Everyman's 21st Century Blog
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
What The World Needs Now
Oggebbio, Lago Maggiore, Northern Italy
What if there were a perfect society that could only produce the happiest, healthiest, most loving people you could ever imagine you’d want to be around and spend time with, even create your own life with or alongside?
What if there were a perfect society that could only produce the happiest, healthiest, most loving people you could ever imagine you’d want to be around and spend time with, even create your own life with or alongside?
What would that society look like? Who would those people
be?
Decades ago I attended one of the most awe-inspiring and
powerful talks by any person I’d ever heard speak. His name was Huston Smith, a
scholar of comparative religion born in China, educated in the US, now 96, and
author of the most popular introduction to world religions ever sold, The World’s Religions.
He had the rapt attention of his audience with his penetrating exploration
and thinking on a larger scale than most of us usually do. He helped plant the
seeds in me for the questions I just asked you.
What Smith said was that through his travels and studies he
discovered that world cultures could be grouped into three distinct groups,
each with a primary cultural characteristic. One group he identified as the
West included the US, Canada and Europe and promoted the development of the
individual as the most important characteristic; the Far East including China,
Japan and similar societies emphasized the greater good of the group; and India
had traditionally pursued the inner world of spiritual development.
He proposed that we take each of these
characteristics and blend them into a unified whole that would support the full
development of individuals and utilize the power of cohesive and harmonious
groups and teams to create a greater good for all.
What brought that long ago lecture freshly back to
mind for me is the experience I am now having with a wonderful group of
Japanese culture changers at a nine day training on Lago Maggiore in northern
Italy, a training created by my colleagues Janet and Chris Attwood, co-authors
of the NY Times best selling book, The
Passion Test: The Effortless Path to Discovering Your Life Purpose.
Not long ago, I had coached a Japanese man who
translated The Passion Test book into Japanese and is now himself a best-selling
author of self-empowerment books in his country. Through the Attwood’s focused
efforts, the Passion Test and associated processes and tools have quickly
become recognized as a beautiful way to capture the best characteristics of
both West and East underpinned by the Attwood’s life long commitment to inner development as an important basis for individual achievement, human liberation and social transformation.
As this group from Japan opens to receiving the
training and support to become powerful national leaders in Japan and Europe, I
am touched to my core by these men and women sharing their discoveries about
themselves as they go deeper and deeper into what may have held them back, release that and fully claim the unique gifts they each have to offer the world and each other
as team members working intimately and effectively together to inform, educate
and move their society in the direction of fulfilling it’s greater destiny.
And I am struck by our shared humanity across
cultures as I live and work here for this time in a country full of passionate
people, the Italians, whose language I am learning to speak with another people’s
language I’ve never had much exposure to at all, Japanese and it’s beautiful
pictographic form of writing. The gracious and highly skilled Japanese interpreters
for the group are true bridgers of worlds for us as we travel through each other’s
inner territories together experiencing laughter, tears, closeness between us as individuals and a
feeling of unity that is powerfully palpable.
Indeed, I believe I've begun to do more than hope
for or imagine that society I asked you about.
I am living in it. And it is about go viral.
Come join Randy Crutcher, EdD, a
transformational life coach and organizational consultant, and friends for a
powerful daylong workshop in Albuquerque, New Mexico, November 4 called Purpose, Passion and Possibilities for
Professionals. Or find out more
about the life changing, game changing Passion
Foundation Coaching Package you can access from any where in the world.
Visit www.quantumleapcoaching.org
Monday, August 31, 2015
Men, Power and Reproductive Freedom
I was in a bit of a state of shock when I arrived at work to
find out someone had tried to burn my office down. A neighbor had called the
fire department and everything was under control with no substantial damage
done by the time I arrived. Why would someone do something like that?
It was l985 in the USA, at the beginning of President Ronald
Reagan’s second term in office. I was a Director of Information and Education
at a Planned Parenthood affiliate providing low cost voluntary family planning
services to those least able to afford it, both women and men. Among other
duties, I had been hired to specifically address how teen boys could be supported
to take responsibility for their role in teen pregnancy as well as to foster
healthy father-son relationships that included conversations about taking that
responsibility. Though the bulk of Planned Parenthood and my mission was to
educate people about their individual and private choices, I was well aware of
the controversy over abortion services—and that is what had flames licking the
siding below my office window.
When people feel powerless, they are at risk of being
manipulated and can sometimes be driven to desperate measures to draw attention
to what they feel is wrong, not just for them, but everyone. Ever since the l973 U.S. Supreme Court decision supporting women’s right to choose whether or not to end
a pregnancy in consultation with their physician was put in place, there have
been those who have attempted to reverse that decision, in any way they
possibly can think of, at any cost to others.
Uniquely in the USA for many decades now this issue has been
used by politicians to curry favor for themselves or denigrate others by
playing on the strong emotions of a minority of voters. We are currently seeing
the latest version of a strategy to divide and conquer with Planned Parenthood
again being used as a convenient target for an angst that is continually inflamed
both by people with strong personal convictions and beliefs and others that
simply see abortion controversy as a political football to keep in the air for
political gain and power. That is why you will see many seeking or in political
office waver in their opinions or support for reproductive choice. They are
attempting to see which way the political winds are blowing with particular
constituencies before they take a clear stand.
Unfortunately, playing political games with the lives of
women, men and families in need of high quality reproductive health care
undermines both the health and freedom of hundreds of thousands who have have
come to rely on Planned Parenthood for safe, reliable and effective means for
making their own private choices about when and how many children they will
have. It is always important to remember that for some, when they cross the
threshold of a clinic it may be their first access to health screening for
cancer and other services associated with primary health care that person might
not otherwise receive.
I’d like to think this drama will stop repeating
itself in my lifetime and political machinery will no longer benefit by the constant flame fanning of this divisive issue. I’ve no investment in changing
people’s strong convictions about when life begins or their choices about their
own pregnancy, the consequences of which are shared by both women and men.
I do know that when men in particular (along with women)
feel they have the right to determine other individuals and families life
choices, they are not merely hypocrites maintaining they are
committed to individual freedom, they support those desperate ones who lit
fire to my office. If not explicitly they implicitly condone acts of terror against their own country men and women. Now well into the 21st century anti-abortion violence has actually remained a consistent, if secondary,
source of domestic terrorism and violence, manifesting itself most
often in assaults and vandalism, with occasional arsons, bombings,
drive-by shootings, and assassination attempts. Acts of terror don't arise in only one culture or religion nor from an aberrant gene. This violence, like other forms, is committed by those who have become emotionally isolated, lost touch with their own humanity or are manipulated
into believing that denying others their right to liberty and the pursuit of
their own happiness, is a threat to their way of life, when it clearly is not. They are acting out their own personal powerlessness.
On another plane of view, I can see how these continued
threats to individual freedom serve a purpose as they bring more into the open
both the shadow and light of power and powerlessness. They provide an
opportunity for men of honor to declare themselves allies to not just women,
but to themselves and their own core values, their authentic and true personal
power.
During this political season and era, consider telling
Planned Parenthood what a fine job they have done for you or anyone you’ve
known lucky enough to cross the threshold of one of their many welcoming
clinics. Support those political leaders who are true public servants that understand
the critical importance of taking a stand for the health and wellbeing of all
American families and the funding that makes that possible. And for those
readers living elsewhere than the US, remember that the International Planned
Parenthood Federation supports many programs on all continents, making a
healthy difference for those women and men attempting to take charge of and make better lives for themselves and their families.
Posted: 09/01/2015 12:53 PM EDT
The U.S. Justice Department sided with Planned Parenthood in its court battle with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) Monday night, telling a federal judge that Jindal lacked "sufficient reasons" to cut off Medicaid funding to the family planning provider.
Last month, Jindal moved to cancel Planned Parenthood's Medicaid contract in Louisiana after an anti-abortion group released a series of heavily edited undercover videos that show the organization's doctors discussing the donation of fetal tissue for medical research after abortions. The 2016 presidential hopeful and other Republicans are claiming the videos show Planned Parenthood engaged in the illegal sale of fetal body parts.
“In recent weeks, it has been shocking to see reports of the alleged activities taking place at Planned Parenthood facilities across the country,” Jindal said in a statement on August 3. “Planned Parenthood does not represent the values of the people of Louisiana and shows a fundamental disrespect for human life. It has become clear that this is not an organization that is worthy of receiving public assistance from the state.”
Jindal felt so strongly about the undercover videos that he aired them on the lawn of the governor's mansion during a recent demonstration in favor of Planned Parenthood in Baton Rouge.
Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, which does not offer abortions in Louisiana, asked a federal court to block Jindal's move in late August, arguing that the undercover videos lack the evidence to "back up false and outrageous claims." Donation of fetal tissue after abortions is legal, and federal law explicitly allows for donors to receive reimbursement costs for the preservation and transportation of fetal tissue. Five state investigations into Planned Parenthood have turned up no evidence of wrongdoing.
“We’re in court today to protect over 5,200 people’s access to cancer screenings, well-woman exams and basic health care in Louisiana,” Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards said in a statement. “Many of these folks would have nowhere else to turn for health care.”
Jindal said in a statement last month that the Medicaid provider agreement between Louisiana's Department of Health and Planned Parenthood "gives either party the right to cancel the contract at will with a 30-day notice." His office did not respond to the U.S. Justice Department's "statement of interest" filed Monday night in favor of Planned Parenthood.
Friday, July 31, 2015
Mr. Holmes
A funny thing happened on
the way to the movies this week, or rather when I got to the box office. The
movie I had intended to see, Me, Earl and The Dying Girl was not being
shown as advertised online for that night. My friend Tim had just told me I wanted
to see that movie and post a blog about it. As I’d driven across town to this
venue and there was a group of women meeting at my house, I decided I’d still
make it a one guy’s night out and bag a different flick, Mr. Holmes.
I’m glad I did. No
mistakes. This crime drama mystery directed by Bill Condon and based on the
2005 novel A Slight Trick of the Mind written by Santa Fe’s own Mitch
Cullin features an aging Sherlock Holmes (played by Ian McKellen, Lord of the
Rings “Gandolph”) living in retirement with his house keeper Mrs. Munro (played
by Laura Linney) and her young son Roger (played by Milo Parker).
The
film follows a 93-year-old Holmes living in his country estate, struggling to
recall the details of his final case while his mind begins to deteriorate.
In
1947, having just returned from a trip to Hiroshima, he starts to
use jelly made from the prickly ash
plant he acquired there in an effort to improve his failing memory. Unhappy
about his ex-partner Watson's
account of Holmes' last case, he hopes to write his own account, but is having
trouble recalling the details. As he spends time with Roger, showing him how to
take care of the bees in the farmhouse's apiary, Holmes comes to
appreciate his curiosity and intelligence and develops a paternal liking for
him.
Over
time, Roger's gentle prodding helps Holmes to remember the case (shown in
flashbacks) and why he retired from the detective business.
The
movie was based on autobiographical material from author Cullin’s life as a boy
who cultivated a relationship with a kindly and learned neighbor who gave him
access to one of the most complete collections of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s
works.
Without
revealing more of the plot, as I’d hate to spoil it for you, my focus here is
multi-faceted. On the one hand it is a story that illustrates how genius can be
a blessing but also a curse when combined with what I’ve spoken about
throughout this blog, “men’s isolation.” The great rational and deductive
thinking ability of the Holmes character is thrown into relief when viewed as a
wall between he and the characters reaching out to him for human connection and
emotional resolution. His own emotional intelligence is portrayed as crippled
but not beyond recovery at age 93 and it is the boy Roger who creates that
bridge back to his own deeper humanity and personal redemption.
The
movie’s striking portrayal of the aftermath of destruction in Hiroshima is
timely as the recent 70th anniversary of the dropping of the nuclear
bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan has just passed with continued mixed feelings
about war, destruction and peace on a global scale. Through no intentional
effort on my part, the home I’ve now lived in for four years happens to have a
large picture window in the living room that perfectly frames the town and
laboratories of Los Alamos, home of the famous and infamous Manhattan Project.
The lights from that ancient volcano mountainside twinkle and dazzle us at
night.
As I
further reflect on the slowly unfolding plot of Mr. Holmes
I
wonder to what extent the inner workings of elder Sherlock’s heart as it begins
to open becomes the hologram for our society’s own gradual collective opening
to the pain and suffering we believe we both avoided and collided with
simultaneously.
And
if prickly ash is no guarantee we can remember what we’ve done and not repeat
history maybe this film can help us to bridge between our rational and
deductive powers to create and destroy and our hearts that can mend and heal.
I
heartily recommend viewing Mr. Holmes.
But don’t trust the internet (or just plain ole human error?) Call the venue
first to make sure it’s playing.
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