Jun 2 2019
The week began with Americans honoring their fallen soldiers on Memorial Day, and prompted my week-long reflection on the many ways we can serve our communities.
(Too busy to read and click through all the article links? Listen to this podcast episode, for highlights on the go.)
As The World Turns
When the winds die down…
America’s Midwest is experiencing one of their worst tornado seasons, with reports of 500 tornadoes in the last 30 days. We’re all primed to donate to, or volunteer for, disaster relief efforts. But what about months, or years, later?
The truth is, no matter how much our hearts swell to help in the moment, our daily lives and routines soon take over again, until the next disaster arrests our attention or opens our pocketbook. And many of us, including politicians, are battling disaster fatigue.
There must be a better way.
Federal disaster relief funding is a start. I do wonder, though, if there isn’t anything we can do, or are doing, at a community-to-community level.
We’ve created the idea of sister cities to promote cultural and commercial ties within or between countries. Do these ties include providing aid during and after a disaster? If not, how can we make that happen, or make it more visible to the rest of us, in a consistent and mutually beneficial way?
I began noodling on this question in this #PeaceMatters LIVE show, from earlier in the week:
Art as service
We live in an age where art, commerce and technology have the potential to come together in innovative and service-oriented ways.
This week, I was delighted to discover this news story about a social entrepreneur who does exactly that. Linda Cheung walked away from a Wall Street career to find more effective ways of informing her Miami, Florida, community about the impact and importance of the climate change debate.
She realized that, “The problem is cultural. There is this belief that it’s either care about the environment or care about people’s economic welfare. And I want people to realize, these are two and the same things. If you don’t care about the environment, you end up paying for it way down the line, not even way down — you end up paying for it way more. I really want to reach more people from the general public. But the bridge to the public is missing, and I think art can be that bridge.”
Watch the news segment and Linda’s interview here.
Om Is Where The Heart Is
Hawaiian hiker gets lost…and finds herself
What happens when you go missing for 2 weeks, and miraculously get found? You become a national news story.
That’s how I stumbled upon this story about Amanda Eller’s hike through a Hawaiian jungle, that called on the depths of her soul and fortitude. If you’re on your own spiritual quest for meaning, or a connection to something greater than your conscious mind can hold, you’ll find a lot to love in this video of Amanda’s post-rescue press briefing.
A veteran journalist tells his truth
Scott Pelley’s book had me at its title,“Truth Worth Telling: A Reporter’s Search for Meaning in the Stories of Our Times.”
We must have tapped into the same creative impulse, because the premise for his book – marrying the news with what it can mean to our lives – mirrors my work here in the #PeaceMatters newsletter, and in my Lead for the World magazine.
That’s why it was a personal thrill to meet Scott, a 60 Minutes correspondent and former CBS Nightly News anchor, at his book-signing event. I can’t wait to read it, review it, and share its goodness with you. Watch this space!
News and Views
Peace Matters is officially social
I began my weekday live show this week, to share thoughts and stories about the weekly theme that guides all my #PeaceMatters work.
It’s been fun, and oh-so-helpful in crafting this weekly newsletter.
Click here to follow me on your favorite social media platform, so you can join me when I go live!
In the next issue:
It will be a busy week on the international scene, with Queen Elizabeth hosting the American President, and France commemorating the 75th anniversary of D-Day. I’m sure those stories, and more, will take centre stage next week.
Till then…
Live well and lead large – Maya
(featured image from the US Library of Congress)