The Dawn of a New Age

There’s something significant about the first day of the first month of a new year. One-one inclines us to start fresh. It just naturally feels like a clean slate; a new chance, a new opportunity for building and growth. It’s understandable that people make new year’s resolutions and begin them today with gusto.

As I wrote yesterday, people all around the world celebrate the new year. Pretty much everyone has some semblance of this tradition of starting anew. I think it’s the perfect juncture to look at the world as a whole. We can all work on bettering ourselves for 2020, but we can also work on bettering our world.

In 2020 we can reduce, reuse, and recycle throughout the entire year. We can vote in every election, and stay informed about politics and the economy, and have constructive conversations with other citizens about important issues. We can donate our time and our money to causes we believe in. We can be aware of our paradigms and how we view other people. What if 2020 is the year the world came together? What if it’s the year we achieve global consciousness? The recognition that we’re all the same, the year humanity unites? Would that make 2020 a memorable year?

I enjoy seeing people’s resolutions, hearing about their growth over the past year or decade. Everyone has goals. It fills me with that warm fuzzy feeling, that everyone is trying, and we’re all together. But can we shift our perspective a little? Can we do more? Can we work on ourselves and our world? I’ve written about a few of the simple things we can do, every single human being, to make our world better. They might not always be easy, the might sometimes require great effort, but they are simple. 

In 2020 we can think critically about the facts and affairs in the political, economic, and social arenas...and we can think critically about our own beliefs. We can stay informed. We can consistently have conversations with others about what’s important. We can be kind to each other, and considerate of others. We can work hard at whatever it is we do because it supports and adds value to the global system we’ve created. We can be good to each other. 

Let’s make 2020 the year the world changed. Let’s make it the turning point, that first year it all began. Let’s think globally. Let's unite as humans. Let’s inspire change for the years and generations that follow. 2020. A new year, a new decade, a new Earth. Here we go.

Boxing Day Down Under

Australia is a strange place to me, much like South Africa when I first visited. Things are done a bit differently, not so drastically that it feels like an entirely distinct culture, but ever so slightly that it feels a bit foreign. I feel like a foreigner in a foreign land. Everyone talks different, and home feels a long way away. It’s fun. Located in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s summer Down Under. People are enjoying their time off in the sun, taking advantage of Boxing Day sales, and going to the beach. It’s such a change from California up north. It’s brought to mind a quote I read not too long ago. Traveling to foreign places helps you appreciate how things are done differently in other countries and helps you realize that that’s okay. The world is diverse and there’s no right way to do everything. As my Momma used to tell me growing up, “it’s good people are different, otherwise the world would be really boring.” I’m not sure why but Australia provokes these thoughts and feelings out of me. Maybe it’s the uber-efficient train system, or the peculiar accents. I guess I really am on the flip side. What a big beautiful amazing world.

Christmas in Hong Kong

Traveling on Christmas is a first for me. And it was interesting being in Hong Kong for the day, where the holiday is not widely celebrated.

What a change from Africa. Hong Kong is, in no particular order: efficient, vertical, crowded, reserved, futuristic, soft spoken, efficient, and divided. Did I mention Hong Kong is efficient? Definitely a surreal experience “celebrating” the most important festival from my culture, but utterly lacking in the most important thing, which only needs one word.

Family. To me Christmas is about family. I was never allowed to hang out with friends or anyone else on Christmas, because it was a day dedicated to family. Yes there’s the gifts and (thankfully not in my family) the singing and the (definitely in my family) drinking, but it all comes down to being with family. 

I FaceTimed with mine today and was overjoyed to see their faces, but of course it wasn’t the same. As our world becomes more connected and more centered around technology and innovation, I think it’s important to remember the old school stuff too, the original face time.

Christmas, in my culture and in my family, is the premier event for such. It’s now popular in our culture to bemoan the chore, the obligation, of seeing your family over the holidays, but don’t fall into that pitfall. Be thankful you have a family to go to. Many don’t. 

Bring your A game to the premier event and exult in that true face time. Christmas has remained a part of our culture for a long time, for many reasons, but the main one is because it delivers on what it promises, if you do the above: joy.

Thanksgiving in Zanzibar

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. There’s no consumerism coverup, it’s just families getting together to share, eat, and be thankful.

And it occurs during Autumn, which has become my favorite season. You can reflect back on the year, the weather is transitioning but not yet too cold, and you still have the bang that is the end of the year looming, with the prospect of next year on the horizon.

So this truly festive celebration of family and gratitude happens during a joyous and exciting time of year—what a holiday!

I’ve just never celebrated Thanksgiving on the beach.

For me, 2019 has been an unbelievable journey. I am so incredibly fortunate to get to experience such adventure. I am grateful for my amazing partner, who took the plunge with me. This is something I will look back on with fierce nostalgia for the rest of my life.

I believe it’s important to express gratitude every single day, but I love that there’s a special day dedicated just to thankfulness. Happy Thanksgiving.

A Day of Hope

Today is a day of gratitude, and of hope. We have officially ended our fundraiser for Kyosei Training Centre here in Arusha. The support we have received has been overwhelming—over $7500 USD raised. Incredible. This amount of money will go so far here.

I’m happy to announce that the fundraiser has been wildly successful in meeting its objective—to finish the completion of Kyosei’s new school. The finishing touches are still being done, but the rooms are finished—polished floors, ceilings with crown molding, painted walls. The furniture is almost ready to be delivered—32 brand new double desks and 64 chairs for the kids. We even have enough money to load the classrooms with supplies so the children will have everything they need to start the school year in January.

All of this could not be done without the help of several people. Thank you to my loving, selfless partner who has gone on this amazing journey with me. Tara and Richie, who just wrote an article about their experience volunteering around the world, were a huge help with the actual construction of the site. And of course all our donors—so many people contributed to this cause. My heart swells with gratitude, and with hope.

It can become disheartening to read the news and see what’s happening in the world today. There are serious political struggles in Hong Kong, Bolivia, and the United States. There are still cultural and religious clashes throughout the world. Violence and hunger persist. It’s easy to give in and despair.

But there is good in this world as well, and it’s growing stronger.

Yes, there are many problems, and big ones. But the problems aren’t insurmountable. We are solving them. People all around the world, in places both rich and poor, from drastically different cultures, are working to build the future. We are bettering the world for our children, and our children’s children.

And we will succeed. We will not only live on, but thrive. We will take our rightful place within the ecosystem of our planet, and we will unite as a species. We will continue to progress forward. We will continue to learn from each other, and we will continue to make the world a better place for all. We will change the world. It’s happening right now. Are you a part of it?

A Day for Heroes

I believe there have been times in human history when freedom and liberty were threatened across the entire world. Our veterans were the ones who made sure those vital human rights were not taken away. They are responsible for the preservation of our most fundamental beliefs. Their actions will reverberate forever onward in our species history. As someone very far removed, I can only try to understand. Thank you for your service. We are forever indebted to your heroism.

Mothers Change the World

It’s my mom’s birthday today. I believe mothers around the world are at the same time the most responsible and also have the most potential for changing the world. Why?

Because education is the single biggest thing that can change the world, and education begins not at school but at home. It starts with mothers and fathers showing their children what is acceptable and what is not. Babies at their mother’s breast learn what is okay and how to behave. Home life is the foundation for how a child thinks about learning, which shapes the rest of their life. And our future as a species will be decided by our children.

My mom set a very strong foundation for me as I was growing up. I was expected to learn in school. In fact, I was always expected to learn and grow. If I tried my hand at something, it was expected that I would get better at it over time, that I would improve.

I was also taught that the world is changeable, always in flux, influenceable. That the world was not fixed, that I could make a difference, no matter how big or small.

It was these core foundations that have led me to where I am today. In the traditional sense I am not “successful,” but I know I’m on the right path. I have a future ahead of me, because of my primary belief: we can change the world.

Thank you for everything Mom, I love you. I will never be able to pay back your unconditional love, but I hope I make you proud. Happy Birthday.

Let the Spooky in

Growing up I always felt spooky on Halloween. Going trick-or-treating, being out late at night amongst the backdrop of scary themes, it felt like there was some type of magic in the air. It seemed a little bit easier to envision a witch in a dilapidated house deep in a haunted forest, biding her time to come out to look for children.

It makes me smile, reminiscing about those simpler times.

Halloween has definitely blown up since then. Over the past 25 years, it seems the holiday has grown in mindshare and importance in our culture. Huge parties, all-out costumes, and themed decorations now dominate October.

I think it helps us embrace some magic in our world. I know everything has to be PC now, and there’s some pushback on the origins of the holiday and what it represents, whether it’s good for kids, etc etc, but I think it helps us court the unknown.

There are so many things we don’t know about our world, don’t understand about our universe. There are colors we can’t see, sound frequencies we can’t hear. Magnetism exists, and gravity, and nuclear forces. These things in our heads have this amazing computing power, we experience this thing called consciousness, and our bodies are made up of more than a trillion cells. We’ve barely explored our own ocean, have yet to reach the closest planet.

There’s so much we don’t know. Why disregard what could be possible, even the current impossible? We are babies to the void. Halloween channels the wonder, in a way. It encourages our imagination.

I know the spooky will creep its way in tonight as it gets dark. I hope we can all embrace the wonder and imagination tomorrow and beyond.

The Power of Music

I originally wrote this “obituary” on October 2, 2017, the day Tom Petty died. I wanted to honor him, and the effect others can have on us in this crazy thing called life, by posting on the anniversary of his death, in remembrance of him. Still can’t believe he’s gone. Rest In Peace Tommy.

…

This is the first time I’ve ever cried after learning about a celebrity’s death. I have definitely been sad and deeply affected by the loss of others before, especially Nelson Mandela because of my time and experience in Cape Town. But I became uncontrollably emotional today when I heard about the passing of Tom Petty. I’m not really sure why and I’m trying to make sense of it. He’s my favorite musical artist of all time. I probably know more songs and more words to the songs composed and performed by him than any other musician or band. My first favorite song ever, at 3 years old, was “Free Falling.” Somewhere my parents have a picture of me dancing solo to that song in a tiny tuxedo during one of their Christmas parties. When I hear that ballad I cannot help, no matter what I’m doing, to stop and just feel. To be moved by the lyrics, the tone, the sound. It’s still one of my all time favorite tracks. And there are so many others that have had a profound effect on my experiences growing up. Songs like “American Girl,” “Breakdown,” “Learning to Fly,” and “Two Gunslingers.”

But I don’t think that’s really why I’m so upset. I grew up listening to Tom Petty because of my Dad. He was the one who introduced me to him, the one who would repeatedly blast the classic rock magic in the car. It was a connection that we had, something he taught me, something that we both liked and enjoyed, something that made me appreciate my relationship with my Dad and my love and fondness for him. When I listened to Tom Petty’s music with my Dad, I was able to be present. I appreciated the moments that we were having, enjoying this rock legend’s sound. It also gave me space to think deeply about my life, who I was, and what kind of life I wanted to live. I don’t know why, I guess because Tom Petty’s lyrics are so powerful, but his music just took me to a deeper place, a deeper state, in which I could look at the big picture of life, of the universe, of reality.

Songs like “Two Gunslingers” and “Learning to Fly” went beyond their metaphorical lyrics. The words spurred me to examine the deepest questions, like the nature and reason for violence, what that spirit is that allows us to learn and change and move on, and especially, how absolutely profound love with another human being can be.

I’m so thankful I got to go to one of his concerts on his 40th Anniversary tour, not even two months ago. I witnessed him, even at 66 years old, in all his glory, because his presence and exuberance and music radiated outward into the Greek Bowl crowd in Berkeley, California. I yelled and screamed and cried and let my soul run wild. I was free.

Thank you Tom Petty, for producing your work. Thank you for the love and value you added to the universe. It affected thousands if not millions of other people, and I know it deeply affected me. I owe many of my life’s epiphanies and treasured moments to your music, to your contribution. You are legendary, and legends never die. What you gave me will remain with me until my own death. Thus you live on. Thank you.

9/11 to Tomorrow

Today is a day of mourning and reflection. How much has the world changed since 9/11? And has it really been 18 years? It very well may be the defining event of our time.

Perhaps every generation says so, but it seems we are more polarized than ever, both nationally and globally. It’s like we’ve forgotten how to listen, how to consider. These critical thinking skills will prove vital for our species in the years to come. I hope we relearn them.

It’s important to remember the infamous yesterday of 2001, and to honor today, but also to contemplate how we can be better to each other tomorrow.

USA Independence + 243

Independence Day… to me it evokes tribalism… but also emancipation. A common goal amongst a cacophony of pessimistic, opportunistic, and idealist voices. I cannot imagine myself now, plus 243 down the line, in different circumstances. Thank you O Patriots, for forming an identity around sound and true principles.

Let’s avoid nationalism, a genuine distinction from patriotism, and celebrate the anniversary of a people proclaiming themselves free. Happy 4th.