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*Back in Action….Finch, Streep, Rhee Model the Mood

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Those of you who follow the blog know that my daughter died a little over 4 years ago at the age of 31 (see previous post regarding a memorial). Today, I visited her at the lake where the boys and I scattered some of her ashes. I’m not ashamed to talk to her, and today I was moaning about the state of affairs, about the seeming lack of inspiration.

She lectured me pretty good. Jodi had a flair for colorful language and it hasn’t changed. So after a long absence, and at her behest, I am taking up the keyboard once more.

Frankly, I’ve been very out of sorts, troubled of course by the political stalemates from throughout the world—the absolute absence of any sign of inspiration from anyone—just bickering and posturing, all of it using the resources of the population. And I have grown cynical. I began this blog to share insights in my own quest for the nature of Inspiration, and an attempt to determine what characteristics need to be present in a human being who indeed inspires others. The blog had a hopeful birth.

But examples of inspiration in the public square or in business are not rampant, they are not frequent—rather they are rare. The “Occupy” movement, with its beginnings in protest to the great bail-out of the rich in the United States now seems a cry in the desert by those who otherwise have nothing to do. The governments’ response to that movement is confused and ineffective as well.

The Arab Spring was a hopeful sign, yet what is reported now is a grab for power in the vacuum, not an effort to reward courage with freedom and a system of dignity.

Yes, it will take time, but I’m tired. I’m reminded, in fact, of the 1976 satirical film “Network.” The first time Peter Finch suggests that people just simply open the window and shout “I’m mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore,” the nation responds.

That’s how I’m feeling. Can someone step up? Can anyone, in the United States or anywhere else, simply lead….hold us to what Lincoln called our higher angels? I did see “Iron Lady” this month, and developed a new appreciation for the resolve of Ms. Thatcher to stand by her principles. Britain did indeed see a rebirth after the dose of her medicine. Could it be that we simply are living beyond our material and spiritual means?

I’m going to hear Michelle Rhee tonight–certainly she isn’t afraid to be in the thick of it.

I’ll let you know how it goes, and then I’ll start bringing things up-to-date. It hardly seems appropriate to be on the sidelines myself.

Blessings

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*Tuscon: It Happens Every Day.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

 

This is going to be an unpopular entry with many.

I spend a lot of time trying to consider a middle position–trying to understand various points of view on the topics that interest me. It seems unlikely that my own view might be the only one, or even the right one, so I have great respect for people who feel and think differently than I do. My interest lies in the elements of universal inspiration, not in what might simply be important to me.  
 
Yet once in a while an issue or event comes along that truly mystifies me, and I need to offer a point of view about it. Such is the tragedy in Arizona this week and our national response to it; in particular the response of our elected governmental officials.
 
The attack on the Arizona Congress-woman and others in the shopping center was horrendous. The fact that she is a public official, of course, made it even riper for media to pounce on it as a story, and made it grist for everyone in Washington to express their outrage.

I share that outrage. I pray for the recovery of the wounded, and I am dedicated to do what I can to prevent violent political expressions and/or ignoring the tragic signs of mental illness.
 
However, there comes a time for perspective. How does this event stack up in terms of what is actually going on in the United States for ordinary people? Is the response of our government at all elitist? Does the fervor, reaction and commitment to ceremony of our elected representatives give testimony to their complete isolation from the ordinary people of the United States? 

I think so.

These tragic murders have been followed by a joint resolution of Congress, the half-staff flying of the flag, and most telling, suggestions that the members of Congress get briefings on security, that they arrange for greater security at public events, and even to a proposal that we, the tax-payers, pay for personal security for them as we do the President and Vice-President.
  
I live in Northern California. Just a few miles east of my home is an area known as “The Iron Triangle,” a place where the murder rate is the highest in California—where they celebrate if there are fewer than 100 homicides a year…that is roughly one every three days. Most of these crimes are committed by young black men; many of the killings are gang related, but not all. Most of the victims are also black and young, although not all. Oh….and most murders in this area are unsolved.
 
The reports of these murders read like this:
“Brian Broughton, 18, and his brother Ron Broughton, 19, were gunned down as they left their home at ……. or ” Joseph Martinez, 20, was shot to death as he exited his car in a shopping center parking lot.” In most cases, as with these two, there is the inevitable tag line, “No arrests have been made.”
 
I’m sure Ms. Broughton and Ms. Martinez did not get a visit from the President, nor was there a resolution in Congress declaring the depth of this tragedy, nor were any flags flown at half-staff…anywhere. In fact, these boys were mourned by their friends, carefully and selectively, to avoid tempting the same fate.
 
I’m equally sure that the City of Richmond, CA. would love to have its security forces beefed up, would like to provide a police officer to do extra patrols in the Broughton and Martinez neighborhood, and would welcome the funds to do extra neighborhood briefings on security. 

That’s not likely to happen anytime soon. 

You see, there is no money for that kind of recognition, ceremony, or security to be provided for ordinary citizens, and there is certainly no interest in any elected body, save the City of Richmond, to provide it. Ms. Broughton and Ms. Martinez have no power, and the city cannot print money.

Yet the elitists whom we elect seem to think that their security is more important than ours. The urgency around protecting themselves is palpable, and yet they are elected and paid to serve us. 

They refer to the Arizona tragedy as an “act of terrorism.” I agree. How is the murder rate in cities, largely exacerbated by gang warfare, escaping that same label? More important, how is it escaping the same interest from these elected officials?
  
Someone, somewhere, has to mention this gross oversight, less we miss the irony, less we fail to realize that Congress seems to exist and act solely for its own enrichment and survival.
 
We should, of course, mourn this loss and the circumstances that allowed the Tucson tragedy to happen. But let’s not pretend that it is exceptional, and let’s not avoid challenging an elite group of “officials” because they don’t have the consciousness to take care of the people they supposedly serve, rather than just focusing on themselves. Just because it doesn’t happen in your neighborhood very often doesn’t mean it is rare.

Wake up!

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*A Thanksgiving Tradition: Gratitude.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

The prayer below came to me through a dear friend several years ago. I believe it was adapted from an earlier rendition, but will give credit where I found it.

My family and I have, from time to time, read this in little pieces around the dinner table on Thanksgiving, passing the paper from chair to chair, reading a stanza and then recovering before the next person picks it up. We do this to remind us of our incredibly good fortune at being born, to be born at this place in this time, and to remind us that most of the world can’t sit down and eat whenever and whatever they want.

I wish you all the best Thanksgiving ever….and that would be one during which we actually have an experience of gratitude for life, for our loved ones, and for the incredible fortune that is bestowed on us through some unknown trick of fate.   

Prayer for the Children… by Ina J. Hughes

We pray for the children
who put chocolate fingers everywhere,
who like to be tickled,
who stomp in puddles and ruin their new pants,
who sneak Popsicles before supper,
who erase holes in math workbooks,
who can never find their shoes.

And we pray for those
who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire,
who’ve never squeaked across the floor in new sneakers,
who never had crayons to count,
who are born in places we wouldn’t be caught dead,
who never go to the circus,
who live in an X-rated world.

We pray for children
who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions,
who sleep with the dog and bury goldfish,
who give hugs in a hurry and forget their lunch money,
who cover themselves with Band-Aids and sing off-key,
who squeeze toothpaste all over the sink,
who slurp their soup.

And we pray for those
who never get dessert,
who watch their parents watch them die,
who have no safe blanket to drag behind,
who can’t find any bread to steal,
who don’t have any rooms to clean up,
whose pictures aren’t on anybody’s dresser,
whose monsters are real.

We pray for children
who spend all their allowance before Tuesday,
who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food,
who like ghost stories,
who shove dirty clothes under the bed,
who never rinse out the tub,
who get visits from the tooth fairy,
who don’t like to be kissed in front of the school,
who squirm in church or temple or mosque
and scream in the phone,
whose tears we sometimes laugh at and
whose smiles can make us cry.

And we pray for those
whose nightmares come in the daytime,
who will eat anything,
who aren’t spoiled by anybody,
who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep,
who live and move, but have no being.

We pray for children who want to be carried,
and for those who must.
For those we never give up on,
and for those who never get a chance.
For those we smother with our love,
and for those who will grab the hand of anybody
kind enough to offer it.

 

many, many blessings,

Terry Pearce, 2010

 

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Jodi Pearce Wilson Ehrlicher, May 19,1976–Dec. 5,2007

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Jodi Pearce Wilson Ehrlicher died at the age of 31 of a cerebral hemorrhage, apparently caused by a congenital defect inside the ventricle of the brain. She was the healthiest person I knew. She was more than my daughter, she was a wonderful friend, devoted to everyone in her family, especially to her husband and two small kids.

During the 2 ½ years since her passing I’ve learned the difference between grieving and letting go. The former may be a pre-requisite to the latter, but letting go, regardless of the amount of grieving, feels like jumping from a very high cliff, not knowing whether I will learn to fly again.

But this morning, at 6 A.M. her two brothers and I sprinkled a few of her ashes on some sacred ground at a lake in Northern California. We deposited a small cloisonné butterfly pin in a family cache, set out a heart of sunflowers in the meadow, floated a wreath on the pristine water, and read some words of completion.

Of course we  will never forget her, nor will we stop loving her. But we have entered into a much more dynamic and active relationship with her fearless spirit. I have a feeling we gave her permission to do the same with us….and we’ll be loving, and listening.

sunrise-at-btc

sunflowers-and-rock1

jodi-wreath-21

Do not stand
At my grave and weep.
I am not there
I do not sleep.

I am a thousand
Winds that blow.
I am the
Diamond
Glints on snow.

I am the sun
0n ripened grain

I am the gentle
Autumn
Rain.

When you awake
In the morning hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
of quiet birds in circled flight…

I am the stars that blink at night.

I am the mystery you know
Inside your hearts
The inner glow…
The wisdom that our world imparts
When tears of loss begin to flow…..

So do not stand
At my grave
And cry,

I am not there,

I did not die.

Hopi–Unknown Origin.

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* Jeter and Bush. Two Different Views.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

jeter

This blog looks for examples in life that trigger inspiration, particularly for stories of character….traits displayed by one person that can inspire another, or perhaps even groups of others.

Every day the news presents us with examples, good and bad, of public figures who act in ways that others can observe, and we have the opportunity to observe their relative value in the world of inspiration. This blog has featured many such examples, most recently one involving basketball star Lebron James  (see below).

Now we have two more examples from the wide world of sports, ironically presented on the same day.

On that day, in New York City, Derek Jeter was lying to an umpire about getting hit by a foul ball. As a result, he was awarded first base—thankfully his team went on to lose the game. Afterward, Jeter, the Yankee captain, certain future hall-of-famer and role model to hundreds of thousands of young little leaguers was asked by a reporter if the ball had hit him.

“No,” he said, despite the fact that he writhed in pain, asked the trainer to attend to him, and shook his arm all the way to first base. “Was it just acting?” asked the reporter. “Yes, a little bit,” offered Jeter with a smile. “What did you expect me to do? The umpire told me to take first base.” 

The next day, sports bloggers wrote in near consistency, “Yep, that’s baseball, and that’s life. You take what you can get.” 

 bush

Meanwhile, the same evening, on the southern coast of the United States, in New Orleans, Reggie Bush, running back/receiver for the New Orleans Saints, was giving back his Heisman Trophy to the Heisman Trust. The award itself was stripped from Bush because he accepted money and/or merchandise from agents and alumni in violation of NCAA rules. He admits that he did that, but also says that he didn’t know at the time it was a violation. He himself does not face any criminal charges and is outside of the jurisdiction of the NCAA itself. The Heisman Trust had not asked him to return the statue itself.

“My minister was the only person who agreed with me, “said Bush. “Even my parents wanted me to keep it. But I’m the one who has to live with my decision, not them, and I think it is more in keeping with my beliefs to give it back.” 

Jeter’s question just might be the right one (although he thought the answer was obvious).  ”What did you expect me to do?” 

So which one works for you?

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* Lebron II…What’s Best for the Family.

Monday, July 26, 2010

cash-wad

So Lebron:

What you did was no different from what bankers do when they look for ways to get around regulations rather than looking for ways to help people and make a profit doing it. At some point, we need to ask the questions, “What’s rich”, and “what’s enough?” That second question doesn’t get asked much in your field, or in the upper echelons of the financially successful.

It seems from your television comments and your later “tweets” to your minions of disciples, that you made this decision based on “what was best for your family,” and that “what’s best” involves money and championships. Certainly if your family were living in the projects, or unable to feed themselves, then money would be a priority. As Gandhi said, “Some people can only see God in a loaf of bread.”

But that is hardly the case with you. And, as I understand it, the money was the same regardless of where you decided to play. So let’s explore another set of values, just for fun.

Imagine giving these comments, Lebron. They could have taken up the first fifteen minutes of your “special.”

“I’ve given a lot of thought and received a lot of advice about where I should be going, who I should be playing basketball with, and how much money I should make. I appreciate everyone’s time and energy, and I certainly respect different points of view. In the final analysis, I have to do what is best for my family.

For me, the decision really wasn’t very hard. After all, I grew up with a supportive mom, good friends and great coaches. Without this community, I could have ended up in some pretty awful places. The people of Akron and Cleveland have provided the base support for me having all of this unbelievable wealth. I have to pinch myself just to remember that it is really me.

Basketball is just a game. But when anyone is as blessed with special gifts, we have a responsibility to use them wisely, to try to lift others up just as they have lifted me.

Most people in this community haven’t enjoyed the same opportunity that I’ve had. Many people who work for a living worry day to day about their livelihood, putting their kids through school and keeping food on the table. Still, some of them come to the arena to watch a very special team play a game. Others might never be able to come, but will watch us on television or listen on the radio. For the past seven years, and particularly the past three, I like to think that the Cavaliers have provided a bright spot in this area, and I’ve been proud to be a part of it.

Now, I would like to win some championships, and I know this team plans to do just that. Hopefully, when we do, we will celebrate together and then do it again. This community deserves it.

Many athletes play just for the money, or just for the glory…I love that part as well. But opportunities like this are rare. If I can actually make a difference in the greater community, then I have really been blessed. I can’t imagine that any decision could be any better for my family than staying right here, pitching in, making a difference where we can. If my family can learn the value of community, then I will have succeeded in raising them well. I look forward to the next seven years, and to seeing you all out at the arena.”

Inspired yet?

Words like these bring out other words like “character,” and “class,” and “perspective.” I think such words make a much better basis for teaching your family what’s best. But hey, that’s just me. You can try again in seven years.

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* Jesse James More Inspiring Than Lebron?

Saturday, July 10, 2010

jesse-james1lebron1
There is so much to be learned from the Lebron James phenomenon. Since my world is the world of inspiration, Lebron James is to me as many politicians are to cartoonists, “the gift that keeps on giving.”

It’s hard not to digress, expand or hyperbolize. It is difficult to avoid following all of the paths Lebron has offered at once….and make the classic Stephen Leacock mistake, to “ride off in all directions,” thereby splitting horse, rider and metaphor.

But I’ll saddle up and try to pick my way—carefully—up the trail of inspiration. Today’s notes are strictly contextual…later this week, I’ll really get serious!

We have here a 25-year-old basketball player, previously of modest means who is now a multi-millionaire. He was raised in Cleveland, Ohio by his mother and is now without adult supervision. He has matured physically beyond any gladiator comparison. He has been the symbol and performance leader of his NBA basketball team for seven years, in a city besieged by the recession, by the movement of manufacturing jobs and by a demoralized and devalued populace.

Certainly Cleveland is not Detroit, but neither is it Shanghai. It is in the process of re-invention, of re-building industrially, in its infrastructure, and certainly psychically—not unlike the United States as a whole. Cleveland has an unemployment rate of just north of 17%. Inspiration is hard to come by.

With James leading the way on the court, The Cleveland Cavaliers have won more basketball games during the regular season than any other team for the past two seasons, but even with James’ considerable talent, they have not be able to reach the finals of the NBA playoffs.

James reached the end of his first contract and became a free agent…meaning that this time, the choice of where he is to play is totally his—it is not dictated by a pre-determined draft. He is free to make an unrestricted choice—to show his character.

Now I simply have to digress, because everyone who reads this blog doesn’t follow professional basketball. But to many citizens of many cities, professional sports teams are a symbol of success in the masculine (not necessarily male) world of competition—a world that largely currently defines America.

So when personal jobs are lost, when personal failure drags the day-to-day world into a psychological sink-hole, the game is still on, and your team can vindicate your day, if not your year. If they win, you win. You face your own failures and your own difficult times with a little more courage. There is something positive to talk about at the unemployment office, in the bar or even at the book club.

Stick with me here.

James not only decides to leave Cleveland, but he makes two other proclamations, one by format, and the other by rhetoric. He takes an hour of prime-time television to tell the city that worshipped him that he is leaving. Then he pours heavy astringent on that gaping wound by telling these citizens that it is because he, Lebron, wants to win championships, and that it can’t be done in Cleveland.

Doesn’t that remind you of all of the heroes and heroines that we cherish? Doesn’t it bring forth memories of Sadat, Mandela, King and Kennedy? In the world of sports, does it not call up the words of Lou Gehrig, dying of ALS and declaring that he considered himself “the luckiest person on the face of the earth?” Isn’t Lebron’s gratitude and sense of awe staggering? Isn’t he a great model for your children?

I’m sure some of you are railing right now about those “unfair” comparisons, about Lebron’s right to do what he wants, to make as much money as he can, and to join his two friends to come out of the smoke in Miami to the adoration of fans who now have the most expensive team that money can buy. After all, it’s the American Way.

Or is it? I think not. I think the real American Way is much different from this clown circus. I think this is just the latest in a multi-year and multi-institutional series of miss-guided and shallow decisions made by people without thought about what a human being really is or whether the blessings of freedom and prosperity carry burdens of responsibility.

At least in mythology, Jesse James was a bit of a folk hero, a Western American Robin Hood. He was a theif, but he had a bond with the reality of those who were not rich, who needed a spokesman., who needed the story of him as one of them. And, he knew he was a theif.

Lebron James is only 25 years old and must be advised by idiots…certainly his personal culpability can be mitigated by his physical youth…he could still grow into a man. There are others who have made the same move much older, and much more consciously.

Inspired yet?

More later this week

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* The Ultimate Sacrifice.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

jeff-in-tutuc1

After the shameless commerce of yesterday’s post, I’m paying you back with levity. Note the picture…the man in the dress is my son, who brashly bragged that his under-12 girls softball team could flawlessly execute a suicide squeeze. Hearing the taunts from his fellow coaches, he compounded his mistake by agreeing, somehow, that if they did it, he would wear a dress to the next game.

“The Gators,” as they are called, pulled it off in the third inning of last Saturday’s game in Sonoma, California. The press immediately sent a contingent (not much going on in Sonoma) and took enough pictures to keep my son from running for office in this lifetime. I publish one here because our little company, Leadership Communication, sponsors the team….or did.

I’m sure they are considering a name change and some other significant adjustments in their approach. My son, in the meantime, is going to be on the cover of a magazine touting tutus, “for the man confident enough to be a woman.” He was born only 15 years too late to be Ms. Doubtfire. Perhaps in the sequel.

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* Shameless Commerce…Leadership Communication

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

commerce4261

Those interested in “Leadership Communication—that which inspires others to take action to effect change,” might find the video clips available on my “Leadership Communication” page valuable. These are responses to questions about this subject, put to me by an excellent collaborator, Fraser Marlow of Blessing White. Look through them as you please and send additions and comments to this blog.

Thanks!

Terry

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* The Olympics or Congress? Let’s see……..

Thursday, February 18, 2010

This blog writer has been “silent” for a while, not for lack of material—God knows the drama of the Winter Olympics and the soap opera in the U.S Congress provide plenty of grist. (Could there be any two venues that provide a more perfect thesis and antithesis of inspiration?) 

Rather I have been busy generating a dissertation on the topic of inspiration; in particular the kind of inspiration that is transmitted from one human being to another. Not through poetry, music, nature or spiritual experience, although these are certainly valid and effective means. Rather I’m interested in what gives one human being the capacity to inspire others to be better and bigger than they are, to reach a greater community, to build a legacy, or just to proactively find an opportunity to serve.

It isn’t clear to me at all what generates that capacity to inspire. 

But in my ramblings, I did run into a philosopher, Ralph Ellis, who has written extensively on the subject. For those who like the abstractions, see “Love, Religion, and the Psychology of Inspiration,” in the Journal “Philosophy in the Contemporary World” 15:2 (Fall 2008).  In the opening, Ellis states clearly that inspiration is “a fundamental emotional need, not merely as a derivative, optional feeling.” He then asserts that a lack of this basic emotion “results in depression.” 

There are many ideas in Dr. Ellis’ article that I find preachy and flawed, but these assertions are not among them.

Who can avoid being internally excited by a young woman bruising her shin to the point of not being able to walk, and then re-generating herself to win a Gold Medal in the riskiest and most stressful of the alpine sports, the women’s downhill?  Who can not be touched to the core by the commitment of the young luge driver who died in pursuit of his dream? 

And who can help but be depressed at the lack of human capacity in our elected officials to think of anything other than their self-interest, their need to get elected again, and thereby avoid dealing with the real and sizeable problems of our Union?

Yesterday I ran across the newspapers I saved on Election Day of 2008, and on  Inauguration Day in January of 2009. However we voted, we were instilled with a sense of hope and the potential for a new sense of contribution. For some, the feeling was a begrudging acknowledgement of the need for new beginnings.

Now, according to the pundits and polls, people in our country are disillusioned—only a memory of those heady and heartfelt days remains. The rhetoric of bi-partisanship has turned out to be only rhetoric…those who could have been heroes and heroines are nothing more than pretenders.

You’re right, Dr. Ellis. I’m depressed. 

Thank God for the Olympics.

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* Invictus–Explicit Myth–The Movie and the Men

Monday, January 11, 2010

mandela

 

Invictus, composed in the 19th-century by William Ernest Henley, is now best known as the poem that inspired Nelson Mandela throughout his more than 26-year stay in prison.

In the 2009 popular movie that shares the poem’s name, Mandela, President of an emerging South Africa,  is seen in flashback reading the poem as it describes his circumstances and reveals the door for his psychological (perhaps spiritual) escape from the horrors of being imprisoned by forces beyond his control.

The same could be said of Henley himself—he wrote the work over time, each successive edition occasioned by an act of fate which threatened to overwhelm him. First an illness, then an amputation, then further hospitalization:  

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeoning of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Most who have seen the movie have been inspired by one or more of Mandela’s characteristics—his ability to forgive, his focus on the greater good, or his steadfast and consistent personal dedication to avoid repaying long-standing apartheid with White discrimination.

Mandela’s courage is mirrored by his protégé in affairs of leadership, Francois Pienaar, captain of the nearly-all-white National Rugby Club, The South African Springboks.  During the movie, and in real life, Pienaar was transformed by Mandela’s presence and generosity of spirit.

When the two first meet, they actually addressed the question of “What does a leader do to inspire those he leads?”  While Mandela leads Pienaar through the possibilities from music to speeches, he carefully impresses him with his own action, his own selfless commitment to a cause bigger than himself. Mandela’s aim is to inspire Pienaar to win the Rugby World Cup for his newly democratic nation.

The tension builds until the unlikely and ironic final match between the former white-separatist Springboks and the perennial champion “All-Blacks” from New Zealand. 

So the real-life symbolic battles–Black against White–Segregated against Integrated–are joined, on the field and in the nation. It turns on inspiration. Unlike today’s professional athletes, the South Africans aren’t moved to victory by a million dollar bonus.  Rather it is Pienaar’s words that mirror the subjective interior passion of his charges “This is our destiny!” he shouts to his bloodied troops.

Invictus is a myth that was played out in real life. As in the sinking of the Titanic, the gods made sure we understand by explicitly naming the symbols.  A rousing success, not just because of the acting, but because the story rings of what matters—to all of us.

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* The Courage to Think, to Speak, and to Lead.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

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Two speakers have impressed me in the last two days. On Monday night, I went to hear Laura Tyson, Berkeley Professor and advisor to the Obama White House, speak about the economy. In wonderfully understandable language, Dr. Tyson explained to a packed auditorium the current state of the economy, and outlined the central worrying points for the future. Most impressive to me was her commentary that the primary cause of future deficit growth and credit squeeze in the United States is not the immediate crisis, but is rather our “structural deficit,” the built-in conditions that were present before the crisis and which will outlive it—the fact that most of our budget is made up of commitments which we have built into current law….defense, entitlements and interest on the national debt. These three comprise something in excess of 70% of our spending and cannot be reversed without structural sacrifice.

Dr. Tyson was not optimistic about our ability to solve this problem, primarily because, as she put it, there is no bi-partisanship in our national government. Because we are so polarized on the right and left, neither side will compromise, and the ultimate result of that condition is a continuation of the status-quo, a condition that will most certainly sink our ship of state. Her solution: A small bipartisan group of congress to fashion a plan that will cost everyone something, but which will allow us the flexibility to escape from certain economic catastrophe within the next twenty years. This group’s plan would then be put to a vote by congress…up or down, and the problem could be solved or at least mitigated. Again, she was not hopeful that this format would be adopted.

On Tuesday night, President Obama outlined his plan for Afghanistan—an escalation with a deadline—a plan he believes can succeed without burying the United States in yet another quagmire of seemingly endless war on foreign soil. Predictably, and in the form presaged by Dr. Tyson, both the right and the left immediately attacked the plan. There was no bipartisanship in the response, no expression of appreciation for the President’s pain-staking process, his effort to create a shared context for the decision or his obvious wish that such a decision did not have to be taken at all. Consciously sending people to their deaths is a nearly unbearable burden, yet he courageously, with a perspective of the ages, ordered our nation and our military to pay that price.

I was inspired by both of these folks. Whether we agree with the specifics or not, we can respect the courage it takes to tell people the truth and to step up with a plan to solve a devastating problem—it is what leadership is made of. Who among us reading this blog would step into the President’s shoes? Or who would have the courage to suggest that we are spending ourselves into oblivion and then advocate a plan to end it, knowing full well that “both sides” would open fire with full loads of ammo manufactured by their own partisan point of view?

This is a time for inspiration, a time for us to grasp something larger than ourselves or our individual interest. Our values as a nation are worth our support, and definitely worth giving up some pieces of our own opinions to support those we have entrusted with our destiny.

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* As Always, Courageous Action Inspires

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

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Courageous action always speaks volumes, but it is particularly loud when it is in pursuit of dreams, or when it comes from a desire to serve, to create meaning for others. Christy Tonge (member of the Forum on Cross-Cultural Inspiration) and her husband Barry have always been involved in the development of youth, particularly under-served youth, in the Bay Area. They have two children of their own, 8 and 11, and both parents have active and successful business careers. But their aim has always been to apportion their time and effort to not only meet their own economic needs but also to use their substantial talents to personally help others.

This year, they raised their own very high bar. After officially founding the “Reach Potential Movement”, a non-profit that will institutionalize their effort, they decided that the work of inspiring kids was a contact sport. They leased their own home in Mountain View and moved to a small apartment in the neighborhood where the kids they hoped to inspire actually live. Here is Christy’s own reflection on the decision:

“To better understand the culture
and experience of the vulnerable kids
and families Reach Potential aims to
serve, and to better foster neighborhood
outreach, our family made the
decision to rent our home and move
across town to a low income apartment
complex in Mountain View.
After finding a home for our pets,
and goodbyes to our big backyard,
trampoline and other comforts, we
headed for our new neighborhood. It
was with excitement and nervousness
that our family took the leap.
We landed at apartment #56 on
the other side of our packing and
moving tasks (with wonderful help
from friends, family and RP supporters)
to begin life in our new
neighborhood. In my first week as I
struggled to converse in Spanish
with a neighbor in the laundry facility
as we did wash together, I remember
thinking, ‘What have we
done??…This is hard!’ ‘Will we be
able to build relationships here like
we’d hoped?’

Though there have been many
adjustments for my kids and for my
husband Barry and I, we are so very
glad that we are here. It is stretching
us, giving us new eyes to see…and
opening doors for relationships and
for Reach Potential outreach that we
could not have had otherwise. We
are eager to see what the months
ahead hold, and certain that we will
learn a lot in the process.”

Barry, Christy and their partners in this venture are showing the way with what counts the most. Words are great, but action is far, far better–it speaks with our common tongue. Who we are always gets reflected in what we actually do with our lives…and in this case, it’s inspiring. Like Sadat, Mandela, King, Luther and the others that we all know, these folks have come to play.

To read more about this project, and to find out how to support them, see the “News from Friends” section of this blog.

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* Inspiration: Imagination in World Affairs

Friday, October 30, 2009

exclamationpoint1

The 9-11 commission report rang with one phrase that seemed to sum up our lack of foresight into the possibility of an attack against our country–”Failure of Imagination.”  The same phrase was used by President Obama when he gave his first speech about the possibility of a world without nuclear weapons. He suggested that while we did not want to be naive, neither did we want to fall short because of a ”failure of imagination.”

I’m steadily moving toward a conclusion that inspiration and imagination are inexorably linked. To be able to see a future that is unlikely, or that would not be seen from available evidence…this capability seems to be necessary to the ability to inspire others.

This week, I received the following note from one of the Forum Participants, Zaman Stanizai. Dr. Stanizai is a native of Afghanistan, and sees the war there from a different perspective from most. He wrote the following:

“Dear Friends,
 
Many solutions have been offered to solve the Afghan war.  Here is mine.  I know that it is out of the mainstream of today’s political thought, and as a friend commented on it, “It is a great plan, but nobody will act upon it because it makes too much sense.”  This reminded me of an old debate in which Sheikh Qunawi asked Rumi: “I wonder how you turn complex philosophic terminologies into simple language.” Rumi replied: “I wonder why must you turn such simple ideas into sophisticated incomprehensive expressions.” I am offering an alternative, in its simplicity, to the various military options currently under consideration by the Obama Administration for Afghanistan. I am proposing a Peace Option.  A peace option that has not been given any consideration so far and it probably won’t see the light of day unless we give it momentum by making it a part of the media debate if not the White House debate.  I have an extensive peace alternative in works that can help us win through peace in Afghanistan without losing the war.  A condensed version of that plan appears in ArticlesBase.com under the title: ‘How to Win Peace in Afghanistan For Half the Price of War.’
 
Your comments on the article on the website can contribute to an effort in saving humanity in some of us.  You may also want to forward it to friends and those affiliated with the media so that at least the thought of peace can get some notoriety and this ‘unconsidered alternative’ is given some consideration.  You could google the article under Zaman Stanizai or go to the ArticlesBase.com . Here is the link:
 
http://www.articlesbase.com/politics-articles/winning-through-peace-in-afghanistan-for-half-the-price-of-war-1376781.html.
 
Yours in peace,
Zaman Stanizai”
 
I found his views refreshing  and coming from a totally different perspective from the norm….and probably doable. But the fact that he sees such a solution in his imagination, not bleary-eyed but practical, is inspiring.  
 
If you wish, look at the article and connect with him directly at zstanizai@aol.com.

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* Inspired by John Muir: Inspired by Nature

Friday, October 9, 2009

John Muir was once called the “Father of National Parks,”— most Americans and millions from other countries enjoy his legacy when they step into one of the pristine natural wonders preserved through the power of his exploration and writing.  This film clip is a short introduction for a ninety minute documentary being produced by Global Village Media. Watch the clip and then consider the questions below.

http://www.terrypearce.com/cci-wp/wp-content/video/john_muir_small.flv

What inspired you about this film? Was it nature, was it the film, or was it Muir?  More about this on the next post.

(Global Village Media was founded by Dominique Lasseur and Catherine Tatge, both members of the Forum on Cross-Cultural Inspiration. For more about their current work, see the “News from Friends” section of this blog.)

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* When Was the Last Time You Were Inspired?

Friday, October 2, 2009

patient-lady2c1

Last week, I became a bit irritated by the conversation around a conference table of twenty-five business operators. The talk was all about numbers, strategy and organization charts. Not one person mentioned that all of the plans they were cooking up had to be executed by real human beings. This is a great company, but like most companies, its officers focus on the “what” and the “how” rather than the “why.”

I finally entered the discussion, and suggested that they were in great businesses that made a difference in the world, and that to remind their thousands of employees about that difference might contribute to some “inspired” action in the market.

There was general silence at that suggestion except for a solid comment by one senior executive at the table: “Everyone wants to be inspired.”

This seems true, at least for those who have had the experience at least once. And to confirm its validity, I often ask the question in the headline of this post, “When was the last time you were inspired?” The responses nearly always inspire me.

This week, in a group of fifty, there were only five answers. Two were stories about women over the age of 100 who continued to really “live”—an aunt who reportedly got out of her car and removed a tree branch from the road with a chain saw, demanding that others “stay in the car and keep our of her way.” (Feisty old girl!) Another was similar; a lady who still volunteered at the local school reading to kindergarten kids….she was also a centenarian.

Still other stories involve the aesthetic: music, art, nature—a particular sunset, a realization when looking at stars in a black sky from a meadow—in short, having the experience of awe in the face of a universe that is unexplainable.

Another from a young father—watching his three-year-old get a cookie from the top of the refrigerator by stacking books on a chair so that he could reach high enough to grasp the prize.

On Monday, September 29, Beliefnet published twenty-one ways to be inspired. Some involved nature—watch a sunset or take a walk near a waterfall—while others involved expressions of gratitude or love. Still others suggested solitude—read a book, listen to music.

Yet, even these actions which seem on target, require something other than the “what” to hit the mark. They all require a certain presence, an openness, a sense of wonder. It seems that even when you are doing the right thing, your internal space has to have room for inspiration to enter.

As I start now to write a dissertation on this subject, I come back to one of the earliest entries in this blog of February 10, “What is Inspiration?”

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* Jung’s Shadow: Publication of “The Red Book”

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

toward-larcona2c

There is little question that Carl Gustav Jung spent his professional and personal life in search of inspiration, not only for himself, but for those he treated and taught. We are about to see a representation of the source of much of what he learned and transmitted to others.

I just spent a week on the shore of Lago Magoirre in Southern Switzerland/Northern Italy, (see photo) in a workshop on “Writing as Ritual” sponsored by Pacifica Graduate Institute at Eranos. This residence/small conference center is being refurbished to re-capture its place as a pre-eminent European location for the exchange of ideas. In the first half of the twentieth century, Eranos was a haven for Carl Jung and his intellectual equals from all over the world.

I had begun reading Deirdre Bair’s biography of Jung two weeks before the trip. This is the most carefully researched account of the man’s life, and enjoys substantial credibility in the Jungian community, even as the family had second thoughts about its publication. Jung was a complex individual (he would have enjoyed the pun), and having studied him now for three years, I feel like I have barely scratched the surface of his intellect, much less touched the depth of his more intuitive and experiential observations of the psyche.

Jung did his own biographical sketch, (Memories, Dreams, Reflections) but not until he was 81 years old. By his account, (and I think Bair would concur) the years just after his break with Sigmund Freud were the most significant of his life.  During this particularly difficult time, Jung traveled experientially into his own psyche to find more about the working and content of the unconscious.

While he has written about that experience retrospectively, his real-time experience was recorded in a volume simply called The Red Book. Jung was wary of releasing the actual content of the book for fear of being thought a mad-man, of having his theories attacked on the basis of his own psychosis.

When I returned home to San Francisco, I found the cover of the New York Times Magazine (September 20, 2009) featuring Jung and the impending publication of an English translation of The Red Book. Apparently the family has decided that it would come out piece-meal anyway, and opted to enjoy the financial reward of a full-blown re-creation and translation.

What can we expect? I’m guessing it is the unabashed and colorful record of fantasy in its true sense, the connection between a person and the myriad of images and symbols that reside in us somewhere, without defining a space but claiming a pre-eminent influence on our thoughts and behaviors.

Jung, unlike Freud, was interested in neuroses, psychoses, dreams and fantasies as portals to self-fulfillment, rather than as problems to be solved. In a discussion with a different vocabulary, he would postulate, I suspect, that the voice of God can only be heard in such sacred places, venues that take up no space and need no cathedral. While these are not the words of the therapy room, they certainly ring with the tenor of being called, of meaning beyond the mundane—of inspiration.

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* Marriage and Civil Unions

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

This last week, the ELCA, the largest organization of Lutherans in the United States, voted to enlarge their doctrine of inclusion of gays and lesbians in the pulpit.

The rhetoric required is typical of the kind of language required because of our short-sightedness about this issue.

See Terry’s article articulating a sensible and inclusive position on marriage and civil unions at the Huliq News Blog: http://www.huliq.com/5/85391/lutheran-language-mirrors-countrys-confusion.

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* Book Review: “The Geopolitics of Emotion”

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

moisi

Dominque Moïsi writes a column for The Financial Times and is a contributor to Foreign Affairs. He is currently a Visiting Professor of Government at Harvard University.

Mr. Moïsi is both Jewish and French, and in this work brings a wonderful perspective to the imbroglio of geopolitics. His view is important to our purposes, since inspiration is more than a logical proposition — at the very least it generates emotion and it could well be that it emanates from an emotional base.

The author categorizes cultures, and thereby groups of nations, according to the dominant emotion that drives their relationships with the rest of the world. Hope, says Moïsi, characterizes China and India, the growing, optimistic nations of Asia. He posits that The United States and most of Europe are driven by fear, seeking to shore up power that has been diminished in recent decades as the world’s resources have become re-allocated toward more rapidly growing economies. He places Japan in this same realm, citing its long history of homogeneity and relative isolation.

He suggests that most of the Muslim world is driven by humiliation, given the history of what these nations see as American and to a lesser extent Israeli and European dominance.

Against these rather generalized cases, Moïsi comments on other more difficult examples — South America, Africa and Russia, suggesting that the dominant emotions of each of these civilizations will have more influence on their foreign policy than a more rational model of national self-interest.

Reading the work, I was struck, not only by the uniqueness of the model, but by my own intuitive agreement with his observations. (See entry on this blog, January 27, 2009) It seems that the emotional needs of nations are at least as important as their actual positions.

It’s also clear that in order to inspire, we have to get through a veil of mistrust. If our goal is to inspire the world’s population, regardless of belief, nationality or economic circumstances, then our first hurdle is to recognize and then acknowledging the emotional makeup of others. Only then can we be taken seriously enough to create common enthusiasm.

Toward this end, Mr. Moïsi’s work defines a fine first step.

As a final chapter, the author writes scenarios articulating the situation in 2025, each depicting a different result depending on which emotion has prevailed…..eye opening, sobering, and a cause for closer attention.

Let us know what you think of it.

Moïsi, Dominique. The Geopolitics of Emotion. New York: Doubleday, 2009.

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* Inspiration at a Golf Tournament?

Sunday, August 16, 2009

yang

Dang. I had to work today, a perfectly wonderful Sunday in Larkspur, California. What made it worse was that the office was hot and the final round of the golf’s PGA championship was on television. As all true fans know, watching sports TV is best not done alone in an office….so after checking the web for results, off I went to the local pub to watch the last holes.

For those who didn’t do this, here’s the rundown: The world’s number one golfer, Tiger Woods, was in a dog-fight with a little-known South Korean, Y.E. Yang (more precisely Yong-Eun Yang) for the championship. When I arrived at the pub, Woods was trailing Yang by one shot going to the 18th and final hole.

Now, to give you some perspective, this would be like Michael Jordan being down in a slam-dunk contest to a 5/10” high-schooler, or Warren Buffet being behind in investment gains to a dart-throwing hair-dresser. In golf, Woods is Goliath to just about anyone else’s David. The atmosphere in the pub was electric.

Woods himself is no slouch in the inspiration department. The first person of color to really excel at the sport in the United States, Tiger has spurred many a youngster and a few oldsters to take up the game. His life story is compelling—great parents, hard work and excellence. His dedication and commitment are legend. Many of us grieved with him when his father (“Pop” to Tiger) passed away a few years ago just before a major championship.

Just about everyone in the pub was rooting for him to win his 15th major championship.

Yet there was something compelling about Yang. His composure in the face of huge crowds and pressure was impressive. Even after missing a short putt on the 17th, he stayed in the fairway on 18, hitting down the left side to leave himself a tricky second shot to a small green. Woods was down the middle and perfectly positioned to approach the pin on the left side of the tiny green and force a playoff.

Yang stuck his second shot and sank a ten-footer for a two-shot win, and the pub went wild. I admit that I teared up when I saw this modest man embrace his wife on the way to the scorer’s tent.

The guy next to me was glued to the set…..he said simply, “It’s great to see someone that happy.”

Is this inspiration? It certainly felt that way, and I would be surprised if thousands if not millions of Korean kids are not moved to change their lives by this simple experience—not just golfers, but others who have dreams of achieving success that they didn’t quite see as possible before today.

So what is it precisely that creates that feeling of possibility?

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