Shedding Light on Power - in this Most Defining Year

To say that 2008 has been an incredible, amazing, wondrous year – even in the broadest application of these descriptors – still feels quite understated for what this year truly has been…for me and for so many of us. Since November, particularly November 4^th, I have been struck by one particular descriptor for this year: power. I have been struck by the way power has shown up for us in 2008 – in our lives individually; and in our culture collectively.

We all know the ‘power of change,’ and how that refrain was evoked, applied, adopted, embraced and ultimately used to inspire a country (and even a world) to break free of its past in enough ways and for enough people to say together, and for our greatest good: Yes We Will. We each used our power: the power to believe, the power to volunteer, the power to speak, the power to ask, the power to canvass, the power to learn, the power to educate, the power to listen, the power to be inspired, the power to participate, the power to vote, the power of one…to choose. And, collectively, we used that power to make a choice in favor of creating a very different direction, present and future for ourselves and our country. People often say ‘power corrupts.’ Sometimes, a corruption (of the status quo) is exactly what is needed for a nation to rescue itself and bring to it the recovery, healing and the redemption it needs for its salvation and survival. In this regard, I thank God everyday for the power of corruption and that I was blessed to live, experience and participate in that corruption for the greater good!

But ‘power’ has shown up in other ways in 2008, ways with which we are all too familiar (some more directly than others) and ways, for many of us, with which we grow weary with every example revealed: Financial meltdown. Sub-prime mortgage crisis. Global recession. Bernard Madoff. Wall Street bailouts. Foreclosures. Layoffs. Bankruptcy. Closings. Senate seat for sale to the highest bidder. There are those who would say that these are the tell-tale signs that ‘power’ does corrupt – and not for good. On the face of it, it is difficult to argue the contrary. But when I consider these examples of what happens when ‘power’ is so grossly and egregiously misused and abused, I begin to wonder more about what ‘power’ really is; how we define ‘power’ and whether what we’re experiencing is in fact the result of ‘power’ gone wrong or the result of those with the choice choosing not to use their true ‘power’…at all.

In determining what power really is one can take an internal or external perspective. Externally you can research what the literature says about power to find a working definition. You can accept socially dictated norms about power: who has it; who does not; who should have it; who should not. You can accept what we’re taught - that power is based on position and how much authority, money, and/or influence one might have and allow all this to determine what power is for you. You could. If you did, I would posit that those who buy into such definitions of power make up the vast majority of those directly responsible for the way ‘power’ has shown up for us that has made us all so weary of late. If these are feasible definitions of power for you, ask yourself: Is greed powerful? Is fear, craving, and blind ambition powerful? Is it powerful to destroy? Is it powerful to lie, cheat and steal? Is it powerful to deceive and take advantage of? Is it powerful to take the money and run? I would argue that what we have seen in these examples of ‘power gone awry,’ is not real power at all or the result of people exercising their true power. Think about it, and this is an internal perspective on what power is: when was the last time you felt truly powerful? What did it feel like for you? Did you feel greedy? Were you fearful, craving and blindly ambitious? When you felt your own power – were you lying, cheating or stealing? When you exercise your true power is it destructive? Are you deceiving or taking advantage of others in the process of exercising your true power?

I would argue that true power results in none of these things. True power is something we all have; it is internal and is not dependent on any external things such as your position, money, authority or influence. There’s nothing powerful about something that can be taken away from you. Therefore, true power is your possession and the only way for you to lose it is for you to choose to give it away or not exercise it at all.

True power is saying no, when everyone else is saying yes. True power is speaking up for justice and truth when everyone around you remains quiet. True power is getting up after you’ve been knocked down and everyone around you is expecting you to stay down. True power is facing your fears and insecurities with strength, love and understanding. True power is doing what is right over doing what is expedient (politically or otherwise). True power is remaining morally competent and ethically sound even when others around you have long since lost or destroyed their moral compass. True power is believing when all the ‘so-called’ evidence around you says you should not. True power is showing the strength, love, intelligence and fortitude to work something out to its best resolution for all involved rather than doing what’s easy and solely in your own interests. True power is living free of fear, lies and corruption. True power is hearing and trusting in your own voice and allowing it, above all else, to lead you in living your most authentic, honorable and true life.

In The Art of Power, Thich Nhat Hahn describes true power as faith, diligence, mindfulness, concentration and insight and that true power always results in loving kindness, compassion and wisdom. Could true power ever be mistaken for the other definition of ‘power’ so popular in our society; for the kind of power that would lead to such devastation as we are seeing in our economy right now? We know them by their fruits. This year’s presidential election was the exercise of true individual power, which, when combined with the collective, changed us as a society and the world – for the better. If Wall Street, mortgage lenders, companies and politicians were taught and held accountable for leading by that definition of true power…imagine how different what we’re experiencing economically right now would be.

So 2008 can be described in many ways: incredible, amazing, wondrous, even powerful. And, in and of themselves, these descriptors would be insufficient to fully describing what kind of year this was for us all. However, if each of us were to understand what power truly is and what it is not. If we were to understand that what results from the exercise of ‘power’ tells us so much about whether power was involved at all. If we were to recognize, embrace, own and live the truth of our own power with loving kindness, compassion and wisdom for ourselves and others…well then 2008 would have been a very good year, in whatever way it is described. A very good year indeed!!

Be faithful. Be diligent. Be mindful. Be focused. Be wise. Be loving. Be kind. Be compassionate. Be powerful. BE ILLUMINED!

I (Eye) Witness to History

What does it mean…to be alive; to be present at a moment such as this?

Back in June of this year, after watching Barack Obama proclaim victory in the very hotly contested Democratic primaries, I was moved to write a poem titled “I (Eye) Witness to History.” In that poem, I shared my thoughts about what I was seeing; what I was witnessing in that history-making moment and what it may mean for those of us who were blessed to be present at that moment in time.

Now, here we are at another incredible moment. On the eve of this, the most important presidential election in the history of this country, I ask myself: "What does this all mean? How do we effectively characterize this moment, not only for ourselves but for our children, and for theirs, so that we and they can truly know the history that is being made?" This is a moment that I can only characterize as deep, profound and awe-inspiring. And even those words, as powerful as they are, do not seem sufficient. It is a moment that is, as I describe in “I (Eye) Witness to History,” ‘…prophesy fulfilled…the manifestation of dreams held, but unspoken; of dreams shouted out loud, but unheard; the dreams of those who came before; died for; died before.’

But what is this moment about, really? Is it about an election? Change? The audacity of hope? Or, is it about those things and more – something greater; something grander; something that touches us in a much deeper place; a more soulful place…a place of commonality, connectivity and community? I would argue that leaders are only as good as the willingness of their followers to follow them and that willingness comes from followers being touched by their leaders, inspired by their leaders and, in many ways, awakened by their leaders to something that stirs their spirit and allows their soul to soar in ways undone before.

This kind of awakening is about much more than an election, change or hope (no matter how audacious)…it is, really, about a preferred way of being in this world; one that we all share and deep down we all prefer; a way of being that is not driven by the limitations of fear & division, but is based on bringing out the very best of who we are not for our own selfish gain but for our greater benefit and for the benefit of those around us. This kind of awakening, that is grander and greater than any election, change or hope, is like an uncloaking – a removal of the veil we once accepted and believed was our only reality (the veil of fear, isolation, individualism, exclusion, division, fighting, etc.) only to discover another reality – one that embodies hope, change, opportunity, inclusion, community, promise, etc.; one that reveals to us who we really are (and, thus, have always been) with the awesome promise of what we can truly become. This kind of awakening makes our future look so much brighter…dare I say…illumined!!! And it is from this place, this awakened place; this illumined place that we can make the kinds of decisions, do the kind of work, as individuals, as a community and as a country that will make us great again…not just in the eyes of others, but most importantly, in our own eyes.

So if this moment in history is not just about an election, change or hope; if it is, in fact, about an ‘awakening,’ so described, what has been Barack Obama’s role; his purpose? Is his presence and his campaign solely about winning an election? If so, all this ends in the next 24 hours. I would argue, however, that Barack Obama’s role is much greater and much deeper for each of us. Beyond being a political party leader and, more than possibly, the leader of a country and the leader of the free world…beyond all of that, I see Barack Obama’s role; his purpose as a calling forth – calling forth you, calling forth me, calling forth each and every individual who has been touched, inspired and awakened by his leadership. You see, we are only touched by and we only respond to those characteristics in others that speak to the same in ourselves. We respond to anger in others, because it reflects the same anger we have in ourselves. We are inspired by the joy in others because it speaks to the joy we have in ourselves. Like attracts like, whether we recognize it or not. Therefore, people have been responding to all that we ascribe to Barack Obama not because he’s any more special than any of us, but because what he brings invokes, inspires and awakens the very same that exists in ourselves…just waiting to be called forth.

So, no, this is not just about an election, change or hope…it is about those things but so much more. It is truly about ushering in a new era of being for each of us; one in which we are all uncloaked; where the veil is removed to reveal the very best of who we are and who we desire to be – for us all to see and for us all to benefit. We are intentionally ushering in an era where the emperor indeed has no clothes…and we and our children and theirs will be all the better for it!

Be called forth. Be uncloaked. Be unveiled. Be seen. BE ILLUMINED!

BE YE AS LITTLE CHILDREN?

Maybe that’s why everything we ever really needed to know...we learned in kindergarten!

I find it curious how, according to the Holy Bible, that most aspired to, and all too often, elusive, state of being (heaven, paradise, transcendence, etc.) is likened to being as a child. What is it, exactly, about children that is more likely to gain them entry to heaven; while wisdom born of age, experience, intelligence and knowledge (presumably) will not? And, as adults, what do we become as we age that doesn’t seem sufficient to meet the entry requirements for heaven (according to Matthew), so much so that we must take what we’ve become and convert, turn or change it? Considering that Matthew’s direction is not change for change’s sake but, specifically, change that will have us become as little children, it begs the questions: What, then, really, is wisdom? How is it that children, with such little knowledge and experience in the world, are deemed to have that wisdom (certainly as it relates to heaven according to Matthew)? And, rather than questioning what it is we’ve become as adults, maybe the better question to ask is: as adults, what have we lost as we age?

These are the thoughts and questions that ran through my mind as I considered a New York Times book review by Simon Rodberg. In his recent review of two children’s books about Wangari Maathai (the environmental activist who spearheaded the planting of 30 million trees in 30 African countries; well-known for her work in Kenya’s Green Belt Movement and recipient of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts), Rodberg said this in his introduction:

“Children are natural environmentalists. Not yet conditioned to separate themselves from the rest of creation…they delight in all that grows…they care for anything that is given to them, apt to love too much rather than too little…they have an instinctual distaste for desolation….somewhere along the way, most of us lose this connectedness…as our field of action enlarges…we disassociate our natural affections from the natural world.”

Rodberg’s words are both inspiring yet sobering. We come into this world equipped with such an openness for and natural sense of connectedness to all life; an instinctual wisdom. But as we age, too many of us lose both as we relate to one another and the world around us. It seems the wisdom of beingness in childhood is not so much about what children know (or about what we believe children know or, better yet, the value we as adults place on what we think children know), but about what children feel and their willingness to feel their feelings, express their feelings and follow their instincts, which naturally connect them to others and the world around them. Imagine the world we would create if we were to maintain at least that part of the wisdom of childhood as we age – a world where our work, policies, laws, relationships, organizations, communities, countries, etc., reflect the ways in which we are all naturally connected?:

“What is done to one, is done to us all.” “We are only as strong as the weakest of us.” “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” “Ubuntu – a person is a person through other people; our humanity is affirmed when we acknowledge the humanity of others.” “Namaste – the divinity in me acknowledges the divinity in you.”

Imagine how different our world, and what we are experiencing today, would be if we were led by such priniples of connectedness.

But, as we age and mature (gaining what we believe is wisdom), our value of individual knowledge over the feelings and instinct that connects us all to each other and the world around us, dulls us to the natural wisdom we possessed as children. Hence we create a world where the wisdom of youth is derided not for its lack of existence, but because as adults we have lost our ability to connect to the wisdom of our youth and are, therefore, unable to recognize it in ourselves or in others and, as a result, we create a world and a set of life experiences marked, if by nothing else, our stark disconnection from one another and the world around us. Eventually, however, as the last couple of weeks have shown us in brilliant fashion, we are bound to experience something that truly reminds us of our connectedness - that we are all really in this together. And, as Jamaicans say, 'Rain don' fall pon one man house.' The reality is, neither does the sun shine on one man's house...must we wait until it rains before we're all reminded of the reality and wisdom of this connectedness?

Yet, there is hope, and, yes, it is audacious! As we experience this amazing, difficult, and wondrous season of change, (if nothing else, there is and will be plenty of change) it may prove useful for each of us to be reminded of the wisdom of our childhood. Look to your own children; the children around you, and observe the ways they engage the world. Be open to and inspired by the wisdom they may have for us and, as we embrace the change that is sure to come, let us be as little children in imagining beyond the limits of what we believe is possible and bring forth a world worthy of the instinctual hope and trust they have (wisely?) placed in us. Truly becoming as little children may be the one path we have yet to try that will make heaven, that oh so elusive state of being, not so elusive after all.

Be ye as little children. Be the wisdom you were born with. BE ILLUMINED!

What Price Terror...$700+ Billion Maybe?

Has Al-Quaida already won?

What was the goal of the 9/11 attacks on the United States? From the terrorists’ perspective the goal seemed to have had a part 1 and part 2. Part 1 was to physically strike the symbols of US economic, military and political power. The terrorists more than achieved their goal regarding the strike on the symbol of economic power (the twin towers certainly are gone). As for the symbol of military power, they only got a chunk of the Pentagon. And as for the symbol of political power, well we got to them before they got to the Capitol. But, regardless of what their motivation was, and what one might believe the US’ role may have been in nurturing that motivation, achieving part 1 of the terrorists’ goal required no action on our part. Meaning, simply, that one can not control another’s behavior; the actions another chooses to take. We can put certain things in place to mitigate the choices another might make and increase the likelihood that they might take one action over another. But, in the end, a person’s decision to do anything; to take a particular action, is their own.

Truly the only thing one can control is one’s own behavior. The choices we make; the actions we take (however justified or not) are our own. At the point of decision-making, we are alone in determining what we will do next and what impact, if any, we will allow the actions of others to have on us. Therein lies the rub regarding what was likely part 2 of the terrorists’ goal.

While only the terrorists’ can tell what their complete goal was for the attacks, given the scale of the attacks, I can’t help but wonder if they wanted something more beyond part 1. What about after the attacks? It seems to me that they would have wanted the attacks to subsequently have some longer-term, painful, negative impact on the functioning of the US in the areas of economic, military and/or political power. It seems to me that would be the completion of the goal – the final act of such brazen attacks (I don’t have a terrorist mind so that’s the best my imagination can do). But in order for this hypothetical part 2 to occur, the terrorists’ actions (even the full completion of part 1) are insufficient. It is not enough for someone to take action against you in order for their intended impact of that action to result. For the intended impact to result, your response to that action is required. And not just any response, but a specific response – one that is complicit in the result of the intended impact. Thus, in order for a part 2 of the goal of the 9/11 attacks to occur, whether we knew it or not, it required that we respond to the attacks in such a way as to lead us to experience exactly what the terrorists’ may have wanted: some longer-term, painful, negative impact on our economy, military and/or political power.

So, what was that response? What choices did we make?

• We gave broad powers, and seemingly a blank check, to the president to wage war on our behalf


• The president used that power to start a war in Afghanistan to go after those who attacked us


• He then used that power to leave the war in Afghanistan undone in order to start an unnecessary, unjust and illegal war in Iraq that had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks


• During this time that we are fighting two wars abroad, losing precious lives on all sides, and spending amounts of taxpayer money that are so large at times it makes me believe the government is dealing in Monopoly money – it seems nobody was ‘minding the store’ at home


• While we were hanging on by our fingernails to the very last of a fraying thread of morality we once had as a nation in our response to the attacks, it seems morality and ethics had long since left those who run the institutions that form our economy here at home


• A blind eye was turned and financial institutions and Wall Street, it seems, were allowed to run-a-muck and create a complex, global web of economic disaster primarily through questionable (and maybe we will find someday, illegal) subprime mortgage lending practices


• The reality of these mortgage-backed securities that are now worth little has resulted in an economic crisis worldwide, to which the US Congress has responded (with more taxpayer money) by bailing out 3 institutions (in the billions of dollars) and the White House calling for an additional $700 billion bailout plan for all the financial institutions involved


• And we are still fighting two wars…did Parker Brothers even create that much Monopoly money?

These were our choices in response to the 9/11 attacks. Where we are today, is the result - not of the attacks, but of the choices we made in our response to them.

We didn’t have a choice in being attacked. We had all the choices in how we decided to respond. Has Al-Quaida already won? Economically, one must wonder. But how much more they will win and how complete their achievement of a part 2 of their goal depends solely on us and the choices we continue to make – including the choices we make not only in our leadership (those elected to represent us) but also in how we hold our leadership accountable to ensure that the choices they make on our behalf are in our own best interests. It isn’t just our leaders’ job to ‘mind the store’ and to determine the choices made on our behalf. In this "government of the people, by the people and for the people," that job belongs to us all. While we are in this process of taking our country back…let’s be sure to take our control back…over the one thing we do have control…the choices we make!!

Own your choices. Take control of you & what you create from your choices. Allow others to do the same. BE ILLUMINED!

Investment Advice for Troubled Times

In reading the Sunday New York Times this past weekend (all sections, from first to last page – a weekend ritual I thoroughly enjoy), I came across a book review that spoke to me and I thought, “Wow! This would be a perfect post for the blog.” Then Monday came, and as I managed through the day with my own feelings of bewilderment, wonder, shock, deep concern, worry, anger, frustration, compassion (particularly for the workers of Lehman Brothers as they walked out of their Wall Street offices with boxes in hand and no job to return to) and, yes, admittedly, some fear, I thought to myself, “I need a word;” something to reconnect me to the truth of who we really are and the infinite resources we have access to – the true nature of our universe.

I needed something to remind me that the limitations of human action in this life do not define the truth of who we are, nor do they define the value of all that we truly possess. An unhealthy identification with the current financial crisis only serves to separate us from the infinite resources that exist for us and invite more of the same into our lives: “I am poor;” “I have no resources;” “My resources are tanking;” “I have no money;” “I don’t have enough;” “I am not enough;” “I am afraid,” etc. And we neither need nor want nor can we afford any more of the same (to paraphrase President Obama – yes, I said President!!). So, I figured if I needed a word, maybe someone else out there needed one to. Thus, I will save the book review post for another day. For today, I think some ‘investment advice’ may be in order.

A. Maintain a balanced & diversified portfolio…of joy

Matthew 6:21 of the New Testament says that “For where your treasure is, there will be your heart also.” Your treasure is that which you hold dear and that which you hold dear will be your joy. Do you know what brings you joy? Is it success? How do you define success? Is it by how many things you have; how big your house is; whether or not you have a house; how much money you have? If success is what brings you joy, and that success is based primarily on material possession (and, therefore, by extension, based on the money that allows you to possess that material), what happens to your joy when your ability to possess material is threatened; or worse, taken away? Will there just simply be no joy to be had for you?

Any investment planner worth her/his salt tells you that maintaining a diversified & balanced portfolio is the most prudent, financially, and will serve you best in the long-term. So it would seem the same is true for how we build and access joy in our lives. We do ourselves an immense disservice when we settle for material success as the very limited and fleeting version of joy that it is. I mean really, we all know you can’t take the stuff with you (don’t we?). And each of us likely knows one miserable person too many who may lack many things, but material possession is not one of them. But for those of us who succeed in establishing multiple sources of enduring joy beyond money and material possession; who seek our treasure in the quality of our relationships, personal growth, faith, community, family, service, connectedness, smiles, laughter and love – we are able to draw upon those treasures particularly when the limited and fleeting versions of joy leave us wanting. How diversified is your portfolio of joy? Could some reallocation be in order?

B. Be risk averse….to limitations for you and your life

We are well-advised to recognize that all financial investments involve some risk, or so the saying (warning) goes. And, as such, we are further advised that our investment strategy should take into account our own personal tolerance of that risk. Some of us are completely risk averse; some are extreme risk-takers – most of us are somewhere in between.

However, when it comes to your ‘treasure,’ your heart, your joy, your life, you - I would advise that your investments be completely risk averse to any notion of limit. The moment we accept that there is a limit to the amount and kind of joy we can have in our lives; a limit to the kind of lives we can have; a limit to who we can be in this life - the universe obliges itself to respond accordingly. Likewise, when we accept, are open to and welcome the limitlessness of who we can be, the kind of lives we can have and the amount of joy that is available to us, the universe obliges itself and responds accordingly.

So, besides the obvious (for example, who wouldn’t want unlimited joy in their life?), why is it important that we be risk averse to notions of limit? When we embrace the very idea of limit, immediately a door closes; a window shuts and we lose opportunities for what it is we really desire and value. And when we do that, we leave ourselves subject to the vagaries of human action in this life as if those represent the sole definition of who we are and what we can be. Such risk aversion tells us, definitively, that what we may have lost today, has no bearing on what we will gain tomorrow; that what we don’t have today in no way determines what we will have tomorrow. Being risk averse to notions of limited joy, limited lives and limited beingness, goes hand-in-hand with maintaining a diversified & balanced portfolio of joy – if we are to rise above, survive and thrive through the vagaries of human action that define these very troubled times.

Be balanced and diversified in your joy. Be risk averse to limitation. BE ILLUMINED!

For Crying Out Loud, I've tried, But I Just Can't Be Like Everyone Else!!

"I AM NOT HERE TO CREATE SAMENESS."

When I read this quote from The Law of Attraction Cards by Esther and Jerry Hicks, I immediately felt a resonant, deep, powerful and profound YES! It's like that very simple something you see, read, feel or hear that helps explain the very core of who you are; that removes a foggy veil you really didn't even know was there until it was removed, to reveal a clarity about you that you realize just makes sense in both its profundity and its simplicity.

But what a freedom and joy there is in that statement as well. It removes the burden and heaviness we carry of the 'supposed tos' and the 'have tos' we often internalize in our lives about being like everyone else; being pleasing to everyone else (because we appear or are perceived to be like them) and/or being what others believe we should be (based on their own 'supposed tos' and 'have tos'). Reading that statement, you can't help but feel not only that deep, profound, powerful and simple, Yes! But also a: 'Wow, that does explain why I can't seem to keep my mouth shut when everybody else goes quiet,' or 'Gosh, no wonder I take leaps of faith in favor of my own ideas of happiness and joy for my life rather than settling for and suffering through because that's what everybody else does,' or 'No wonder I've always felt and acted a little bit different from what is considered the norm, but I've never felt the need to change,'...because we're not supposed to.

It is not an understatement to say that there is a present and powerful global movement towards understanding who we are, why we are and what our purpose is in this life - and not just towards the understanding of it, but also the active living of it. Books like The Purpose Driven Life (Rick Warren), Inspiration and The Power of Intention (Wayne Dyer), The Diamond in Your Pocket (Gangaji), The Invitation (Oriah), not to mention ancient texts like The Holy Bible (multiple authors, know and unknown) and many, many others serve as guides for us towards the realization of that understanding of life purpose and our living of it. However, I believe the road to understanding and living your life purpose is marked not just by discovering and living what it is, but also, and importantly, by discovering what it is not. Often our knowledge of what something is for us, begins with what it isn't and knowing what something isn't for us (what doesn't feel right, what doesn't feel good) keeps us motivated to find what that something is: that which does feel right; which does feel good - for us.

So, with all this consciousness focused on identifying and living our unique purposes in this life, and with the Law of Attraction clearly stating that 'sameness' is not it, why are we so bombarded by messages of the need for conformity and sameness? People are amazingly uncomfortable in work and life with others who are perceived as not the same. As a result, and, too often, unfortunately, judgements about character, worth and value are made; jobs are gained or lost; relationships established or ended; opportunities gained or missed; experiences had or lost, all because of this need for sameness when that is exactly not who we are and not why we are here.

The sadness about all this is that the sameness we judge each other on misses the point and encourages weakness in our actions and relationships, personally and professionally. It takes little courage or boldness to judge each other on superficial things that are not meant to be the same, like: 'He doesn't make the choices I would make,' or 'She doesn't make decisions the way I do,' or 'She doesn't live her life the way I think she should,' or 'He makes me feel uncomfortable' or, what this all usually boils down to simply is: 'S/He doesn't have the same fears, insecurities and judgement of self that I do.' Imagine the missed opportunities, joys, experiences, learnings and successes when we judge each other this way and act toward each other according to those judgements. While it takes greater courage to look beyond superficial sameness to value and embrace our natural differences, imagine the gain, the freedom, the joy if we were to take that courage and judge each other solely on the one aspect that doesn't miss the point; the one aspect that is the same among us all: the illuminating power of love within each of us. What if we reached out to each other in work and life toward that sameness...the only sameness that is; the only sameness that endures.

To discover and live your purpose; to be that change agent in your work and for your world; to live truly and engage the world powerfully - be the difference your were purposed to be in this life. Besides, the law (of attraction) is on your side!!

Be courageous. Be different. BE ILLUMINED!

Inaugural Post: Welcome to Sunrise Illuminations!

Thank you for joining me on this magnificent journey.

THE JOURNEY:

The birth/launch of Sunrise Illuminations is a product of my own ongoing life journey of self-discovery, self-awareness, meaning, purpose, voice, freedom and love. As with all journeys, the lessons learned aren't confined to just one aspect of my life and living. The revelations I have been blessed to achieve have found their meaning and application in my personal life and relationships; as well as in my work and professional life - ultimately confirming that the personal is very professional and vice versa.

Thus, I have come to a special, unique and very treasured place in my life where I do not compartmentalize my thoughts, feelings and actions such that the way I present myself at home differs from my presentation of self at work and how I present myself at work differs from how I present myself in my faith and spiritual practice. I no longer engage the world in this fractured and often tortured way. I have achieved a presence that is unabashedly and shamelessly whole and complete, as I bring the gifts of all that I am to bear on my work, on my personal life and in my faith and spiritual practice.

This is an incredible freedom that has opened the door to a world of infinite opportunities for the kind of life I truly desire and for the kind of change, through my work, for which I have always longed. What I didn't know, as much as I know and understand now, is that life and that change begins and ends with me. For the kind of life I truly desire, I must live it here and now and not wait for the right time, the right circumstance, the right person to come along and tell me that which I have always known, is ok. For the change through my work that I have always longed for, I must be the change that I seek in the world right here, right now and not wait for anyone to give me the permission that only I can give to myself. Thus was born Sunrise Illuminations - the result of my living truly here and now and being the change that I seek in the world.

THE GIFT:

We each are born with a unique set of gifts - unique not necessarily in the gifts themselves but unique in the way we make those gifts manifest in the world. Sunrise Illuminations is one of my gifts to the world. In it you will find thoughts, lessons and examples - from myself and illumined others - about how each of us can live the lives of our truest desires; how we can find and exercise our unique voices for change in our lives and the world around us; how we can access our personal and spiritual power and engage the world from that amazing vantage point; how we can live in love and joy-without fear; and how we can bring grace, humility , justice and humanity back into our lives, relationships and our work.

What you will find here will have meaning and application to all aspects of your life, as such you will find postings in the context of faith, spirit, culture, family, relationships, self, work, community and, yes, even politics! Since my professional background includes the arenas of coaching, philanthropy and social benefit (also known as 'nonprofit'), much of my own postings in the work context will be from these perspectives. Nevertheless, whatever the form or fashion, it is my sincere desire that what you find in Sunrise Illuminations will inspire you to live boldly, creatively, authentically, lovingly, fearlessly, justly...indeed, to live truly and engage the world powerfully. There is an illuminating force that is transforming the world - it is the illuminating power of love that is within each of us. Let Sunrise Illuminations help you unleash that power as you move along your own magnificent journey.

As the Elements of the Universe say:

"Be ever wonderful as you are."

BE ILLUMINED!