Serenity in a Baby

The newborn baby was a picture of serenity. Here we were in the hospital with all the drama of the birth behind the principals! They had done their parts. Especially mom Eduenis! But I know dad John was stressed. Both were relieved it was over as far as the day’s routine! The real job lay ahead for the next 21 years. We know that; but I doubt they truly have a clear picture of that.

So, we were sitting in the same room as the baby. I dared not hold him for fear of dropping him! But the other elders in the room took charge and held him. He stirred a tiny bit with facial expressions, and a moue or three; but nothing more. He was quiet and at rest. He was serene.

Contemplating the world all around us his peacefulness was at odds with what we knew. The roadways clamored with traffic and weather woes. The nation was preparing for blizzards across the south and then along the east coast through the most populated areas of the country. Global issues beckoned attention as they always do. Even in quiet times one ponders what is next on the world’s stage. Such chaos among the nations!

Of course our own nation is in chaos with political upset and nonsense. It is a presidential election year so the outs are fighting to get in. And the ins are fighting to remain in. The only people who will exit are those in the White House. They will be replaced a year from now with a new crew. May they fare better than this beleaguered president. He is good. He is a thinker and academic. He is a superb policy master. And a feeling, caring person. He has the long view of the country and its people. He has done very well in trying times. With little or no help from the other branches of the federal government. That’s politics in America these days. Sad and shameful, but it is what it is.

But then the people are not long term oriented. No; they are short term and focused on their own immediate needs. Even those are not well thought out. What they want they think little of where it will come from. And the politicians know this. They broadcast fears for the future and make it personal for all to read and hear. They conjure messages that are designed to upset. And they are successful.

Good people are fighting one another in debates, arguments, newspapers and internet ‘discussions’. They are mostly fighting about what is not important. Much larger issues beg for attention but their meager attention span does not include room for those issues. No, they are the issues that require very deep work and thinking to address. Most people in politics look for the quick and easy. Too bad; we as a people are capable of so much more.

I think we are witnessing the result of pandering to the lowest common denominator. Our entertainment does this; our schools do also. Certainly the news media aims low; it’s where the ratings come from and advertisers want high ratings if they are going to pay high advertising rates. The media learned long ago their bread was buttered on the side of ratings and that has to pander to the lowest common denominator; that’s where the numbers reside.

For the rest of us we have the internet to journey through and find the meat and potatoes of our nation’s good side. It requires discernment to find the good stuff and know it is the right stuff. Just like public media the internet has junk and lowest common denominator material; but the good material is there as well. We must look for it and train ourselves to know what makes it good and worthy of our time.

I suggest starting with TED – Technology, Entertainment, Design – Sharing ideas that matter. Look it up on the internet and you will find over 10,000 short video presentations on a broad array of subject matter. It is worth knowing about. After all, these are ideas worth sharing and keeping.

Meanwhile, may we take the serenity of newborns seriously and work to make our nation a worthy partner for global concerns and human well-being. This is important stuff that all newborns will benefit from. In turn they will benefit the rest of us as they labor to deal effectively with the world around them for generations to come.

Peace and discernment to each and every one of you!

January 25, 2016

Making Generations

A new family member was welcomed to the fold January 21, 2016 at 6:53 pm CST. Born in Downers Grove’s Good Samaritan Hospital, is Jace W. Safford, son of Eduenis and John Safford of Downers Grove. Jace joins his older brother, Jax W. Safford, who will celebrate his second birthday on January 29.

Anxious to meet the new tyke are his cousins Kira and Lindsay, Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Dan, Grandparents Ann and Howard, Olga and Oscar and George and Rocky. There are many more aunts, uncles and cousins awaiting Jace’s debut family gathering.

Such excitement!

And so the generation I had a part in creating is expanding on its own steam. That’s the way it is. One generation begets another generation which begets yet another generation and so on. The begetting and begatting of the Bible continues on and on as it was meant to do. This is nature and order and passage of time.

And so it goes building life on earth as old life passes away. It is the tempo of things. It gives new hope for a better tomorrow. But that is not a given. Those results are a combination of effort and intention from each of us. That, too, is good. Fresh ideas are required from us and challenges help make happen. Even elder minds need refreshing and new relationships and young people make that easy and inevitable.

Guiding hands soften the entry of people toward new experiences and learning. This is the way of one generation nurturing the new generation. It has been thus for thousands of years. We can only hope it will continue for many more thousands of years and work to make that happen.

Meanwhile we await our first glimpse of Jace. That should be today!

January 22, 2016

Open Season – On Cops?

God I hate this headline.

When I was much younger I had an authority problem with policemen. It was the 1960’s in Chicago and policemen were big, beefy and swaggerish. Later I learned the swagger came from hefting so much equipment on their belts and they had to swing their bodies to walk with all that extra weight. Then came bullet proof vests and their torsos became even thicker, not from fat or muscle but from peacekeeping equipment.

I still had an authority problem with the police, however. Of course it didn’t help that much of my contemporaries were anti draft, anti Viet Nam War and anti authoritarians. I wasn’t anti authoritarian, but I came to distrust the police in their exercise of authority. I saw them crack heads, bloody onlookers at protests, and shove people to the sidewalk to subdue the larger crowd.

My attention was not on Viet Nam. I didn’t like that particular war, but my mind was focused on civil rights. Martin Luther King was the person of the day and he provided much to think about and to make white people uncomfortable. That alone was not a problem with me. We needed to focus on race relations if we were to understand what kind of people we are and were and would become. If we disrespected people of color – from whatever ethnic background, please! – we simply were not the good people we preferred to think of ourselves. Period.

So it was important to me to redress the wrongs of American history as it related to our fellow citizens of color. They were our brothers and sisters. But I saw them arrested beyond their share of the population. I saw them much poorer than was statistically appropriate. They were also under educated but bright. Why couldn’t we all see that and offer them the help they deserved and needed to improve their lives?

Why indeed. So I came to the public authority venue with a bias against cops.

The anti war protesters only added fuel to my bias. The country was out of control on major public issues and the younger generation’s fervor and research were being dismissed. Out of hand dismissed.

Then came the 1968 Democratic Presidential Party Convention and the police riot that ensued at the behest of the elder Mayor Daley to keep order during the convention on the streets of Chicago. At least that’s what he claimed. My take on this historical event was deep and disturbing. I saw my country sinking to the very depths we accused our enemies of doing in the well documented past!

Much later I entered minor public life as a city councilman in a small suburb of 14,000 people. I soon learned that the police department was the rubber of the city’s efforts to govern – you know, where the rubber meets the road?  We knew more about our town because of the experiences of the police. They interacted with more citizens than we did, try as hard as we might. So I came to meet with and know as professionals and friends, many members of the police department. And they began to know who I was as well. We waved to one another as our cars passed on the streets. We nodded in grocery stores and at public meetings. Through their eyes I came to understand the town much better.

And I also understood their humanity and our need to protect them as they pursued their duties to protect and serve the community.

Today I see a great welling up of anti police sentiment. I don’t like it. I distrust that feeling more than the reasons the anti’s say they are roiled up. Here’s how I view it:

Today’s police are required to enter highly dangerous areas of our cities and towns to keep order and to enforce the laws. It is inherently dangerous. With the proliferation of hand guns and assault rifles, violence has flared throughout the nation as a god given right. Instead of supporting police to combat this scourge, we accuse them of brutality.

Is there police brutality? Are there missteps by police in carrying out their duties. Yes, I suspect there are, but I don’t know it and refuse to jump to that conclusion without proof. There will always be people on the police force who overstep their bounds regardless of all the training to control such actions. There are also bad apples in the cop barrel just like there are in every walk of life – ministers, lawyers, judges, ambassadors, politicians, etc..

Rotten apples or sour grapes, such individuals distort the phenomenal good of the police forces throughout the land. They are good and effective and caring. They are people with spouses and kids at home. They are at risk of accident, terrorism, criminal actions against them, and deranged nut jobs wielding guns.

In large cities black gang members – and Hispanic gang members, too – kill each other and innocents as collateral damage. Police are required to enter these violent venues. Best they enter with guns drawn for immediate action. In such circumstances, though, accidents and bad judgment are likely to increase. As professional as the police are, they each are trained on different schedules, are of different health and age, and experience. They put their life on the line knowing in the final analysis they may have to kill or be killed.

If I were in their shoes I’d want to balance that playing field. I want guns out of the hands of bad people. I want my police to be safe as they protect us and serve us.

It is easy to complain and level condemnation against people we don’t know for reasons too complicated for us to understand. But to work hard to fix the problems, yes, even the problems we contribute too? I guess that’s too much trouble for some people. But I say:

If you are not part of the solution to our problems, then you are part of our problem. Either put up or shut up. And that goes for media, politicians and church people who simply don’t get it.

Please. Build peace. Be nice to one another and help find solutions. Don’t just sit there and complain. That’s so cheap!

January 21, 2016

Cold Spell

It’s Illinois and the wintry month of January. So it is cold outside. And bright sunshine, too. It works that way: severe cold usually comes with clear deep blue skies filled with ample sunshine. The earth’s heat rises into the stratosphere thus aiding the cooling action.

It is 2 degrees now and a high is forecast for 3. Low temperatures will be 4 below. Winds are steady at 17 miles per hour so wind chills are 17 degrees below zero. Brisk!

Errands will force us out of the home today but our car is in a heated garage and the car itself has electric heat which is instantly effective. Parking in a lot during a meeting or errand will still be OK because the car will operate in this weather quite nicely, and the heat will be readily available. So we are OK. We only need to be dressed to walk from car to building and back. With handicapped parking we are close to the front door. So again, we are good to go.

The cold air is not a distraction. Far from it, it aids clear thinking. Basics are easy to focus on when distractions are absent. That’s one reason libraries are quiet zones. So, too, studies and meditation rooms – quiet, no distractions, calm.

If life gets too noisy or cluttered with distractions we should seek shelter and quiet so the mind and inner spirit can work. If so magic happens. Behold what it does for you.

Better yet, don’t wait for a cold spell to make this happen.

January 20, 2016

Writing for the Fun of It

I heard a fellow on TV the other day. He was interviewed on something or other and he blurted out that he didn’t much care about that ‘something or other’. What he did care about was that he was a writer and enjoyed it very much. So he did it. Luckily he was earning a fair living by doing so.

I was in a discussion meeting the other day, one of those gatherings in which people meet and talk about their businesses and what problems they are encountering. The purpose of the meeting was for individuals to share their ideas on how each other could be helped so their businesses would succeed and prosper. In that group were three writers. Each was struggling to find a market for their services, their products. They were clearly making a living not by writing but by other means. They wanted, however, to make their living from writing.

I write and love doing it. I do not get paid for it, however. I wish I could earn a revenue stream. It needn’t be large, but just something that indicates it has value.

Of course there are those in my past career life that would say I did get paid for writing. After all my work was conceptual and required written documentation to help clients realize the ideas they needed to work with to succeed on the subject matter of my consulting. And thus the consulting report was written and consumed by clients; and regulators interested in understanding if the clients were abiding by the advice and counsel provided.

Such were written products of my work and thus I was paid for the work. The writing seemed incidental at the time but evidently it was the primary product. The deliverable.

Today I sort out opinions and ideas and write about that. I write about the journey of my life in modern times as an ever aging person. Much is present to write about. It is quite personal, of course, and thus not always interesting to others. But it is interesting to at least one person – me. And so I continue to write about it.

Please understand – those of you who are still reading this! – my writing this blog is a way to better understand me by myself. It is a self examination process. Doing this I learn a lot about myself, but I also learn a lot about human nature and see others in a new light. Life and its mysteries take on new meaning and dynamics. New ideas about existence come to light and I am able to use them in further examination.

My volunteer work follows from my career work. Analysis, research, human behavior, business processes, markets of products and services – all these things are part and parcel of my career. What ideas are missing and which are needed? What is working well and what is not working well? What can we use to fix what is broken? Or should we replace the broken with something new? If so, what would that be?

You see the dynamic. Always changing. Always fresh material to view and prod its unfolding. The process is fascinating. Like laboratory work. Experimenting and viewing the results. Wondering how it all works. Together or apart?

Whatever it is, it is the stuff to write about. I ponder this material, these words, and then let them come into being. That alone is satisfying. Whether it is of use to others seems to be of marginal interest. But one can hope.

Meanwhile the mind goes on in its ponderous manner wondering about things and seeing how things might become in the future. There’s another wonder to write about.

Do others spend so much time doing this sort of thing? I wonder if I’ll ever know the answer to that! Perhaps it is another avenue to write about?

January 19, 2016

Moving with the Punches

Lots of change in the markets. Up, down and every which away. Jobs rising mostly, falling in some markets. Same with salaries and wages – up and down and inside out depending on the market under study.

Products are new and improved while old ones are discontinued. Store sales have fallen in the main but internet sales have more than made up for those declines. International sales have boomed in recent years and margins are higher due to lower cost of goods sold. All in all it is a mixed bag for people in business. However, the news is not all bad.

Besides, what is bad news is temporary. So the price of oil is down; it will rise again. Same for butter, milk, beef and other food stuffs. Seasonal changes happen throughout the year on cycles. Changes occur with major obstacles encountered like weather, disease and natural disasters. Just imagine how things change in war torn areas? At least we don’t have bothers with that! Unless of course you count terrorism in the US.

Over time changes force us to adapt to the prevailing conditions. Always have. This is life and it is what it is. We don’t define it. We do adapt to it, however, or change defines us!

Where does that leave us? Looking for other things of value that will replace those that have lost luster? Also new products and services that will fill opportunity gaps as they appear? The closing of one door opens another. Same with windows; most open and close; experiment with them and develop your own opportunities. Not enough windows? Make more of them to capture the light and the view!

Did I say adapt? Yes, I did.

And that’s what is called for during any time of change. Matter of fact a lot of people provide the change before adaptation and vice versa. There are always currents of change in process. That’s what people do. Find a need and fill it. Did you notice something that doesn’t work very well and then improved upon it? Yes! And that’s what I’m talking about.

Thinking up the new thing is very big. However getting that thing noticed and brought into the mainstream is even bigger. We are not talking about promotion and selling here. We are talking marketing. Perhaps we should capitalize that? – MARKETING. There, I said it in big letters.

Marketing is a service, a professional one. It is very creative and requires people who understand human communication. Image. Words. Timing. Message formation and release. Communication networks to spread the message. Researching the receipt of the message and measuring results. Tweaking the message and delivery. Maintenance of the image and presence in the marketplace.

That’s what I’m talking about and the subject of marketing is the placement and selling of a product or service so it becomes successful and sustainable.

Most people do not know how to market. They also don’t want to pay for it. So effective marketing is rarely done. Thus new products and services die on the vine or in birth, never seeing the light of day. Well intentioned and well conceived as they are these bright new ideas don’t make it to market.

Sometimes a product or service becomes obsolete in the midst of success. They also become overpriced and fall out of favor as a result. Over-sized homes is one such albatross. So are oil/petroleum/fossil fuels. Their prices become so high that alternatives are developed. New fashion in housing is created – enter the Tiny Homes movement! Downsizing becomes stylish and important life-values replace things as a focus of quality of life.

It is expensive to re-tool a society to use a different energy source. Developing electric or hydrogen powered automobiles is a big expense and risk. Will people change to the new modality? Will they realize the benefits of doing so? Will the pricing become affordable to the masses quickly enough to save the new technology of transportation? Who knows? Unless we try we will never know. But the effort is made and it lives among us at the present. Let’s hope it succeeds.

Meanwhile the resources and treasures we have invested in one technology will shift to the new ones. And so it has happened in the past and will in the future. All it takes if faith in the new, and time. And pockets deep enough to remain in the game long enough to see the results.

And then market the hell out of it all. Nothing gets adopted that is not known by the public. The message has to be crafted, made and sent. The timing has to be right. Sometimes this is lightening quick. Sometimes it is slow and well-hidden. If it is right for the moment it will be viewed, considered and used or refused.

The good survive. All we have to do is try. And that’s what I mean by moving with the punches. Learn and adapt to the changes and the new. But first determine if it is better than the old. If yes, shed the old and move on.

What punches are you noticing these days? Are you getting out of their way? Are you adapting? Are you anticipating this interaction and engaged?

Good for you! Keep working it.

January 18, 2016

Being Vulnerable

I may have discussed this topic before but new interest keeps bubbling to the surface. For those who are unfamiliar with the term, ‘being vulnerable’ means intentionally living on the edge of our comfort in order to gain insight. That insight helps us to live more vitally. We see things clearly, perceive new ideas faster, build even newer ideas where before such was not possible.

We learn how to cooperate more – getting along with people we normally wouldn’t – and even gain skills on collaborating with others. Now collaboration, in my mind at least, is special. To truly collaborate with another person or group you have to trust deeply and share deeply. Together the group makes remarkable gains on invention, redesign, and repurpose. The process can be exhausting but the rewards are exciting and life-giving.

Collaborating with others requires us to give up ideas unshared before now. They are deeply held and private. Those ideas may be wrong, by the way; but collaboration will uncover that, AND rescue what is good and propel the idea toward marriage with other ideas that really work well together. New horizons come from this type of thinking and working together.

When a friend comes to us with a heartfelt problem, do we accept the role of confidante and truly help the person deal with their sorrow and angst? Or do we protect ourselves and buffer our way to safety? Where does that leave our friend? And what does this say about our own ability to deal with similar troubles in our own life? Do we go it alone or do we seek comfort and assistance from others we trust? Both sides of this relationship are engaged in each other if vulnerability is embraced. Both persons gain knowledge they can use well in other circumstances. To learn this and gain skills doing it requires us to be vulnerable. We can be easily hurt if someone turns the tables on us but the opposite is more likely as trust is committed to by both parties. Too much to give up if the opportunity is avoided, and much to gain if the transaction is completed.

Other than interpersonal issues, where can we employ vulnerability to advantage? Well, let’s consider a few opportunities.

First would be international relations and peace building. I suspect diplomats manage vulnerability if progress is made between nations. Of course the progress is slow; these are delicate matters and trust is often frayed or non-existent. Building trust between two nations, however, requires both to be vulnerable to one another and willing to share problems to gain comfort and mutual strength. Recycling these efforts many times builds a platform of trust upon which we can rely on help in trying times in the future.

Second would be academic research and breakthrough discoveries. Such results provide moments of advancement in medicine, pharmaceuticals, engineering, and science. Collaborative research among and between dissimilar academic disciplines have garnered huge breakthroughs in medicine and engineering. Huge breakthroughs. Being vulnerable allows trust to build which in turn allows collaboration.

Third would be governance and management of government programs. Governing nations, states, counties and municipalities requires the electorate to vote into office people they trust. Those same people work with others also elected to make decisions on shared goals and objectives. The people provide this to happen. Making something good from that partnership is mandated. But first they have to trust one another enough to work slowly forward through the issues. Not an easy task, especially in today’s environment of distrust – even hate – in which gridlock of governing bodies is common.

I heard a presidential candidate the other night bemoan mismanagement of the federal government. Rather than delivering that complaint at the feet of one politician, however, it really is a broadside critique of the entire governance structure. Congress has failed to manage its end of responsibility; so too the Judiciary; and the Executive while we are at it. But remember each branch of the federal government requires reliance on the other branches. If fundamental resources are withheld then the partnership falters and results fail. Congress must provide meaningful oversight, not control. Congress must also provide budgetary resources to pay reasonable costs to operate programs. Insufficient funding? Then program results will fail. Immigration management cannot possibly be done well with insufficient staff and agency reach? Education programs will never fully succeed if trust is lacking in the first place and programs are ill designed intentionally and funded poorly. These are ways of ‘vetoing’ what others have supported. More of that goes on in Congress than in the White House.

The real issue is examining the central issue of governance or minimal governance. They are not mutually exclusive but can be managed toward the same end.

I hope that if our elected officials are willing to be vulnerable we can work toward better results for the good of the people. If one group feels that government should be restricted to a minor role while another group feels the opposite, both should still be able to work together to do the work of the people. That never goes away. The work remains to be done. Those unwilling to do so should be replaced until cooperation is restored and governance proceeds. Big or little can be solved another day but in the meantime vital work still needs to be done.

Vulnerability requires us to faithfully explore what we can do together that we cannot do alone. When can we expect this new generation of leaders to appear on the scene?

January 15, 2016