what happens to one has an impact on the others) and the cyclical process of life (sooner or later, closer or more distant - when there is too much of one thing it creates a tipping point where it jumps back to the opposite) - what new meaning can we make out of the violent scenes in Germany? I'm not saying we should suspend all our actions and stay in reflection for the rest of our lives.... but to reflect how we each are contributing to what happens may be more effective than treating the visible symptom with a reaction...

Reflections on Memorial Day

2007-05-28T05:53:00.000-05:00

I googled "What is Memorial Day". "Memorial Day is a United States public holiday that takes place on the last Monday of May. It was formerly known as Decoration Day. This holiday commemorates U.S. men and women who died in military service for their country." The thought of this celebration made me uncomfortable. How come we celebrate individuals who get killed in wars? What is loable about it? I thought that my question was provocative, i thought how any family member who lost a beloved one in war would react to such a statement, that seems disrespectful of their pain. They have such a loss and I'm not even willing to honor it in a little, single day whithin a whole year!? I can hear them saying 'What kind of monster is she!? But then I continued thinking. There is something strange in honoring the cost of something that is a questionable practice to begin with. How would that be different from honoring those that died in a car race accident? Yes, i know the answer. One thing is to service the cause of peace, defense, human rights, soveraignty etc - and another to be a race car driver. It is different - if we assume that wars are the way - the only way- to handle issues of peace, defense, human rights, soveraignty. Are they? What a naive question. Of course it's not the BEST, but it's the only choice, as others are doing it too. Wait a moment. Does that make it right? Because everyone cheated on taxes in Argentina, did that make it right? Because everyone in Rome watched the individuals fight with lions, did that make it right? Because we used to smoke in airplanes, use asbestos in construction, throw polluted water into the rivers, sculpt elephant tusks ....? Does a habit make the practice right, just because we're used to do it? As long as we take it for granted and don't question it, it won't change. So that's why a Memorial Day is needed. I think we should have actually more than one. We should also have a Polluted Water day; a Torture Day; Polar Bear Extinction Day; an African Aids Orphan Starved Day; an International Homeless Day; a RainForest Memorial Day; an End of Oil Day...

Expanding the thinking, Part II

2007-05-25T05:53:00.000-05:00

Continuing with Capra, whom I introduced in the previous posting, today the reflection is about cycles. He says that the cyclical nature is an important principle in ecology. But Í don't like the explanation he gives, so I reflect what this can mean and I come up with this: Nature has feedback loops, where things go in one direction until it's too much, then they bounce back to compensate or restore the equillibrium. This is not something I just invented of course, or discovered, but it's a nice way to call the principle. The cyclical process of life.

In biology this is known as homeostasis: the property of living organisms to regulate their internal environment to maintain a stable, constant condition, by means of multiple adjustments, controlled by interrelated regulation mechanisms.

The interesting is how this principle applies to other domains - such as our personal behavior. Just think how we spontaneously compensate when the level of something get's too high - when we feel it's enough. Either we express it verbally, or through actions, or through sickness in our body...

Now here comes the challenge. To incorporate this principle into our thinking, and begin to be alert and to notice whereabouts we can see signs of this cyclical process. Practice with the newspaper, to begin. It may be easier than to start with ourselves.

(Special thanks to artist Graziella Cucchiara for the picture)

The web of life

2007-05-22T13:18:00.000-05:00

I read a wonderful section in the book The Web of Life by Austrian philosopher Fritof Capra (1996). He invites to look at the ecosystem to learn about sustainability.The ecosystem has organized itself during more than three billion years of evolution on this planet. That should give us some clues how to do it. He formulates a few principles. I will share the first here today. #1. Interdependence. All members of the ecological community are innterconnected in a vast and intricate network of relationships, which he calls the web of life. The behavior of every living member depends on the behavior of many others. The success of the whole community depends on the success of its individual members, while the success of each member depends on the success of the community as a whole. Understanding ecological interdependence means understanding relationships. It requires a shift of perception and thinking: from looking at a part to seeing the whole; from seeing an object to looking for relationships; from seeing contents to seeking the patterns. A sustainable human community is aware of the multiple relationships among its members. Nourisihing the community means nourishing those relationships. The fact that the basic pattern of life is a network pattern means that the relationship of an ecological community is non linear, involving multiple feedback loops. Linear chains of cause and effect exist very rarely in ecosystems. Thus, a disturbance will not be limited to a single effect but is likely to spread out in ever-widening patterns. It may even be amplified, which may completely obscure the original source of the disturbance." So the question in my mind is - what light does this bring to the news I heard this morning, about the terrorist blasts in the capital of Lebanon?

Debate about altruism

2007-05-20T06:49:00.000-05:00

As i'm working on my doctoral dissertation, which is about corporate leaders leaving a legacy, that is engaging in initiatives for common good, I bumped on the topic of altruism. I found an interesting exploration on the topic, going back over two thousand years ago. Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Hume, Rousseau - many philosphers concerned with moral developmed gave their opinion, and indicated the co-existence of selfishness and selflessness.

However, there have been others (Machiavaelli, Nietzsche, Hobbes and more recent philosophers) who declared that human nature was basically self-absorbed, greedy, ungrateful and morally compromised, that we need social constraints in order to keep within acceptable boundaries.

I need to share here my assumption. I assume that there is not a "right" and objective response, that we make meaning of what we see. So I wonder, if we have the choice of interpreting it one way or the other, which one makes us feel better?

Green.inc

2007-05-14T07:06:00.000-05:00

A bit over a year ago, my colleague Michael Brenner and I did a media campaign entitled Environmental Literacy. We considered that we were all environmentally illiterate, meaning that we had only an unsufficient, poor or sometimes unexisting understanding of the impact our daily actions were having on the environment. We designed a small campaign, where we identified a number of nodal points, such as tv shows, newspapers, business magazines, radio shows in the US and sent out a note inviting them to realize the power they had to influence, educate and increase awareness levels in their audience, and to use it. We didn't receive many replies, which can have several interpretations. However it is rewarding to see an increasing number of places in the media where the topic is being raised. This morning I started with a smile when at MSNBC they had a section called Green.inc, where they present news about corporations' initiatives (or concerns) about going green. And like in a virtuous circle (the opposite of a vicious circle), the more noise out there, the more pressure it makes on others who haven't yet done anything. This is part of our social learning.

The invisible

2007-05-08T07:53:00.000-05:00

Carole clicked on the link I inserted yesterday and said she could not see what I was referring to. So I went back and clicked on the link to see what came up. To me, the same image came up as I had seen the day before, and which inspired my reflections about reaching out and being chained by our assumptions. What I found fascinating was that this short experience sampled to me what communication is about. Whether the link displayed properly or not for her, whether the image was not showing up or she didn't notice it - that is unimportant. What the Internet is portraying is the challenge of communication: where we constantly talk about things we see and others may not see them, things that exist for others and we cannot even imagine them. The more obvious they seem for some, the more fascinating to discover it's not that obvious. For example, everyone knows how a knee bends.... Or not? (Photo: I.Altieri)

What keeps us apart

2007-05-07T10:18:00.000-05:00

Click on this link, I want to share the image (and I was not able to cut-and-paste it in here) This is the link of the website of an NPR (National Public Radio) program called Speaking of Faith. Yes, the site is interesting, but what I was particularly reflecting on was the image in this link. You will see two individuals at opposite sides of a table, reaching out to each other but - alas- so far apart still. And each one is chained to something. I wondered what these chains are, that keep us apart from each other. Assumptions? Experiences converted into assumptions and beliefs? http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/doubt/index.shtml

win wins

2007-04-29T08:01:00.000-05:00

I found an interesting announcement, that deserves to be headline. There is a company called Unity Homes who is helping bring affordable, energy-efficient housing to residents who lost their homes to Hurricane Katrina. The community of North Gulfport, Mississippi celebrated a few months ago the launching of a prototype for modular green homes priced for low-income buyers. The green home has Energy Star qualified appliances, high efficiency heating and cooling systems, energy-efficient lighiting and locally produced green building materials. The homes are 52% more energy efficient than a similar size house built in a traditional way. The company aims at selling the 1200 square ft. homes at US $85000, for which they plan to establish a factory in the community, which could be ready by the end of 2007, producing 250 houses a year. How is that for creativity.

Trust with no words

2007-04-27T07:10:00.000-05:00

When we arrived at the bus station in Dubrovnik a woman in her 50s with very poor English approached us, offering to stay in her house. It is a popular custom in Croatia, to wait for tourists at the harbour or bus stations to offer accomodation in private homes. We decided to check it out- it seemed so much more intriguing and interesting to see a local home from the inside, how life goes in the "real" city, than to check in in a traditional standard hotel. She paid for our bus tickets, guided us into the walled city and we walked up several hundred stairs before arriving to her place. She fixed turkish coffee for us, brought cookies and took us to the roof, overlooking the city. How is trust developed? What makes it possible, for a modest middle aged woman to trust foreigners, not being able to communicate much because of different languages, to give us the key of her home, which means access to all she has? What makes it possible, that she leaves the home to go for more tourists, unconcerned by strangers staying behind? We only stayed a day, but in a strange way, we connected in deeper ways that words can build. When we were leaving, we hugged as I have hugged my closest friends, my family, those hugs that connect souls where there is total trust and open hearts. While I am unable to pronounce her Croatian name, and possibly would not recognize her face in a crowd next week, our brief interaction had the maximum intensity of human connection. There were not many words - yet we gave something to each other that I sense will not expire, a timeless experience, a lasting impact. What made that possible?

Rocky lands

2007-04-26T08:14:00.000-05:00

I just spent the last few days in Croatia, visiting the islands of Hvar and Kurcula. (Croatia has 1185 islands, only 47 are inhabited). The islands we visited have mountains and a stoney ground. However, travelling across the island we saw miles and miles of hillsides, criss-crossed with lines of piled rocks. At some places there were like small walls, in other places they were piled like small towers with an entry. In between the piled stones, the earth shined green, planted in some parts with olive trees, in others just green bushes. It made me think how many days or rock piling this had taken, centuries ago. How one person at a time, how whole communities engaged in clearing up the rocky lands so that some earth could be uncovered, recovered and made fertile for theirs and future generations.

Plant a Tree

2007-04-18T05:02:00.000-05:00

Always talking about what is the small step that we can take, the little personal contribution to leaving a legacy...

This morning i've found one. It's called help planting a tree.

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Mrs. Wangari Maathai with support of the United Nations Environment Program has launched the Plant for the Planet Project: She wants to reach the goal of planting 1 billion trees in 2007, and for this they need the help of you, me, community groups, businesses and governments.

The Billion Tree idea emerged when a corporate group told Maathi that it was planting a million trees in the US. She responded, "That's great, but what we really need is to plant a billion trees."

"As we all know, we cannot live without trees. The average tree inhales 26 pounds of carbon dioxide and exhales enough oxygen for a family of four for a year.

For this reason, planting more trees is an important and practical part of the solution to global warming. Trees are economically important as well, providing communities with timber, fuel and food, and acting as a source of gums, latex and medicines for all societies. Trees are also essential to the environment, preventing erosion and desertification, and conserving soil and water sources; forests are home to 90 percent of terrestrial species. "

Through the Billion Tree Campaign website www.unep.org/billiontreecampaign, you can log in to make a pledge to plant a tree (you can pledge to plant a single tree, or up to 10 million trees) and then follow up once you have planted.

The campaign has identified four target areas of greatest need: degraded natural forests, farms and rural landscapes, sustainably managed plantations, and urban environments, but all pledges are welcome. Simply planting a tree in your backyard can have a positive impact on the environment.

When less becomes Moore

2007-04-17T08:18:00.000-05:00

The wind has stopped. After three days of noise today the morning was calm, silent, it seemed suddenly empty. It was unsettling - that emptiness.

I thought of a story told by Yoga teacher Dena - when observing the reclining woman sculpture of Henry Moore - the substance of the woman comes out when he leaves it blank. She pointed at that metaphore as a reflection on how the absence shapes the presence.

winds

2007-04-16T07:32:00.000-05:00

Since yesterday there are strong windgusts, up to 21 mph/33 kmh. I am not used to wind and i keep hearing the unsettling noise. It creates in me a state of alertedness that i cannot explain.

I recall meeting people in the city of Comodoro Rivadavia, very South on the Argentine Atlantic coast. It is called the capital of the wind, and the motto is "a city with energy". The winds in Comodoro are permanent and strong, all year long. People develop psychological disorders because of continuously being exposed to the wind, working, walking, fighiting it. I wonder where birds hide. Or do they let go and cruise? Winds undo hairdo. May be they are meant to undo the narcissism. Winds push us back, create resistance, don't let us move forward. Or may be they do push us forward?

When confused

2007-04-15T05:30:00.000-05:00

I received this image from Tato, taken in the Argentine Patagonia. It reminded me that when confused on what direction to go, reflection helps.

Red Knots that tie us together

2007-04-13T04:50:00.000-05:00

I received an article from a major Argentine newspaper, about the Red Knot.

'The Red Knot is a tiny migratory bird that flies from Tierra del Fuego, the most South point of Latin America, all the way north up to the Canadian Artic.

This bird undertakes a journey of 32000 km (20000 miles), flying at an altitude of 4000 mt (12000 ft), and has been studied because it is a real flying maching. To prepare for the demanding trip, they need to build up a special energy reservoir, which they accomplish feeding on fatty food, at the same time they enlarge the size of their muscles, wings and heart, and reduce the size of their stomachs.

But this bird is in extinction. In a bit more than the last decade the population of Red Knots has diminished by 75%, and according to a scientist from a Canadian institute for wildlife research, the reason is the overfishing of a specific crab (cangrejo herradura), which is found in the Delaware Bay, one of the critical feedings stops of the bird. Several US states have initiated a campaign to control the overfishing, but it will take between 8 and 9 years until their reproduction becomes significant.

I wish i would remember well a quote i heard, something like the flap of a butterfly wing in the Amazon impacts the stockmarket in Tokyo... It was a quote to alert on our interconnectedness. I think the Red Knot story is a better example for me. What a responsibility we all have, in what we daily do... I'm barely beginning to notice it. Eating crabs...!?

envirornmental literacy

2007-04-11T07:54:00.000-05:00

A year or so ago i did an email campaign, with a colleague, where we sent emails into a number of magazines, major newspapers in the US, tv stations, and radio stations inviting them to be responsible and to use their reach and influence with the readers/audience, by raising environmental issues. We called it Environmental Literacy. I never heard back from any, but i was thrilled to see the recent Fortune issue all dedicated to CSR and environmental impact of business, and today this: BUSINESSWEEK Chief of Correspondents Joseph Weber to Receive the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics Journalism Award i am not taking credit for this, but i think every one of our voices count. We may not know where they are heard, but voice is noise.

About Marginality

2007-04-10T16:10:00.000-05:00

I read some reflections by my friend Tamara. She was sharing some thoughts about marginality, that she and her group had generated. They defined marginal as the person standing outside and looking in. What an interesting image. What is outside, and what is inside? I remember one day at a cool bar, they had led a rope around a small area, and a person was guarding that those in the outside wouldn't mix up with those in the inside. The difference was that to be in the inside, the guest had to pay more, by actually buying a full bottle of champagne. In the outside, you could get a glass. There was no other difference: same tables, long chairs, same lights, actually, not even walls or anything indicating the limit - other than a rope. But people in the outside were looking and creating the "inside"with their longing looks. People in the inside, were creating the outside with what seemed like an special enjoyement of the rope. The owners, were cashing in by selling inclusion and exclusion. Tamara's reflections mentioned that we all are marginal at times, and when we are not, we are marginalizing others.

Things are moving

2007-04-08T18:53:00.000-05:00

I found this event that will take place in London. This is good news! The Body Shop, Procter & Gamble, Vodafone UK, Microsoft Belgium and Reuters are just a few of the major companies that will be gathering in London to take part in a key discussion forum 'CSR Delivery, Engagement & Leadership' looking at how to implement Corporate Social Responsibility in an effective way. CSR plays a major role in enhancing employee relations, productivity and innovation. Many companies also recognise that it improves reputation and branding. However the difficulty lies in transforming CSR from an abstract ideal into a concrete plan of action. CSR cannot be implemented throughout an entire company by just one person. The strategy must be introduced throughout each company section in a convincing way to ensure that all employees, at all levels, buy into corporate responsibility. To achieve it's optimal effectiveness the CSR strategy must be integrated into a company’s daily activities. The event hosted by Osney Media and will take place on the 19th & 20th April 2007 in Central London. Joining them in the discussion will be an impressive speaker line-up featuring senior representatives from Ipsos MORI, Ericsson, Dell, Goodcorporation, CSR Network Henley Management College and FTSE Group to name but a few. These industry experts will provide solutions enabling companies to: Build a CSR oriented leadership Involve managers and employees and get people on board Integrate CSR with the global strategy of the company Communicate CSR and make people understand and embrace it Deliver CSR throughout the company to make it really happen Learn how to play out CSR principles in practice Explore the role of benchmarking in developing CSR strategy Discover how to address the challenges of engagement

Richard Gere beyond the widescreen

2007-04-06T07:14:00.000-05:00

As i was driving i listened to part of an interview on NPR of Richard Gere, by Terry Gross. Mindblowing. She asked him how he dealt with fame, and if his Buddhist studies have helped him with that. He responded that he had met the Dalai Lama, and talking about being famous, "he knows what it is to be a public person. No one - n o o n e - likes the lack of privacy that comes with fame. But as I met the Dalai Lama, i learned from him that every single encounter with others is an opportunity given to us to leave a mark." E-v-e-r-y s-i-n-g-l-e e-n-c-o-u-n-t-e-r... that gave me a LOT to ponder.

2007-04-06T06:48:00.001-05:00

Inspiration, everywhere

2007-04-05T11:48:00.000-05:00

As long as you can see them... My friend Graziella, who had a transformative experience on the shores of the Orinoco river, in Venezuela, and as a result began a project of a book, through which she wants to share with others that there is a world beyond the accostumed Western, comfortable lifestyle of the privileged. May be the privileged are not those we think.

Surprises everywhere

2007-03-11T18:47:00.000-05:00

As i went for my early morning coffee at the Starbucks of Miami International, en route to Singapore, I saw some fliers displayed next to the sugar/cream table. I was intrigued about what they were trying to communicate, so I picked them up. Sipping my coffee I was thrilled to read the first flyer about their corporate socially-responsible initiatives. I knew Starbucks was active and one of the early adopters of CSR perspectives, but this went far beyond my expectations. In their flyer they give a short paragraph about each of the areas in which they are taking steps - that have an impact on communities and on environment, on the present and on the future. I won't say more, get one and read it. I felt a bit better paying the expensive price of their coffee. True - they are not perfect and they have ways to go. As we all have, and some have more ways to go than others. What I loved was the blink of hope that it gave me, seeing that somewhere, some people do care.

It's rolling

2007-03-06T08:48:00.000-05:00

I thought that once a paper is thrown into the water, the ripple waves will begin. And it worked. I wrote a few lines, and there comes Martha and sends me this interesting thought: that according to Covey (yes, more of him...), there are four areas of needs, which he displays in a circle. The first one is about learning: it's the mind, growth and development The next one is about living: it relates to the body and to survival The third one is about loving: connected to the heart, to relationships And the fourth one is in the center: he calls it leaving a legacy. It's about meaning, contribution.

A good way to start

2007-03-04T17:49:00.000-05:00

Sunrise is the image, as it brings with it a beginning. An opportunity, that will be up to us to shape.

I received in the mail a brochure that was interesting. It had a few lines on the front:

I was not sure if it was a workshop for financial planning or strategic thinking. It ended up being for time management, but that really doesn't matter. What struck me were those lines. They were talking to me.

As I opened I found Covey's matrix of what is important and urgent, a pyramide to help you plan the day, the week, set goals and identify values. Good basic, forgotten stuff.

I will stay with the few first lines.

It's Your Life. It's Worth Planning. Focus. Achieving your highest priorities.