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Change the World: Find Forgiveness

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The Past Is Gone

changetheworld8

WE charge in . . .

We come into life screaming for air and, we fight to prove we belong here. Along the way, little and sometimes big hurts happen. Some were intentional. Some were accidental. Probably a number were entirely in our imagination. Yet, our need to stay meaningful almost leads us to find something meant to belittle where something else entirely might have been going on.

. . . armed with protection . . .

We go to the negative as a defense. A grandmother doesn’t to speak to a fully grown son. Her anger is about times before he was born. We lay the deeds of a villain who escaped at the door of a hero who stayed. The first wife lied. . . . The last boss was a fraud. . . . Deep inside we’re not just protecting, we’re waiting for the bad guys to return with the answer to Why?

. . . unconsciously waiting . . . deaf and unseeing.

And that unconscious waiting is a sort of self-harm.

What if we changed our ways? What if we changed how we see who we are?

from Find Forgiveness by Tommy Henriksen, Selected Songs For A New Beginning

. . .
Can you look into my eyes and tell me why?

Find forgiveness. The past is gone today.
Are you willing to learn and change?
I see myself changing all my ways.

Forgiveness

And the tears that fell are from you
Waters from my soul

Can you look into your eyes and tell yourself why?

Find forgiveness. The past is gone today.
Are you willing to learn and change?
Can you see yourself changing all your ways?

Forgiveness

I was wrong in your eyes.
You know God and I see.

Can we give it one last chance . . . for all of us?
. . .

We can change the world — just like that.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

Change the World: Choose the Ending

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Hey, Robert, How Can We Change the World?

changetheworld8

Yesterday, Robert Hruzek’s email arrived in my inbox with a question. Do you think this might make a Change the World story? I read it though and wrote back immediately. It’s obvious that my answer was to the affirmative.

So I’m passing along this actual event from the lives of our own, Mr. Middle Zone Musings and his dear lady. The narrative offers a twist for the ending. It carries Mr. Musing’s thoughts on how the world might be.

Choose the Ending

by Robert Hruzek

You know, it’s easy to say what one would do in a certain situation, isn’t it? To paint a rosy picture that “surely” would have been, had it really happened (yes, I know — don’t call you Shirley).

C’mon, admit it; we all like to think the best of ourselves. And you know what? We should have a positive self-talk and self-image; that’s just good mental health. But what’s the reality?

Allow me to paint a scene for you.

The other day Mrs. MZM and I had lunch at one of our favorite beaneries, Cafe Express. It’s one of those (relatively) new kinds of restaurants where you place your order, wait for your pager to buzz, and then pick the food up yourself. Condiments are over here, drinks are over there; help yourself, and thank you very much. (Hey, I’m not complaining; I happen to like it.)

We decided to eat outside on the patio so we could enjoy the beautiful weather we were having; a nice little umbrella-covered table in the corner was perfect. We had just barely gotten settled when the little flat wireless-radio-controlled-butt-massage-thingy (I always put it in a back pocket — it provides a cheap thrill!) went off, so off I went to collect our food.

And finally, to complete the scene, there was a bus boy cleaning the table next to ours.

OK, got the picture? So here we go…

As I returned and approached our table, I was still a few feet away when we heard a medium-loud “pop” (sort of like a “quiet” firecracker). We both looked around to see what made the unusual noise, but nothing was obvious — no cars passing by (there was a street right next to us), no pedestrians within reasonable distance, and no one sitting nearby seemed to notice — there was nothin’.

Oh, well. I sat down and we prepared to eat — and then I noticed a tiny white dot on Mrs. MZM’s left cheek! I looked again, and there were more white dots on her face — along with several in her hair, on her blouse, the pants she had on! Finally, as our eyes followed the trail of white dots down to the ground, we saw what had made the sound.

It was a mayonnaise packet.

Yep, that’s right, ladies and gentlemen; yours truly had sprayed mayonnaise (and with explosive force, no less) all over Mrs. MZM when I had stepped on a packet inadvertently dropped by the bus boy. In fact, we found even more of the white stuff all over my shoe, the table, the chair I had already sat in, and judging from the spray pattern, no doubt the buildings across the street!

Sheesh! Now what?

Possible Ending #1

Mrs. MZM jumped up with an angry exclamation and attempted to dab the offending condiment off her clothes, her hair, and her glasses. Her frustration was obvious to the neighboring tables as she did her best to recover with some sort of dignity. Alas, it was a losing proposition.

There was nothing that could be done about the prominent stains on her clothes, though. Well *sigh* at least it had started out as a beautiful day!

Possible Ending #2

Once we realized what had happened – Mrs. MZM burst out laughing!

We then spent a hilarious few minutes checking each other over for tiny white dots (the folks at the table next to us probably thought we were inventing a new dance step), just to make sure we got them all.

Finally, we sat down again and munched happily on our burgers, enjoying the rest of the beautiful day.

The Power to Choose

So lemme ask ya!

If you had the power to choose, then which one of these endings would you have picked?

OK, got it? All those who chose # 1, raise your hand. Fine, now all those who went for #2? Hmmm! seems kinda lopsided to me. Amazing how we all seemed to choose the happy ending.

But here’s the real money question:
If this had happened to you, which ending would have ACTUALLY happened?

Extra Special Super Duper Bonus Points:
To make it really fun, ask a friend to answer the question for you!
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So what really happened, you ask? Well, it was exactly as presented above, with ending #2, of course! Ah, Mrs. MZM – ya gotta love her!

Lucky for me it didn’t spray all over some big bruiser suffering from hemorrhoids and bristling with a bad attitude because his favorite team had just lost a key game – I might have been hurt!
–Robert Hruzek, Middle Zone Musings

We can change the world — just like that. Thank you, Robert!
–ME “Liz” Strauss

Change the World: Be Wisdom Defined

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Begin

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Yesterday I wondered about What it means to be wise? I’m still wondering. . . . I’ve been wondering about that most of my life.

“I came to this city a brave and broken girl,
determined to search the world
for some kind of wisdom. . . .” –Christine Kane

Christine searched the world. So did I.

Pamir quoted that the “Tao that can be spoken of is not the Tao.”  Wisdom lives deeper than words. I try the idea on for size. Every cell of me agrees.

Aruni said, “Wisdom is a never ending journey fraught with joys, pains, ups and downs because without those experiences they cannot connect and share with others.” How loudly this resonates. When folks have called me wise, it has been when our spirits have met around an experience — our minds merely translated for us.

So it seems, when people use the word wisdom, it has had little to do with intelligence and everything to do with humanity.

Wise folks I know are intelligent hearts. They are not part-time wise. They never forget the people involved when they look at the bottom line. I feel wide open trust when I think about them. It’s a soft smile to recall their faces.

I searched for another words to describe what I meant — acumen, astuteness, balance, brains*, caution, circumspection, clear thinking, common sense, comprehension, discernment, discrimination, enlightenment, erudition, experience, foresight, good judgment, gumption*, horse sense*, information, intelligence, judgment, judiciousness, knowledge, learning, pansophy, penetration, perspicacity, poise, practicality, prudence, reason, sagacity, sageness, sanity, sapience, savoir faire, savvy*, shrewdness, solidity, sophistication, stability, understanding –Thesaurus. com

Not a one is worthy of the people I call wise.

Maybe wisdom defined is unconditional love and understanding.

Imagine if we aspired to be wisdom defined.

We can change the world — just like that.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

Change the World: Are You Coming?

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No Explosives Needed

On the road to our dream destination,

Starbucker

we’re bound to find a few detours and breathing blockades

Bulldog-in-your-face

who seem dead-set on bringing us down.

white-arrow-pointing-down

It’s good to know that when someone knocks us over

beached-sunflower

or tries to set a match to our plans,

one burning match

that we can pick ourselves up and kick a little water to put out the flame.

splash Kick that flame

Because the sky and the water belong to everyone

heart on the water

and the sun doesn’t belong just to me

sun 1

So, are you coming along for the ride of your life?

dog in the wind

We’re getting out our crayons.

crayons

We’ve got all of the creativity we need.

Geek Cigar Lady

We know what beautiful looks like — what to make and what to keep.

dancers — waterfall

We’re going to change the world.

Earth from space

Wait and see.

Liz's Signature

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If you’re ready to change the world, send me your thoughts in a guest post. Feel free to take the gorgeous Change the World image up there that Sandy designed back to your blog. Or help yourself to this one.

Change the World!.

Email me about what you’re doing or what we might do. Let’s change the world one bit at a time together. Together it can’t take forever.

Change the World: When Someone Hurts

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Please Show Up as You Are Able

changetheworld8

I received a call last night from our friend, Jeff Brown. who relayed the tragic story of Aaron Anglin — a 24-year-old young husband and father killed in his car on his way to see his sister.

Lani, Aaron’s sister is a blogger. She’s a best buddy of our friend, April Groves. April tells the story of the accident on Lani’s blog and also points to the television reports. Her commentary explains how alive and joyful this young man was.

April also says.

Lani is my “BBF” – Best Bloggy Friend. Over the past months, we have become really close and her feelings are very important to me. Today, I ask them to be important to you.

Over at the Bloodhound Blog, where Jeff writes, the owner, Greg Swann has moved to action with April.

Aaron Anglin is survived by a wife and two very young daughters. The way I’m reading things, he died without life insurance, which puts those three ladies on a very hard road.
If you can spare something for them, put it in the form of negotiable funds — cash, cashier’s check or money order — and overnight it to:

Aleisha Anglin
c/o Lani Anglin
2719 Costa Azul Cove
Leander, TX
78641

April is working on setting up a donation account with Bank of America, and I’ll amend this post when that account becomes available. In the meantime, Jay Thompson has set up a donation system using PayPal.

But: I will promise you that there are people who will want to be paid now, and this young family will have immediate and ongoing needs. There was a time in your life when fate could have hit you this hard. Now is your chance to redeem that good fortune.

This morning Jeff emailed me this, the link at which you can get the button to support the family who survives young Aaron Anglin you see in my sidebar. Please, if you can, pick it up and place it on your blog and plass on the story. That small act matters a lot to one young family.

When the world seems so huge and all on my shoulders, I am humbled and heartened by the humanity of how we help each other when we are hurting.

Thank you April, Greg, and Jeff for being human.

I was asked to pass the word on, to ask the many people I know if you might help. So, now I do.

Will you help? Please. Someone hurts.

We can change the world — just like that.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

Change the World: Venture Up the Words

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Hey, Joanna, How Can We Change the World?

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This morning I was greeted by an email from a dear friend, Joanna Young. I am often encouraged by her words as I start my day. This email said, “it felt like the thing I needed to write. You know how that can be.”

Yeah. I do. We know I do.

I knew before I opened it that what Joanna wrote would move me. Anyone who reads her blog would know that. So, without another word of my own, I share it now with you.

Finding the Courage to Write

Guest Writer: Joanna Young

I don’t know if you’ve ever had the feeling that something is calling to you, blinking at you, trying to get your attention. “You need to do this”, it says. “You need to write this”, it tells you.

Liz’s change the world series is one of those quietly persistent flashes of light. It blinks at me: here I am, still waiting, patiently.

Sometimes it asks me, quietly: what are you waiting for?

Because the words, the idea, the possibility of writing something that’s about realizing the power of our own words to help change the world — well, that’s right up my street. It’s what I believe. Truly, deeply: that the words we use can help shape our reality, create the kind of world that we want to live in.

So what is it, the question goes, what is it, then, that you are waiting for?

And sometimes when I see another post go up, another beautiful button with a picture of this world we hold so dear, the simplicity of the message, the persistent reminder of those words, change the world! and the gentle, quiet reminder at the end: we can change the world, just like that! Sometimes when I see that button I get a jolt of anxiety that someone other than me will write the words I’m trying to find, that I’ll be too late, will have lost, or wasted the opportunity.

And so, the question persists, quietly: what is it, then, that you are waiting for?

And there are those times when I read other people’s words here , so simple, so powerful, such a compelling reminder, that yes, our words can and do make a difference that I’m jumping up and down in front of my computer, muttering yes, yes, yes! to my startled, sleepy, cat.

Words like the recent contribution from Jon Swanson, words that took my breath away with their power and simplicity, the conviction of this simple message:

Here’s the point. To talk about deciding to change the world ignores the fact that we already are. Our existence, our interactions, our writing, our time, our love, our hate –all of these things are shaping the world in small ways. The question is not whether you are ready to change your world. The question is whether you like the way you are already changing it. And whether you are willing to be part of helping other people change the world. too.

Our choices, our actions, our words, our decisions to write, or not to write: they all count. They’re all part of this bigger picture, one post at a time.

I know this. And yet: what is that you are waiting for?

And I realized. It’s not the words. It’s not the skill with the words, playing with phrases, finding just the right pattern and rhythm. Because I can do that. It’s not hard for me.

But writing this, answering this question, this quiet persistent question is hard. It’s hard because alongside the quiet, persistent question runs another line of insistent chatter. Who do you think you are, writing for a readership like that? Who do you think you are, offering up your paltry words to someone who knows so much, has written so much? Who do you think you are, offering up such small words to such a big task: change the world!

And so I realized. It wasn’t the words I was waiting for. It was the courage.

The courage to say: this is the best I can do. These are my words “they’re all I’ve got. I can’t think of anything smarter, wittier, cleverer, more appropriate to say. I’m sorry” It’s not enough.

And then I wondered: perhaps if this is how I feel, well maybe there are other people out there who feel the same. Perhaps if I venture up these words, however inadequate to the task, who knows, somewhere, some day, perhaps these words will resonate. Connect. Help to make a difference.

Help us to answer this gentle, persistent question.

What is that you’re waiting for?

—Joanna Young.
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Thanks, Joanna, for being a light, being a voice, and being there to help us see what to do.

We can change the world — just like that.
–ME “Liz” Strauss