What's Springing Up in Your Community, State, and Country this Spring 2015?

A  nice, smiling woman named Spring is pictured on billboards in the Great Barrington MA area as part of encouraging people to "Think Spring" when they want a mortgage at the local branches of the Salisbury Bank and Trust Co (based in CT). That made me think of how more people in advertising and the world are playing with words, to have tweak or expand their meanings to fit new ideas and enterprises. Maybe you've heard of having a 'Stay-cation' instead of going vacation.

I  once offered a class called "Communication-Vacation or CommuniVacation' to get people thinking about using new words as a way to 'take a vacation from saying and thinking about things in the same set way and not allowing for new ideas. With some brainstorming--letting words come along in a free association manner, like popcorn ideas when trying to name what someone is doing in charades, that simple game of acting out an action, think, movie (okay that gets harder), musical etc with no words or even Pictionary (a popular family favorite folks of quite an age span could play especially when paired up on a team of child-adult). Nice tip we used was to draw an arrow to one part of a picture to help someone focus and write down the part of the word if someone said it.

 Those kinds of ideas can be used to help people think of what kinds of feelings would come up for someone having a great day, a so-so day, a good and bad day and a miserable situation. Real life simple examples could be used to reflect on what feelings and thoughts came up for someone during a significant part of their life. Talking about Feelings, Being Acknowledged by Having someone Listen (even yourself if you can journal or e-mail yourself a note or have a friend listen quietly and mention a few things You Said, not what they want to change or solve..can all be healing new ways to use communication to tune into oneself. See more on www.avpusa.org which has a free online book of exercises any family or group could try for 5 minutes of more as part of building up a sense of trust and Transforming Power...worth checking out. But back to making plans for vacations near or far...

One friend had plans to enjoy the Bahamas when the cancelled flights from JFK during one of the last storms inspired them to stay put. Their fees for the hotel had to be negotiated and maybe they lost them. That's a toughie. Someone once won a raffle to go away and was able to receive the cash for the airfare and keep it rather than use it. The nice bungalow was left out since someone else could not be found quickly enough to fill it (and pay their own airfare).

Still many wonderful raffles for libraries (see the post on Lion-Braries here on livfully too), private schools (such at the Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School, GBRSS) have many lovely items, some trips and even cars up for raffles. The  Sheffield area Kiwanis Club runs an annual scholarship raffles off a truck or $15K each spring with a willingness to help people start fundraisers too. Some Generosity Economy Circles (again more info through the GB Library which hosts a weekly circle if people want to learn more and find out in advance if its a good match for their needs in terms of commitment and mission) can help people find local resources and even people to help them think through and meet some needs.

Another exciting kind of networking helps women Walk Our Talk  (WOT) by meeting for a number of weeks and supporting each other with care and awareness as each woman works on a project of her choosing. Online forums and networks such as Humanity's Team help organize wider outreaches such as healing water on March 22, 2015. A little googling can go a long way to help more people find ways to 'tune in' to each season in healing and helpful ways. Programs at Sruti Yoga and Crystal Essence offer an array of alternative healing, yoga and self-care programs. A vocal workshop I was able to attend in Lenox at Zaanti yoga center was led by the inspiring Bhavani Lorraine Nelson (who offers CDs and a newsletter online under her name) as do others through the www.Berkshirewomenwriters.org.

 About eight of us (from our 50s to 70s) learned about posture after some 'shake it out' and roll one's mouth and neck around warm-ups. Standing with shoulders back, we did some gentle twists with the upper torso (with arms bent up to the sides  and hand pointing up).  If you have no physical problems, feel free to try it in a safe space.

Think of breathing out from the belly area, then breathe in and speak with clarity, confidence,  and variety of tone, volume and speed as suits your topic. Like a wave that builds, breaks and goes to shore, let your speech flow with a dynamic that leads to a point and resolves with clarity as well.  When giving a short talk or a more serious speech, do the warm-ups (get your butterflies flying in formation), remember your posture and feel at ease after breathing out and taking a breath down into the belly.  Practice in front of a mirror, in front of a friend and soon you can find more confidence at your fingertips or vocal chords.

The same energy and awareness can assist you in reading a poem, speech, article or story. Take time to connect with one person in an audience and then another with brief but timely eye contact. There are many tips such as on www.toastmasters.org. Sharing time and being aware of how much time an audience or even a friend has during a conversation can help keep the common goals clear.  Whatever new interest, place or person you are connecting with, speaking and presentation are important. Find ways to share the road when driving as well, with more people out on bikes, for walks and soon on motorcycles. Why not enjoy the scenery by getting to a destination ten-minutes early (or have time to find it if you are not quite sure which was my case with Zaanti, but thanks to the Chocolate Dreaming shop, I found it right by the Hampton Inn).

At the Simon's Rock  event at Bard College in GB called Writing for Social Justice by Brenda Oppermann I attended, about twenty of us learned the importance of thinking about Who we are speaking or writing for and to include language that would lend credibility and access to what we wanted to convey. Her example included using terms the military would relate to such as 'building situational awareness' of a culture or area. She worked with soldiers and leaders in militarized conflict zones abroad. She was helping them tune into factoring into the resources women provided with the way they dressed, went about town or did not send their children to school as ways to read the elevation of risk. I'll include more about her talk when I have my notes handy.

While colleges are fillled with young adults seeking to learn and gain skills for lifelong employment (starting with some paying jobs that can help them gain needed experience whether as a waiter, actor, service person or more skilled worker), plenty of people are transitiong due to life changes--some planned and others not. Even there more support is likely needed in addition to whatever social service, faith or family and friend networks one may be fortunate to use. Many prisoners will be released by 2050 ( I think about half), with others coming through drug rehabilitation programs and mental health or disability programs.

The "people care" segment of the work force could expand significantly. With a growing awareness of how healthy food can help people and GMOs, hormone imbalances, stress and other 'controllable' factors harm people, the linking professions and programs to help people maintain their health to prevent illness is a new trend. For information on economics, see www.aier.org (which also happens to be in GB and has offered a video-taped program for Women and Finances which may still be available on their site).

The idea of speaking to our audience is one that likely is catching on with businesses, the arts, healing and aging communities. Usually there is a gender factor--are people male, female, trans, other, both..are people straight, gay, bi, other, are they married, single, divorced legally, parents, step- or guardians, grandparents or relatives, friends or other caregivers, teachers, coaches, students, kids, tots, elderly?  Can we think of tailoring messages to each group through various kinds of public education campaigns and resources so more people feel included and valued?

What about finding ways to approach differences amicably, have forums to discuss trends or concerns, new issues or old ones that seem to need better understanding with modern insights and resources? For all the crime dramas on TV and even the improved Forensic Files techniques to figure out whodunnit, why not direct equal media coverage to preventing crime and difficulty by offering expanded supports such as Food Stamps (now called SNAP--supplemental nutrition a...program) which helps keep money in the economy while address basic food needs people have.

Free public education through online classes are being enjoyed by many thousands of people in America and abroad. People can pay higher fees to get credit but perhaps more programs can emerge to see if people have the skills needed such as on www.gaia.org. Without more people aware of 'Whose Driving the Bus for US-All' in terms of keeping an overall view of one's towns, state (and neighboring states), and yes country in the basics of health, education, living, and working, confusing programs and laws can arise, even some at cross-purposes. The piece about family court (for divorce, custody and other matters in probate court such as guardianship, wills and more) titled Battered Mothers Custody Conference (BMCC which will be in May 2015 held in NJ) sees that the criminal courts are prosecuting abusers while the family courts too often reward them with custody and control of family assets.

Sad but true. See more of the overall dilemma by reviewing NPO (National Parents Organization) which is promoting a default stance of shared parenting (I'm not sure what the recommended time periods would be for each parent to see a child but again, this is something individuals could Try to Plan For even before having children..to come up with reasonable agreements if a couple needs to separate temporarily or longer term. Some wait too long and do not know about 'controlled separation' or programs such as Safe and Together which stems from www.nonviolencealliance.org ) Maybe all parents to be and parents and guardians could reference a national site to help all know the modern expectations and models for care for one or more children at various ages and stages of development.

Pregnant women and young children (and their parents), our growing future residents if not citizens could be recognized almost like the military and veterans these day in terms of the respect, care and concern they are given. Instead, too often they are viewed as 'second-class' citizens, not working enough to pull their own weight, and taxing the system if they are not able to provide for their own children. The economic gaps are only growing wider, and again those in rurual communities may face added challenges for resources, transportation and jobs and even basic help. By 2050 almost half of the population of US will live in cities 'by their own choosing for services' according to one study. How can average small towns survive if half of their people leave?

It takes money and people to keep society working. Now with all that shared, hopefully you feel aware of how each person matters a great deal not only to themselves but to the whole on a town, area and wider circle whether through more connections in person, their work, their ideas or online presence (doing advocacy through moveon.org or other ventures to secure a brighter future for all.) May lovely things come your way (Hojonay is a term to welcome blessings from four directions as though carried on the backs of horses coming from mountaintops...a Navojo idea shared with me by the former David MacAllister who taught at Yale for many years and worked with the Natives out west, a place I hope to visit before too long again after a nice visit over 30 years ago).... What's calling to you this season? How can you take time to walk outdoors and dream at night in ways that welcome more of the good into your life, your community and your world for yourself and others, including nature and the animals we share plan-it heart with? Each season can be a person's name. I have a friend named Summer, Autumn, Winter and now Spring (at least through the grapevine, and now so do you!)