Ideal Spaces

Every now and again I get memory flashes. Many are from the deep past, you know, when you were a kid. Most of these recalls involve feelings of space I was then living in. One such is the Mojave Desert in southern California. We lived there for nearly three years on a Navy base. It was after the Second World War and the base was used to test weapon systems in development. Rocket engines were experimented with for thrust; so, too, propulsion systems for torpedoes.

The desert was a memorable place. Hot, yes, in the seasons. But winter I recall as cool nights and warm days unless the rare cloud cover robbed us of the warming sun. Quiet was the primary memory. The desert is very quiet. In those days not even planes flew overhead. A rocket test burst the quiet at times, but mostly I remember the sound of air or wind rustling past my ears. Otherwise the sound of silence was broken only by the sensation of my heart beating in my ears. Now that’s silence!

In those early days (1943 to 1954) we lived in Altadena, California, a foothill community to the north of Pasadena. The weather was stellar. Warm air, sunny skies, waving palm trees, blue skies and enough moisture in the air to avoid dry skin. It was embracing, the climate. You felt held in soft arms of love and comfort.

I also became aware of a larger world. At first it was wondering where the long, straight road went and ended up? We took long drives in those days and eventually learned where the roads went. The really exciting ones went up and up into the mountains, curving every which way until we arrived at a point very high above the throbbing cities and towns below. On clear days we could see the ocean and on even rarer days we could see Santa Catalina Island. As years passed by smog grew worse and those sights became even rarer.

California had been discovered by the masses and the inflow of population surged continually year after year. Before despoiling what once was soft and gentle, we lived a charmed life of exploration and discovery.

I felt safe. I felt protected and free to discover what now I see as boundaries. But then? It was a world filled with opportunity and delight.

Then we moved to a new home built in an orange and lemon grove in Glendora. The terrain then was rougher and more mountainous. Cliffs and steep inclines parked at our backyard. We looked up to Mount Baldy and gauged winter storms by the snows that remained after our rains below. Also we watched the progress of brush and forest fires during the summer, wondering if or when they might reach our neighborhood. But they didn’t, at least not then. Of course those fires denuded foothills of their flora that absorbed winter rains, so mud slides were the burden of winter months. We experienced those but not anywhere near our home. I remember Dad telling us of slow commutes following road graders as they cleared the streets of mud into Pasadena.

Before I could gain more experience with such odd events we moved to New England where four seasons ruled the weather forecasts and provided an entirely new view of life. Hills and green, no deserts, but no true mountains, either, gave us spicy, aromatic air filled with new experiences and realms of discovery. Of course that was the beginning of junior high and high school for us kids so exploration was the course of education. Sputnik had been launched and the nation was deep into math, science and engineering education. The public became obsessed with education and we were provided the fruits of this interest.

With this era we met the Cold War full on as kids and we were sobered by the challenges. So safety and warm fuzzy embraces were not the norm. besides there was 18 inches of snow outdoors. And we were still learning how to shovel the stuff off the driveway so Dad could get the car into and out of the garage. I recall the icy feel of snow down my socks and inside my mittens. I couldn’t believe weather could be so painful!

I do recall the soft wonder of spring and summer in New England. I was in the bicycle stage of life then and explored the paths and lanes of rural enclaves of woods, lakes and streams. It was peaceful and embracing in an entirely different manner than Southern California. Thus did climate differences become real to me. They were acclimated in daily routines and expected. Inured and ignored, too.

I remember being asked to write a paper for English class once. The assignment was to describe our ideal place, one we could revisit from time to time and why it was special. My essay focused on the place in my mind that recalled all the places I had lived and remembered as special. And that I could revisit those places at will by thinking about them. She didn’t like my work, gave it a C. I was disappointed with the grade but not with the concept. The teacher didn’t get it but I did and have kept those places special for my life long.

Huh!

February 9, 2015

Rebuilding Collaborations

Cooperation is in trouble in America. Or so it seems scanning media reports. But I think those reports are missing something.

The level of cooperation in America is high, significantly high. Charities abound in our nation. They are mostly successful as private citizens join efforts to make good things happen. Churches, too, are experiencing cooperation as they journey through an era where church going is a second thought and falling. Church attendance is low and going lower.

The fact that gets lost in reflecting on church life is this: fewer church goers means more cooperation among church members to keep the institutions alive. Cooperation also teaches church members something: if you think it is important to happen, you have to make it so yourself, or at least help it along with others. This experience is akin to early church life in a sparsely settled global community. The early church was a small group of believers willing to explore their faith with the help of others. Buildings were not a part of the experience. Or pipe organs, either, for that matter!

Choirs were relegated to large temples and other places of worship inside or outside the struggling Christian faith. No, the church was people then. Today we are getting back a little to that same dynamic. If it needs doing, volunteers will step forward to do the work and learn valuable lessons of community in the doing of it.

Think about where church life has been in the last 50 years. Or longer. We have had congregations numbering 1000 to 3000 in some churches. Such a number supports choirs, music ministries, large preaching staffs, education programs, and missionary outreach muscle throughout the globe. Some churches are much larger, reaching 20,000 or 40,000 members.

Catholic parishes aim for 1000 families or more. Such church organizations support day schools and elementary, middle school and high school education programs. Entire communities can view themselves as ‘Catholic’; rarely would a protestant denomination see itself as a Baptist or Presbyterian town. A large congregation or two in the same time frame, maybe, but the not hegemony of one faith or denomination to so identify the town.

Still, large congregations support a rich program of music, education, community ministry work, charities and faith development. Although such large institutional churches exist in America today, the truth of the matter is that fewer people are regular church goers.

By no means does this mean religion is getting smaller. No, it just means it is changing. I continue to believe America is a nation of caring, spiritual people. They may not be religious in the sense of old definitions, but they are still connected with one another in caring for their communities and its people.

OK, with that said churches know more about what is right and wrong in a community. They see the people in need and the people experience highs of success and happiness. They see both sides of the human condition as well as the many stripes in between. Churches also see cooperation.

What they don’t see much of is collaboration. And that is the issue I wish to address.

Collaboration requires people to not just cooperate with effort, but join thinking processes, experiences, and discoveries to discern the real world in which we live. Collaboration demands each person give up important things to gain important things. Power might be one such element being traded. Peace of mind is another. But creative intellects merge their talents in such a way as to properly analyze problems and come up with solutions that work effectively in the community.

Collaboration is an art form of communal living. It is not easy to manage, measure or create. It takes mutual interests for people to give up important things in order to acquire even more important things. Peace, stability, economic development, understanding, cultural awareness, quality of life – all these things are the objective of collaboration.

No one person has all the answers. Not you, not me. None.

If we are to make progress happen we have to work together at the level of collaboration. How much of that is happening right this moment? In our nation or state or town?

Those of us residing in successful communities know collaboration is occurring there. But think of the national problems America has because no one is willing to lessen themselves enough to participate in true collaboration! And in our states as well.

In Illinois (my state for the past 55 years) gridlock has shut down the legislative process and most state programs. Education is barely getting funded. Some state universities may be forced to close. Many charities that do the work of the public with state subsidies are facing closure as well.

This is not a crisis of money. It is a crisis of wills and hubris. Too many people wanting too much power and money insist that the world operate ‘their way’. But it won’t. with opposition they are stymied. So the work of the state is frozen at a standstill. For shame!

But no better is the Congress of the USA. They are stuck in the same shameful paralysis of hubris.

It is time for the rest of us to replace such do nothing elected officials. Please don’t let us do it in the fashion of Trump, Cruz or Rubio. Theirs is just more of the same – their way or the highway. No, what we need is for you and I and those folks ‘over there’ to get involved and start working on common problems with common minds properly stoked with brilliance of shared intellects. Then and only then will things turn away from gridlock and embrace collaborative solutions for the long term benefit of us all.

Amen to that. But when will this process begin?

February 8, 2016

Stepping Into the Void

Think of cheese cloth. Notice the loose and open weave of it. Clearly note the woven nature of the cloth. Now, take it and pull in four directions easily to bring it taut. You will see great gaps in the weave but still realize the wholeness of the cloth.

Now imagine a finer quality piece of cloth, a cotton shirting, perhaps, or maybe fine linen. You know the fibers are smaller and tighter. You also know the weave is finer but recall the spaces left in the weave of the cheese cloth. This is fabric, too, and the spaces are there just smaller. Very much smaller. And so, we conclude from this short demonstration that fabric is woven fine or loose and spaces exist between the woven fibers that make the cloth what we see.

Still there are voids in the whole. That is the nature of woven fabric.

Our communities are like that – woven fabrics of people connecting and touching and living life together in context to one another. Those communities connect and touch other communities also living together in context to one another and regional – even national – contexts. This is the nature of communal life. It is what it is. It is natural and expected.

The fabric is made up of strands of strength but air spaces among the strands that build the network of woven substance. In the air spaces is room to think, feel, and be independent persons. Each has its opportunity to explore life, learn and experience growth. Not far away is another person doing pretty much the same thing. Multiply that by thousands and the community resonates with individualism, creativity and opportunity to develop in hundreds of ways that are unique to it.

The same for all other communities. Those that are healthy in mind, body and spirit thrive, grow and prosper. All or most of the inhabitants benefit from this success. Life quality is good and supports a wide variety of differences among the inhabitants. Diversity is present and prospers. A community that interacts well with one another shares that diversity and benefits from it. Strength is realized, so too a complex and rich culture results. All benefit from each other and their differences.

The closer inhabitants are to one another in spirit the more they share their differences and ideas. This makes for a hugely creative environment in which new thought, business and public life forms are allowed to happen. The tempo of this creative process beats faster. Excitement greets the results. Here is a community on the move.

But it didn’t happen automatically. First one or two people had to move into the air spaces – the voids – in the fabric of the community. They had to take heart and faith that they would not be dashed to pieces for taking these steps. They had to feel the risk was worth it. And others nearby needed to accept their experimentation and support it.

Risk takers are needed in every community. Acceptors of risk takers are needed in every community. The two elements are required if new things are to come into being.

Risk taking – the ability to step into voids and, even with fear, make discoveries that will benefit others. From this the community prospers. From this different ideas and diversity of personhoods meld into a dynamic that drives creative synergy forward for that community.

I write these thoughts because we have a string of old urban communities about 45 miles from Chicago that have slipped in economic and cultural vitality for many decades. These cities are Joliet, Aurora and Elgin. South, west and northwest of the city loosely. All on rivers and with a strong history of backbone industries that fueled their growth and sustainability long ago. All supplied the Chicago megalopolis economy with gritty products and services necessary for Chicago’s prolonged success and growth.

Rockford is yet another city similar to the others, but 90 miles distant from Chicago. It, too, fed Chicago’s economic engines with goods and services needed to make Chicago an international manufacturing giant.

Innovation and history came from the interaction of these four cities with Chicago. Now in 2016 each of the four cities continues to remake themselves for a kinder present and more successful future. They are making strides. But their pace is slow.

How do we help them adapt to their new futures more quickly? How do we energize their people with hopes and discoveries that will enthrall and feed their reach into the future?

What do they have in common other than distance from Chicago and reduced circumstances? Rather than focusing on measures of failure or decline, what do we focus on to build strong futures?

In all of these communities these elements exist:

·         Diverse populations (ethnic, economic, educational, spiritual and cultural)

·         Loose fabric of community (lots of air space!)

·         Housing and commercial building stock ready for adaption and re-use

·         Infrastructure to move people, goods and ideas

·         Shared history for pride of the people and their identity

These are all the raw materials each community needs to be strong, healthy and vibrant. Leadership will help make the elements work well together. Investment of time and effort by the inhabitants and players will take advantage of the air spaces of opportunity to move the community forward.

And external investment would help move each community’s march of change at a faster clip. Such investment comes not at the beginning of change, however. First, the community must recognize its elements of value and make good use of them. This requires individuals to take a deep breath and step into the air spaces.

There is much to do if good things are to be accomplished. But I have faith that people of good will are plenteous and will step forward. The only question for the rest of us is:

How can we help?

February 5, 2016

Iowa’s Political Relevance

The caucuses are over and done with in Iowa. The winners are Hillary Clinton on the Democrat side and Ted Cruz on the Republican side. I say that definitively because those are the results. However, as politicians nuance every word and syllable, Bernie Sanders came in .3 of a point behind Hillary so the two are in a virtual tie. And for the Republicans, Trump lost to Cruz, and Rubio was a very close third behind Trump. So in nuance terms Trump lost, Rubio made a very good showing against the top two candidates, and Cruz clearly won the contest.

The losers cannot be tallied of course. There are seconds, thirds, fourths and fifths in these matters, but losers claim that territory for themselves. Either they made it the way they wanted it to be, or they didn’t, and then consider whether such an outcome is a loss or a setback, or a relative finding of hope. The words here become overly flexible to withhold true meaning! We are, after all, in the world of politicians who will spin whatever message they wish from whatever words are available!

Iowa, of course, is the first stop on the presidential political campaign only because it actually is the first stop. So the issues are discussed here. The speeches are tried out in Iowa. Crowds appear or don’t for each of the candidates as they push and shove their way to prominence in the press coverage. They work hard to develop campaign teams and followers so they have polling results to be proud of.

So America awakens its political interests in Iowa and that is the role of the state. It does not tell America who the party nominees will be. It often doesn’t even come close to doing that.

No, Iowa helps candidates practice for later days of campaigning in other states. Speeches are written for researched audiences – types, interests, etc. – to see if issues that play in Iowa are universal in other regions. Probably not a slam dunk. No, Iowa is way different than most of America. It is very white – 92% versus the national norm of 77%. Iowa is rooted in agriculture-culture. This is a place of farms and crop cycles and harvests and storage and futures pricing on commodity markets. Iowa is a place of small churches and basic beliefs. It is a way of life; communities work with one another and support each other. It is a community thing and a family way of life. America is not much like that as much as we say we yearn for such.

No, Iowa is not a predictor of America’s political temper.

Bernie Sanders may be close to Hillary in voting appeal. But it is his message that captures voter interest. When the actual date of selecting a political candidate for President arrives, I suspect we will chose candidates who are seasoned and prepared in a myriad of roles necessary for fulfilling the role of President. Bernie is a good man but not of Presidential timber. Hillary is and most likely will be chosen eventually.

On the Republican side, the noise makers often have leading roles in polls near the beginning. But two years down the road the noise calms and is sorted out. What really matters lies much closer to home. It is about world peace and consistency, economic development and repairs, and a host of feel good items along the way. It is not about the stark question of whether government is good or bad. Or whether government has the authority to do what it does and has done for nearly 400 years in America.

The people of America know that practicality will win out. Things must get done. Governments do what individuals simply cannot do. It is the commonwealth of the people that we speak of. And it is rarely if ever addressed properly by private sources. Only government seems able to consistently fill this vital role.

Education, health, common defense and national economic well being are the focus of the national government. Saying it is otherwise or ought to be, will not sway American voters. They know in their gut that our shared values insist things be done for the good of us all.

And that, folks, is what government is all about. We authorize it; we elect it; we expect it. To make it better we will have to work for it. Altogether.

Attacking good government accomplishes very little but fear. For some I guess that’s all they need to feel good about themselves. Feed common fears so they feel good about themselves. Don’t do anything about the fear, just stir it up. Feeding the lowest common denominator does this.

Just look at cable television to see what I mean. Hell, just look at Fox News!

I rest my case.

February 4, 2016

ellH

Touching Diversity

Including diverse people in our life sounds simple. It isn’t. Anything but. Think about it. There are many points of diversity within the American people – race, ethnicity, religion, culture, age, gender, gender orientation – and so on. When we realize all of this, and if we are serious about celebrating diversity, then we have to face the reality that accepting diversity into our way of living takes some preparation or readiness.

For example, age diversity; we must be willing to understand points of view fashioned through time with which we are unfamiliar. Land of Goshen! For Pete’s Sake! Well Pity Me That!  Just a few phrases some of our elders might utter and then we scratch our heads admitting we know nothing of what they refer. It’s OK. These are all old expressions born many years ago in recesses of the mind they probably don’t remember! With elders, too, we will need to slow our pace to match their gait. They move slowly now and perhaps a little stooped as well. That requires acceptance, not forbearance!

Youthful enthusiasm requires us to pause and let the youth have their say while we ponder what it means. New words are being used, or old ones in new ways, so understanding is not always quick to form. But their energy is breathtaking and welcome in those of us now elder and unable to move with much agility or speed.

Religious differences are not so hard to accept when we realize that most speak of forgiveness and love. Kindliness, too. No, it’s the dress, rites and creed terms that make us think how we are different and not the same. Some differences put us off when they shouldn’t. What do I care if they fast for 24 hours once a week? I don’t have to follow that practice, and no one expects it of me anyway. Same for ethnic customs. They are interesting – even fascinating – and they help us appreciate life more fully. Being different provides opportunity for enriching our experiences and understanding of others.

All of this is true and much more as well. But there are some problems with diversity precisely because we do not all understand or welcome it in the same manner. Some people fear difference. Some people use difference to demean others so that they feel superior. Others engineer social advantages from diversity, you know, keep someone down so they have opportunity to advance faster and higher than the ‘competition’.

With this unhealthy aspect of diversity present, we have not learned ways to erase the effects of differences. Look how long it took America to accept our African-American brothers and sisters! It took generations. It took a Civil War. It took laws, and brawls and disbelief suffered through before things got better. And they did get better.

But are they fixed? Is Black and White America one and the same? No, sadly, it is not. We still suffer racism in America. Things are better but not perfect by far. One wonders if it ever will be?

Even as we ponder this point we are encountering the same exclusion of Hispanics in our midst. Different cultures and histories are represented by Hispanics. Rich ones and valuable, too. But they are weathering the discrimination most every group with differences have suffered through. The Irish, Germans, Scandinavians, Indians, Asians – the list goes on and on – faced similar discrimination here in America. This is ‘the land of the free and the yearning masses wishing to break free’ we lionize on the Statue of Liberty. This is the country where we welcome everyone regardless of their creed, color, ethnicity, or whatever.

Until we don’t!

And the instances of ‘don’t’ outnumber the opposite. How sad we do not live up to our own values we claim to have. The melting pot of America is what enriches us. It empowers us as well. It enlarges not only our hearts, but our minds as well. Imagine the wealth of discovery through difference! Touch it. Feel it. Welcome it.

I spend time with alcoholics and drug addicts. They are all wonderful fully alive human beings. Many of you spend time with elderly people living in retirement homes and assisted living centers. You don’t just sense the richness of these people, you listen for it, see it and fell it. It is very real. Yes, you can touch this diversity.

Same with African-Americans, Hispanics and any others of ethnic diversity and skin tone. The food. The music. The customs. So much more is different from our way of doing things and living life. But at the core they are happy, feeling, communicative people involved in each others’ lives. Just as we are in ours. These are real and touchable.

As an organization I work with contemplates its hope to include people of diversity in its work, I hope we can reach out and touch what is different so it becomes less of a barrier to being one community. I think the secret of success will be allowing ourselves to be touched.

We will never know unless we try. We will need to be open to vulnerability to touch and be touched. When both are present I suspect we will know it.

And then we can sigh an Amen!

February 3, 2016

Wedding Bells

On Sunday, February 14, 2016 Rocky and I will be married at our church following the two usual worship services. It happens to be the monthly church pot luck supper that same day so the church will be filled with people we know who will likely step into the sanctuary to witness our ceremony. What happens happens; we didn’t plan it this way at all.

No, we needed some legal protections and considered both a civil union or marriage. The latter provides much more protection and benefit so we opted for that. Once married we will enact some of those legal protections and benefits but have to wait for the marriage license to be registered once the pastor signs it and mails it in. With a civil union we didn’t need a ceremony so we could enact some of the benefits immediately. What’s in a few days? Not much so we chose marriage for all the better reasons!

Still we wanted a small and private ceremony. My daughter and son will be their with their spouses and children. Rocky’s son will be there with his wife and three sons. A few other family and friends will be present but very few. Church members are a large part of our life and friendships so they will be welcomed however they present themselves!

No cocktails, champagne toasts or bands and dancing. Just family and good friends in a place we have found much happiness and peace. You’d have to know about Trinity Lutheran Church in Warrenville to understand. This is a church universal in which it is the people who are the church and the message and the work and the faith. Just what a church is described to be in the Bible. Love, forgiveness and inclusion are the watchwords. Oh, and service. Let’s not forget that! Service is to one another in mutual aid and support, as well as similar outreach to those in the community in need. Whether we know them personally or not. Mostly not.

We have yet to write our wedding vows or draft inclusions to the ceremony. It will be simple, though. We are in our 70’s and been together for over 16 years. We have little to prove to each other that’s new except to have and to hold, through sickness and health until death do us part. We’ve sort of been doing that all along. We are in good practice. Even the runs to the emergency room! Heck, the health part is easy; it’s the opposite that will prove challenging.

Not much will change after the ceremony. We will continue to do what we have been doing. The really big change will be cheaper health insurance as Rocky will qualify to be included on my insurance plan through my retirement plan. Of course there are many legal benefits including survivor benefits when the death moments arrive. That places both of us at ease in the meantime.

So now you have another reason to think kindly on Valentine’s Day this year. Although we did not select this day as our day, happenstance brought it all together. And that’s a good thing!

Cheers!

February 2, 2016

Shifting Realities

This moment is real. Oops! There it goes, to be replaced by this moment. Now, this second, not the last second, this one, now the next! You’ve got to be quick to keep up. What was just a moment ago is no longer. Now. We have only now. And of course what we do with it so we can enjoy future nows.

I was in a business meeting the other day and surprise, surprise, the client realized the business plan needed to be changed to reflect reality. What had been expected didn’t materialize; something totally unexpected did. Then the wonder why? And puzzlement as well because how did we get this so wrong?

The short answer is: because life doesn’t follow exact rules. Change happens and the trick is to know it is occurring. Quickly thereafter it helps to examine why it is happening and try to understand it as best one can. Then apply that knowledge.

Movement is the constant. It has a trajectory – a path – and it is best to be alert to this.

I’ve said this in the past: life is a bundled experience of nows that interact with other bundles of nows. Think gestalt. The whole is made up of many, many parts, all working as a unified whole, but independently causing myriad responses. Understanding the gestalt of a situation is important. It is of instance, however, and likely changes quickly into something else. Reacting to one gestalt may lead to unexpected results because we may have guessed the wrong direction of the gestalt’s movement or morphing.

Change happens. Swing with it. Be agile. Do not remain locked in place.

An investment yesterday may need to be sold tomorrow so the funds can be used to buy something better as an investment. Hanging on to the investment to prove your initial instincts were impeccably right will only lead to breast beating and sorrow. The Buggy Whip Industry of yesteryear has no relevance or presence in the market of space ships and computers.

I know this is obvious. But ask the owners of typewriter stocks for their reaction before you judge my statement. Or washing machine stock, for that matter!

The future lies ahead of us and it belongs to the visionaries among us who can imagine it and prepare for it.

And old building today may have value if its location is in the path of development or re-development that makes sense. Otherwise it doesn’t – have value. It will likely remain unused and neglected for years until it becomes dangerous and must be razed for public safety. But then a surprise is in store: the vacant land has a new value that opens up even more opportunities and the market interest soars even more. The old building had been an obstacle to the future. Now gone new possibilities exist.

The stove is age old in a thousand formats. Making a stove over the years has changed dramatically. New technology has revolutionized the stove. But what is the future payback to manufacture more stoves of any kind? What is the return on investment of such transactions? Probably very little. Attention is on new matters of significance.

Making electrical energy has been with us now for well over 100 years. The power grid is in place and being expanded and replaced, and repaired and maintained. But we are on the cusp of new energy sources and electricity will likely be part of that but not all of it. What then does the power industry do?

One thing it doesn’t do is prepare to remain static for another decade. No; it must re-invent its self and future to be sustainable. New energy sources beckon and will morph into a huge new industry center. How to be part of it and capture the most return on investment? Be a leader in the industry. Be a researcher in the industry. Be there as it happens and unfolds. Be prepared to take advantage of the opportunities as they open up to view.

Visionaries see the opportunities well before they come into being. That is the nature of risk taking and investing long term.

The old Protestant Theology of ‘be of use’ remains potent today. Only now it is transformed into business language as ‘make something useful happen.’ If that isn’t happening then you are not a leader but a follower. And your rewards will be much smaller, maybe miniscule, or not at all.

Have you ever missed a train? Feels lonely doesn’t it?

Let’s hope we have visionaries and leaders coming up through the ranks of our fellows so our tomorrows will be brighter than the days of 2016.

We have much to do. And we can either be leaders or followers. Oh, and we could miss the train entirely.

Which will you be?

February 1, 2016