Sep 29 2018

“

Nine nine nine gettin’ jiggy

People did you see that fire in the city?

It’s like we’re fresh out of democratic

Gotta get yourself a little something semi-automatic yeah

from George Michael's 'Shoot The Dog'

This week’s issue of Peace Matters is coming your way a few days late, for good reason. The Thursday drama of the Kavanaugh-Ford hearings, a raw and gripping moment for America, continued to unfold yesterday (Friday) as the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to move Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court forward to a vote by the full Senate.

As The World Turns

Ford and Kavanaugh are addressing the world

As I mused in last week’s issue of Peace Matters, “…what is the best path forward to ensure justice is being served for all parties concerned, and for the integrity of the Supreme Court as an adjudicating body in a democracy? Would citizens want their judges to be, as far as possible, beyond reproach as they serve their lifetime appointments? And in this #MeToo moment in our collective history, do we want to give women a fair hearing and/or investigation, so that more women will come forward to name their attackers and begin to heal their souls?”

In that context, and with the American Bar Association agreeing on Thursday with my stance last week about due process, I’m glad the decision was made to conduct a weeklong FBI investigation into the allegations of Dr Blasey Ford and others. This shift has been attributed in part to Republican Senator Jeff Flake’s politically deft moves, in-Jeff-Flake’s-face citizen action from survivors of sexual assault, and the common desire between Senator Flake and Democrat Senator Chris Coons to bring bipartisanship back to the ailing institution of the Senate.

It’s also worth noting that the world is watching these events unfold and, to varying degrees, mocking the spectacle and degradation of American democracy, healing their own sexual assault wounds through Dr Ford’s courage, and holding out the hope that America will prevail.

Om Is Where The Heart Is

Creating clear boundaries

A more personal share this week, one that may resonate with you.

I’d been trying to pinpoint all the reasons why a deep and close relationship has been feeling “off.” As with so many things in my life, once I posed the question to the universe, answers start showing up in a multitude of ways. One line that stood out in a chat with a fellow small business owner (and anthropologist by training), a Facebook Live session about the importance of feeling (and calling out) all the dimensions of our lives and experiences, validation in an email from someone that our first meeting’s brief chat had made a deep impact on him…all revealed the same idea of being grounded and rooted, of why rootedness is less prevalent in Western cultures, and of my uncommon gift in providing this grounding through my presence and work as a writer, coach and advocate for peaceful leadership.

This helped me both own my gift and unconscious competence in this area, and use it to define clearer boundaries for the tricky relationship in question. What had seemed, to me, to be mystifying behavior, could now be explained in part by the lack of grounding in the other person, and in our relationship dynamic. I’m now getting more clarity, having the difficult conversations and establishing clearer boundaries.

My takeaway for now: Unless a bird chooses to land in a tree, that tree cannot begin to shelter and comfort that bird. And for all my bird-like abilities to soar, and to help others soar, into new possibilities, I’m also a tree to and for many.

News and Views

Building civic courage

Starting next week, and through the US midterm elections, I’ll be sharing stories and suggestions around civic courage. I’ve been thinking about the importance of civic action for several months now, and the bravery of Dr Ford and other sexual assault survivors this week further elevates what I have to say.

Want to join the conversation? Find it on Twitter and Facebook with the hashtags #CitizenCourage and #CivicDuty.

(Do you have a question about what it means to perform one’s civic duty? What examples of citizen bravery have you seen? Send me your stories or questions here.)

PS: I did want to share more news on the podcasting front. It’s coming down the pike real soon…still rearranging some podcast furniture behind the scenes. 🙂

In the next issue:

I’m certain there will be more to say about Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation process. The world is watching, as am I.

Till then…

Live well and lead large – Maya