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#235: Nature's Answers

Back in college, whenever I was most overloaded with coursework, it was no question where I’d go to tackle it. Most of my friends would head straight to the library. Instead, when I was swamped, I went to the swamp.

On many stress-induced occasions, I loaded up my backpack, picked up an iced-coffee, and headed to this very spot on campus. There was a table beside a small pond surrounded by cabbage palms, live oaks, and the sounds of lively warblers and murmuring toads.

My fellow students used to turn to me and ask, “How do you not get totally distracted there?”

Amanda PosaOctober 21, 2020Amanda PosaComment

#234: "How Are You?"

Some years ago a friend of mine from Denmark (then a recent arrival in the US) asked me, "Why do people ask, how are you, when they don't really want to know?" Ah ha! There was something I had been clearly missing in my day to day transaction. "Hello, how are you?" has become for many people, part of the standard greeting and is usually met with, "Good, fine, ok". Try answering the question with, "Exceptional, outstanding, excellent" and see what type of response you get? Back to my Danish friend. She went on to explain that most people in Denmark would never ask, "How are you?" because they don't want to know how you are doing, and if they did ask, they would wait and listen to the whole story behind why you felt a certain way. Insightful.

Joe BruzzeseOctober 16, 2020Joe BruzzeseComment

#233: Renouncing Privacy

“For the sake of others you renounce your privacy…” - Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

I reread this idea above recently. It stopped me in my tracks.

“Why in the world, again, would I renounce my privacy? To help others? Huh?”

When I think of privacy, I don’t think about medical records or my “data.” I think of my mind and all that runs through it.

Way back when, I was terrified of sharing many of my thoughts.

All the doubts and fears and reactions and anxieties and sadness and hurt and processes and insecurities and mistakes...oh.

My failures. When I was wrong. When I was responsible for hurting someone. When I was mean…or envious…

Or when I knew it was right to say, “I’m sorry” and deeply mean it but…I couldn’t.

I think I was trained to hide all of this stuff because, surely, it would make me far less attractive to other humans…

I wanted the “privacy” to all THAT stuff in my mind.

If people thought I was…perfect…and didn’t see my shortcomings…all would be great, right?

Pip CoburnOctober 13, 2020Pip CoburnComment

#232: Loss, lots of mud, and a hidden force

A few months ago, I lost my best friend. It has been hard. I had so much to do in my practical life these past weeks that I kept postponing a much-needed mourning period, as I knew it would stop me. I simply could not inconvenience myself in that way. So, I kept going, as if I was free diving, holding my breath to the deepest possible depth. A controlled dive. And then, one day, I started making my way back to the surface, to breath. And I allowed myself to grieve.

Maria SouzaOctober 9, 2020Maria SouzaComment

#231: Embracing the Full Spectrum of the Human Experience

In what seems like another life, I used to be a pastor.

Even though I have a very different perspective on life and spirituality than I did in those days, from my early twenties until my mid-thirties I had the privilege of walking alongside people through some of the best and worst days of their lives.

On one particular Saturday in the summer of 1998, I officiated a wedding and a funeral on the same day.

In the late morning, I joined with the family members and friends of a young couple who gathered to witness their public profession of love and commitment to each other as they beamed with joy and dreamed about their new life together.

Bill CummingsOctober 6, 2020Bill CummingsComment

#230: Surprise-Related Anti Pet Peeves

Waking up and realizing your spouse let you sleep in and has the kids

Going through the mail and seeing one from a friend

Work emails that go into gif mode

Trying out a new flavor of ice cream

- Suzi Chun-Turley

CommunityOctober 2, 2020Community, Anti Pet PeevesComment

#229: Justice / Just us

There is no justice in this world; only our collective struggles towards it.

All we have are our collective desires and practices.

Through bellies on fire, heavy hearts, cloudy visions, longings to ground in new prayers and practices for the future,

We gather in community.

We circle up to receive the resource and restoration required.

We circle up to grieve, to heal, to learn.

Didier SylvainSeptember 29, 2020Didier SylvainComment

#228: My Self Portrait

Every year during performance reviews or interviews, we get asked and ask others questions like this “what are the areas of improvement?”, “what are the strengths and weaknesses?” As if it is a predictive exercise that may foretell what I am good or suck at.

As a human, I recognize that I am not complete, and the areas of improvement are far more numerous than there are strengths. However, I think I should be able to dynamically assess the strengths and weaknesses as the situation arises - identify it and work on it or seek help to fill the void.

Muayyad Al-ChalabiSeptember 25, 2020Muayyad Al-ChalabiComment

#227: Grace and Trust

I know some people that determine a word of the year as a sort of new year's resolution – they pick a word they want to focus on for that year, a word they want to strive towards. Can I pick a word of the year almost ten months into it?

I want my word of the year to be grace.

To me, grace means seeing others for where they are at. No questions. Respecting needs or desires with no judgement. It is both internal and external.

Lauren CulbertsonSeptember 23, 2020Lauren CulbertsonComment

#226: Weak Connections

Hunter S Thompson observed that writers are either peckers, laboring over every word, or swoopers, getting lots of words down and doubling-back later on for edits. I see that people tend to be this way in their interactions with other people, too: one may concentrate solely on a few very strong connections, or more widely distribute their attention with a greater number of weak connections. Between these two ways of being, I’m certainly the latter.

Corey LoftusSeptember 15, 2020Corey LoftusComment

#225: Motherhood Mud & Miracles

One of my favorite parts of the morning is opening the curtains to my favorite room in the house, which happens to be my baby’s nursery/my yoga room. Although this may sound sweet at first, it’s not because that’s how I wake up with baby. That sounds beautiful. But, in fact, I typically wake up in the pitch blackness to my baby crying and/or screaming at 5am…which is not, in fact, my favorite part of the morning. But, a couple hours later, her Dad takes her out for a morning walk and I come back into her nursery and transform it back into my yoga room…..

Jaime PosaSeptember 11, 2020Jaime PosaComment

#224: Ambiguous Loss and Little Certainties

There is a word I really don’t like – “closure.” I used to like this word I think. I would use it as justification to spend an inordinate amount of time to replay past experiences and ask, “what went wrong?” I would open up old wounds or go back to people who weren’t good for me – or let people back into my life who were not good to me – in the name of “closure.”

Lauren CulbertsonSeptember 8, 2020Lauren CulbertsonComment

#223: School's Lasting Lessons

Back to school week was always special to me. The time when the weather got cooler, friends were reunited in community (sometimes against, sometimes in support of the new teacher), and days regained routine. The sense of normalcy, predictability, and routine that the locker-clad walls and scent of books, pencils, and chalk dust created for me still feels tangible to this day.

Corey LoftusSeptember 3, 2020Corey LoftusComment

#222: The Weird Paradox of Chaos

What is the new normal? What’s the next normal? What even is normal?

In my work these days, almost every business I speak to is doing one of three things. They’re preparing for a reorganization, they’re in the midst of a reorganization, or they’re emerging from a reorganization.

I have no idea if that’s factually true, but it feels true.

In all three instances, I’m personally finding this weird paradox. Everyone wants to do meaningful things, but no one wants to start anything meaningful – including, ironically, me. And I think: How do you even begin to plan for the now when you don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring? Maybe I’ll write a book about it. But, oh god, why would anyone read that when, you know, <broadly gestures at the world>.

Robert RoseSeptember 1, 2020Rob RoseComment

#221: Home-Related Anti Pet Peeves

#221: Home-Related Anti Pet Peeves

When I need a break from work and I can simply walk into the next room, plug in my electric guitar, and mangle blues standards to my heart's content

My dog lying on her back and snoring her way through my video calls

Enjoying the first coffee of the day with my wife before the working day begins.

- Oliver Davies

CommunityAugust 27, 2020Anti Pet Peeves, CommunityComment

#220: Wanting

This feeling of wanting is curious.

I am sitting outside on my sister’s patio table, gazing out at grey clouds intertwined with mountains and the setting sun above the Hudson River. I’m immersed in the sounds of crickets and the chirps of birds at dusk and a few rumbles of thunder on the horizon. The air is cool, laden with water droplets both rising from the earth and ready to fall. It is beautiful.

This is where I have wanted to be all day, and for many days. This is also where I want to leave.

Christina PosaAugust 24, 2020Christina PosaComment

#219: Stewardship vs Monetization

I remember years ago Pip and Brynne had me consider/brainstorm what easy-on and easy-off ramps might look like for community members' involvement in businesses or organizations. While listing a plethora of these easy on/off ramps, I then remember thinking about the importance and also the impact of keeping freedoms in place for the customer, and how just having that freedom affects the relationship as well as customer turn-over.

JP RangaswamiAugust 19, 2020JP RangaswamiComment

#218: A Midweek Burst of Joy

Here are my two favorite anti pet- peeves with regards to home...

(photo enclosed below) California. I attended my first West Coast Crosby event and immediately felt at home with everyone. For the first time ever I could have been seated next to anyone in the room and immediately felt at home. Everyone there felt like family, tribe and I adored them from the minute I met them.

Leonore NielsenAugust 12, 2020Leonore NielsenComment

#217: CFC Website Changes and Highlights

Hello! Before I dive in, here is a fresh anti-pet peeve for you…

I am currently lucky enough to be working from Nantucket Island, where I have been going since I was a kid. One of my favorite views in the world is here: looking over the moors to a red and white striped lighthouse here called Sankaty that sits right on the water. I got to ride my bike to see it this morning, and seeing it for the first time every summer never ceases to make me smile.

NOW back to business...

Today’s blog is simple - we wanted to highlight some of the changes we’ve made to the Community for Change website and talk a little bit about why we decided to dedicate some time updating it.

If you would prefer to look at the website and skip the details - no worries! - here is the URL. BUT if you are curious to hear more details, please read on!

Lauren CulbertsonAugust 7, 2020Leonore NielsenComment

#216: Waking up with the World

The Earth is still tucked in beneath a blanket of clouds when my sneaker first meets the pavement. I adjust my armband and look out at the empty sidewalk that rolls down the street ahead of me.

Just months ago, I used to feel almost proud on the days I’d sleep in. Those extra hours on the weekend would feel like a much-needed catch up from the long week I’d just closed out.

Now, something else has become more needed.

Christina PosaJuly 31, 2020Christina PosaComment