(Do we have long posts anymore?)
As some of you ladies know, I've started a really fun meetup group in Colorado called the Laid Back Lively Ladies of the Front Range.
That's us...we're totally hawt.
We have two active book clubs- and one of them is called "Ladies Living Intentionally." We met last Tuesday for the second time and are reading the book called "Life is a Verb: 37 Days."
This week we read the Chapter called "Inclusion: Be Generous" and the next chapter we will will be discussing is "Integrity: Speak Up."
So as you can imagine, this combination and the fact that some of the people I cherish most in my life (not just on the board) are sad to see where NEY is possibly heading...it has been making me think. Not to mention- I miss you ladies terribly. I think I became slightly distant after the board dynamics started to shift.
We've discussed board dynamics before- and I don't think it's a bad thing that communities change. In fact- it's not something that can be stopped. People change. Life changes. If there is anything you can depend on- it's change. And change is good.
Things are different. We are all different- and thank god for that. What a boring place it would be if we were all the same. How lucky we we all are to have different passions and interests. What would happen if we all supported just the homeless? There would be no capital for medical research. Illiteracy would be significantly higher. There wouldn't be enough support for our Seniors. Helpless animals would be killed more often. People with depression would suffer in silence more than they already do.
No cause is greater the another. Typically, no opinion is better than another. The key to getting interest in your cause or opinion is to find ways to speak up that honor your reality and the reality of others.
There are hundreds of paths up the mountain, all leading in the same direction, so it doesn't matter which path you take. The only one wasting time is the one who runs around and around the mountain, telling everyone that his or her path is wrong.
-Hindu Teaching
I think it's awesome that we are able to show each other our different paths.
Educate. Discuss. Expand eachother's minds. Support each other. Encourage growth.
But I'm not sure that is exactly what we have been doing lately. I'm afraid that we have been building up walls and hurting some people, and often disguising it as "telling it how it is" or "being honest." Why not be honest with yourself?
What message are you trying to convey? Do you really feel passionate about something you want to express? Lift someone up so that they can see what you are feeling/seeing. I've been told that if you are lost- it's more effective for me to tell you how to get to my house from where you are....and not the other way around. Put yourself in that poster's shoes- and come up with a response that makes sense for where they are.
Buckminster Fuller once wrote, "You were given a right foot and a left foot, not a right foot and a wrong foot." My book club book instructs, "Stop arguing, start listening. When you find yourself insisting on a point, step off it, tango to the left, slide to the right, do-si-do around it, dance with it, speak to it."
Everyday you might want to ask yourself, "Am I becoming someone I respect?" Am I kind and compassionate? Am I lifting other's up? Am I making a positive difference? (ETA : Maybe these aren't the things that you value. But are you living up to the things that
you do value?)
You are all wonderful. You are all beautiful. You are smart. You are kind. You are strong. Give yourself permission. You don't need anyone else's approval. You don't need to align with the crowd to be cherished.
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.
- Mark Twain
Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things that renew humanity."-Buddah 
Now...for an lolcat:
Love you ladies!