Category Archives: Community

DIVING INTO LOVE

Posted on by
Reply
The call of love flows from our humanity and from all that is. Love is an endless ocean, a never-ending forest, a mountain that keeps on rising and rising. Love is ready for us and waiting. But the status quo or much of the way that our world is set up tempts us to limit our love and our humanity. Many people, however, from many cultures throughout our world and throughout our history, have called to be revolutionaries, “You have heard it in many ways, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” It’s time to go make a splash and jump in, to think and climb, to play games and laugh, to trust and share, to forgive and serve, to work and win, and to dance, sing, and exchange stories.
Volunteers work to provide relief from tornadoes

Volunteers in Nashville, Tennessee work to provide water and other necessities for tornado victims, photographed May 6, 2010.

But what is Love? It’s far more than pleasant feelings concerning others. Love is a wondrous emerging reality grounded in practical and thoughtful actions that uplift and fortify our relationships with others.

Love shares food, clothing, shelter, … gifts, hugs, emails, face time, visits, … seeds, plants, skills, knowledge, services, esteem, … Love is a champion of justice and equity for all. Love demands equal access to needed goods, services, education, employment, fair pay, … Love’s priorities are those things which benefit everyone. Love would rather have poverty for oneself rather than accept injustice for others. Love generously shares and exchanges goods for everyone’s benefit. Love needs nothing more than what we already have. A few loaves and fish will be enough.

Love welcomes each person. Love is responsive, kind, attentive, understanding, and forgiving. Love strives to work out every miscommunication, every misunderstanding, and every hurt. Love reconciles and heals. Love looks out for everyone. Love does no harm, creates no violence, respects the safety needs of all, and does not return evil for evil. Love recognizes the gift, value, and role of each person, each being, and each thing. Love embraces the astonishing diversity of life, languages, cultures, and peoples, for their own sakes and for the richness that they offer us. Love esteems others recognizing their genius, goodness, and vitality. Love sees the inspiration present in others and present in their guiding visions. Love rejects no one and does not view anyone as being lesser or second class. Love would rather have the scorn from the “chosen” or the “in-group crowd” rather than participate in the rejection of anyone. Love connects everyone and everything. Love involves all of us together – trusting together, working together, sharing together, playing together, and celebrating the human family together.

Love is not short-sighted but rather looks toward the long-term benefit of all especially the needy. Love directs its works toward the present and coming generations. Love respects our common home, the Earth, and all its wonders. Love is patient, persevering in hope and in respect, even in disagreement and conflict, concentrating on much deeper agreements and common goals. Love is the person who I cannot stand. Love is humble. Love chooses trust over power and control. Love overturns the status quo beating swords into plowshares. Love is wholesome, constructive, creative, expressive, and empowering for all. Love answers needs.

Let’s dive in!

This is the second post of a series outlining where Umpteen Horizons is going. HUMANITY – OUR PATH TO VICTORY was the first post of this series. This post on love is the first of four posts on love. After love, this series will follow with other topics too.

Again I am very interested in your thoughts about all this. Also again, this will lead toward something very practical. So what do you think about love? What do you think about love as a call and as a revolution? Please make comments here or send me your thoughts at denton2100@gmail.com. Thanks much!

Humanity – Our Path to Victory

Posted on by
3
Celebrating freedom in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - photographed August 31, 2008.

Celebrating freedom in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - photographed August 31, 2008.

Splashing and jumping in the water – meditating in the woods – hiking together in the mountains – playing games – laughing – painting one another’s faces – hugging one another – looking into each other’s eyes in trust – learning from each other – sharing and exchanging treasures generously – forgiving each other – preparing for and enjoying a feast – joining together in disaster preparation and recovery efforts – serving each other and working together – being victorious together – singing – dancing – telling stories … the wondrous gift of our humanity, this is who we all are and where we need to invest our energies, concerns, and works.   

Our life-giving humanity has been described in terms of needs and abilities by many people such as Abraham Maslow, a psychologist, and Ashley Montagu, an anthropologist. These descriptions include our needs and abilities to love and be loved, to sensitively and authentically relate to one another, to let life unfold by respecting the freedom and growth of others, to honestly accept ourselves for who we are, to appreciate our differences objectively, to have strong ethical standards, and to be concerned for the well-being of everyone. We also have tremendous capacities to be enthused, to be curious, to appreciate and be caught up in the wonder of life, to be spontaneous, to be playful, to be humorous, to be joyful, to show affection, to share laughter and tears, and to express gratitude. We have boundless growth abilities too. Today, step by step, we can overcome the failings of yesterday through our needs and abilities to organize, to communicate ideas, to be flexible, to be resilient, to be creative, to identify difficulties and find solutions, to be optimistic, to try new things, to be open minded, to listen to ones heart and grow through self-reflection, to think soundly, to listen to and trust in others, to grow within and beyond our own culture, to win together, and to celebrate wholeheartedly.    

This is our journey together. As Howard Thurmond, a theologian, has said, “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” So let’s “Choose life!” with our whole heart and with our whole soul and with all our strength (see Deuteronomy 6:4 and 30:19). In the same full spirit, let’s “Choose our humanity!” by embracing visionary understandings of all that we perceive and all that is beyond us; deep, altruistic intentions in all that we are about; gentle, truthful, compassionate interactions and relationships between us; respectful, helpful, healing actions; life-giving livelihoods; wholesome, vigorous effort; alert, empathetic mindfulness; and hope-based, needs-based, empowering concentration (see the Eightfold Path of Buddhism). Let’s be responsible and answer our call to be fully human, alive, and free! Let’s, as a human family, get in our zone, find healing, and be victorious together!  

I am very interested in your thoughts about this. This may seem very theoretical but this is the first of a several posts that are heading toward something very practical. What do you think about humanity? Also what do you think about the call to love, the topic of our next post, or should I call it the love revolution? Please make comments here or send me your thoughts at denton2100@gmail.com. Thanks much!

Sharing our Interconnected Earth

Posted on by
2
Olympic National Park

Olympic National Park, photograghed by Paul Symington on October 15, 2005.

We – Earthlings – animals, plants, and more – trillions of us – belonging to millions of species – all contribute to Earth’s incredibly wondrous biosphere. Together we can share and enjoy this planet as our home. As intelligent human beings, we can also share and enjoy the incredible richness of thousands of cultures, religions, philosophies, and spoken languages. Our biological and cultural diversity is an ever-flowing fountain for our humanity.

Yet in the midst of such wonder we are afraid. We find ourselves disconnected, small, caught up in the “rat race,” and when we think deeply, the shortness of our lives weighs upon us. Yet our capabilities are extraordinary. Of course, we easily make mistakes and are in need of continual growth, but the diverse gifts that lie deepest inside of each of us can bring us such joys, life, meaning … In a word, we can LOVE – loving the WHOLE and all individuals.

About five years ago, I had a dream where I ran up to a man who was considered a subversive radical, and I challenged his theories. But he just replied in a friendly manner that “The positive energies of government are far more compelling than the negative.” Realizing that he was not so dangerous, I asked him to be more specific. He replied, “Human cooperation should strive toward being enlightening, empowering, and unifying.”

Perhaps the beauty and resilience of Earth’s diverse, interconnected eco-systems can teach us that it’s time to stop racing – become still – look beyond our perspective – and join hands for the benefit of All.

We’re having a planning meeting for this year’s Dauphin Island Hands Across the Sand. We’ll meet at 5:30, Thursday evening, May 19, at Ryan’s restaurant (4439 Rangeline Rd in Tillman’s Corner). Ryan’s has a meeting room reserved for us. So if you’re interested, please come for our eating meeting (everyone pays for their own meal). Google Map for Ryan’s: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

Proposals for the Coastal Recovery Commission of Alabama

Posted on by
Reply
Kindra Arnesen speaking from the August 5, 2010 Buras Town Hall Meeting

Time for your voice to be heard!

Many families in coastal South Alabama depend on a sound coastal environment for their livelihoods. The coastal communities in south Mobile County have been assaulted by the oil catastrophe. Many families are still recovering from Hurricane Katrina and the ongoing oil catastrophe. These proposals provide needed tangible benefits for these communities.

The proposals have emerged from several community brainstorms held in Coden and on Dauphin Island. These proposals are sensitive to community needs and the goals of the Commission. The set of proposals are not meant to be comprehensive but to be included in the comprehensive plan being developed by the Commission.

Ecological Needs 

  • Clean, restore, and enhance gulf and bays
  • Build and enhance 100 miles of oyster reefs and 1000+ acres of coastal marsh and seagrass – see http://100-1000.org/
  • Ensure that water, air, and food are safe with ongoing long-term testing – data should be fully and immediately available to the public
  • Develop comprehensive, fail-safe regulations to prevent future oil catastrophes – prevention is a great deal better than the cure

Coastal Community Participation 

  • Enlist local decision making and employment in coastal recovery efforts
  • Invest in coastal economic opportunities to support sustainable coastal recovery and enhance Alabama’s coastal areas and waters
  • Train south Alabama medical professionals to diagnose and treat environmental health conditions potentially related to the oil catastrophe
  • Immediate public transparency on all issues relating to public health such as the use of dispersants in area waters and the ongoing presence of oil and other health threats in area waters
  • Listen and learn from coastal communities in order to improve future responses to coastal disasters such as oil spills and hurricanes

Education and Support Initiatives for Oil-Affected Families

  • Grant full scholarships for children of low-income, oil-affected families to local universities, community colleges, or technical schools
  • Provide job training and a support system for coastal workers and others who have lost their livelihoods due to the oil catastrophe
  • Enhance science curriculum at all levels (K through college) to better appreciate Alabama’s coastal environment and to provide appropriate service-learning programs to support the environment (see service-learning resource center at the University of South Alabama http://caslce.usouthal.edu/)

 Coastal Fire Protection 

  • Develop a unified, comprehensive plan for coastal fire fighting resources
  • Several coastal communities need multipurpose fire engines with 75-foot ladders and with storage for water and foam
  • Fire and rescue response boat powered by twin engines and capable of pumping water from sea
  • New bunker gear capable of protecting the well-being of the firemen and providing self-contained breathing for firemen
  • Radio communications for hazardous-materials quick response needs that connect Mobile, Baldwin, and neighboring counties in Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida

These proposals will be submitted to the Commission this evening at the Bayou La Batre Community Center. This is a public meeting for the Commission to share its plans and receive input from the public. Meeting starts at 5:30 P.M.