The right action campaign happened by accident, as Su2 took off and more and more new people showed up every week it became clear we needed a way to get to know each other and how drab to leave it at a mere name. And so it was that we began saying something that had either happened or we had done ourselves in/for our community. It could be spending time with a family member, reading a book or feeding a stray cat – it could be anything and that was the point. A funny thing happened in that cultural conditioning often goes unnoticed until you step outside it and just as we started focusing on the positive things happening around us a clarity formed. We live under an occupation, it is the occupation of an idea. The thought that lingers just under our composure that our actions are insignificant when placed against the larger context of the world. Those of us who attempt to take what we are given and make of it something better do so often neck deep in a river of knowledge that branches out endlessly into yet more tributary causes and knowledge that compounds and gets so heavy it leaves us overwhelmed, frozen feeling helpless.
Some of the most diligent, dedicated and beautiful people in the world at the end of the day feel like even with all the work they do becomes mute because the universe abhors a void and thus something else to be done will simply fill the space of the previous accomplishment.
This is no way to live, and to find solutions at the attainable levels we must first accept that there are no perfectly good or dismissively bad people there are only environments and circumstances that define and characterize the choices that we make. Yet in us are the faculties to form both rational and intuitive premises and to choose in each moment to act honorably. We must accept the reality in which we live but be driven by the myriad of positive and beautiful things that are done all around us each and every moment of the day by others and ourselves. When we begin to glimpse what others do it seems more manageable, we say: “I could do that.” and get inspired by it. Our goal is to get as many different people from as many different contexts, be them racial, national, economic it doesn’t matter to begin recording their right actions here until we begin to see the compounded efforts of people all over the world doing simple things each day that DO change the world.
Your Actions Matter, ALL OF THEM! Take just a minute every once in a while that you would be surfing Facebook, watching YouTube or starring slack jawed at ten million Wikipedia pages to fill out the comment section below with the things you do and help make the world a better place, Thank you!
I thought I would share a gift that was given to me. Two incredible people in my life handed me their most precious and prized possession. Tonight, I cradled the child of these dear friends in my arms and existed within one of the most primitive and fiercely joyful moments I have yet experienced in this life.
I am working to come to terms with the truth of my most vivid dream.
I let the very old, and very beautiful Costa Rican woman go ahead of me in the (very long) restroom line
My work week is 8 straight days long, currently in the winter cold, in the desert mountains of Utah. I had one of the greatest shifts yet this past week, but at the end of the day on Wednesday, we are all tired, and ready to leave the field, dirt and grit and all. A few months ago now, there was a horrible incident in the field, involving 3 students reacting in strong physical violence towards staff. I happened to be one of those staff. Since then, I have slowly come to a reckoning with 2 of the 3 students, on their own time, when they felt ready to talk about the physical and emotional pain they inflicted, and consequently felt. Each of these instances leaving me feeling just a bit lighter, reaffirming why I toil in the dirt and cold in the middle of Utah. There was only 1 student left, who I had not come to terms with, who, for safety concerns, I had not as much as seen. 3 months later, uncommon even that this student would still be in the field. This student, stubborn, and the most angry. Hurting, struggling to progress past a point of simple cooperation with the program. I had resigned myself to the reality that 2 out of 3 was good odds, and to just let it go, I wasn’t going to have that moment of reckoning. This week, as we’re making the rounds changing out staff, barreling through the snow and mud and jeep trails in the larger than life Excursion truck, we stop at the last group to switch over, I jump out of the vehicle, filthy, happy and anxious, to unload gear, and to my complete surprise that student is standing right there outside of the truck. She looks me right in my eyes for the first time since the incident, and says, “Lee, can we talk please?” After a sincere apology and a hug of the same caliber, all those present, there were 10 of us, circled up and a fellow co staff of mine preformed a simple but graceful sage smudge ceremony, in which we all cleanse ourselves with the smoke of the dried sage, and give the words, “for forgiveness, and letting go” to the circle. As the smudge stick approached me, I was struggling to take deep breaths so that I would have the strength in my voice to say these words without wavering, and as I am holding this piece of the Earth, made sacred by our combined intentions, I let all the frustration and anger and sadness and negativity from the past 3 months go, and handed the smudge to my right to her as she looked right at me and said the same. I, of course, cried tears of release and joy, hugged her once more, and we all piled into the vehicle to continue the trip out of the field.
I am beyond grateful for the quiet effort of my co staff to make that possible, and the insight and strength it must have taken for that young struggling teenager to stand up after so many months, and want to make things right. To forgiveness and letting go.
Recently, I have shared old and dear memories with a new friend, stories and baked goods with a neighbor, and just today, I gave away my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe to a co-worker.
I danced to some latin music with a pretty senorita and then sat on beach sipping sweet tea and howling at the moon.
Today I worked on a website for a friend’s project
Took the time and careful consideration to make each of my holiday gifts this year from a culmination of scraps and nature’s offerings that I had collected and pieced together with my own hands.
Gave a short-sleeve-wearin’ man on the bus my coat. Granted, I was wearing 3, but still..
had a delightful morning, beginning at 5:45AM, with my dear friend, Flo. The two of us went on an hour-long mini-van/bus/taxi adventure to Migracion to renew my Tourist Visa, waited in line for an hour, came to find that certain pending immigration laws allow lucky Gringos like myself to stay in the country “legally” long past the time my Visa expires, saved about $100+ that way.. Yeahyeah! Took the bus back to downtown San Jose and treated ourselves to a hole-in-the-wall breakfast. Afterwards, we found a spot on the ground in Central Avenue and people-watched for about a half-hour. Around noon we parted ways. Took a bus to the Scotiabank and cashed my first paycheck! Took a bus back downtown to hit up the Central Market. Met a friendly bus stranger who walked with me through the market and helped me find some unbelieveably cheap veggies!! Finished my book on the busride home.
Yesterday after work I… took a walk to a restaurant in Los Yoses, met Flo and a new friend for wine and good talks. Afterwards, ran through the streets to catch the last bus of the night, which dropped us off several blocks from home. Enjoyed a late-night stroll with Ms. Flo. Fell into deep, dreamless sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
ventured on a bus up a hill until it made its final stop. continued walking up the hill until i hit a dirt road. stumbled into a field of tall grass and wild flowers that resided just past a broken barbed fence. layed low to the ground when i heard a group of motorbikes speeding up the road on the other side of the fence. wandered further up the hill which turned into a steep incline, the sun beat on my shoulders. met a family of curious puppies who followed me several hundred meters. spoke with a local stranger who showed me where to find some wild berries. shared a moment of awe with him when we came to an overlook of mountains and trees surrounding us on all sides. after a few minutes he went on his way and i found myself a clearing on this mountaintop to sit and look at the view. visions of clouds dragging across the mountains off in the distance, blackbirds swimming in and out of them in great swarms. there i sat in perfect tranquility until the sky turned orange and purple-gray. i then made my way back down the steep hill until my feet met paved roads once again, and hopped on the next bus back to san jose.
I hosted 2 travelers this week. One of the girls I knew through friends back home but had never spent any serious time with. I am proud to say shes a good friend of mine now. I enjoyed cooking for them twice a day and sharing tea and fears and goals.
I shoveled the entrance to my apartment building today.
this isnt something i did but soemthing a stranger did that i will never see again. A foreign man saw us girls shoveling a car out of a 5 foot snow drift and he, without words, unhitched his snow blower and took care of it for us.
here is the first of many lists of things i do between “hanging slack-jawed at ten million Wiki pages (haha)” and everything else i do to keep myself preoccupied : ) ………….
yesterday, i made hummus from scratch. since its a delicacy in costa rica, and super expensive to buy in the market, floriana and i always make our own, and we add different sorts of deliciousness everytime. yesterday, we roasted peppers which we bought from the central farmer’s market downtown and tossed em’ into the mix : )
as i write this email, i’m cooking up my dinner/tomorrow’s lunch.. fresh chayote, onion, tomatoes and cillantro.. mmmmmmmm. there’s been an abundance of cooking madness happening in my life as of late! and i’ve noticed a lot of the kids in here eat mostly fast-food, so its nice to be able to cook good, healthy meals for new friends as well!
Once a week I take a 20 minute drive south east of the city to visit my family. Specifically, my beautiful 99 year old grandmother and my 82 year old great aunt who is bound to a wheelchair but still sharp as a tack! Spending this time with them brings me back to reality after a hectic week. I read family letters to my grandmother, help her with things she can no longer do or just sit with her and visit. With my great aunt I perform tasks she can no longer do with her 82 year old hands and help her stay connected to the quickly changing technology of our times, aka use of the computer and netflix
I could make up a million excuses every weekend to not take time out of my busy schedule to be with them but I believe its my duty to keep in touch and help them when necessary. They helped raise and care for me while growing up teaching me so many amazing things and still continue to do so.
Even if the weather or health prevents my arrival I still take time to make a phone call just to check in. It’s amazing how good it makes us all feel to all stay connected.
I can’t think of anything big and special these past couple days…
I like to look the gate guards in the eye and tell them good morning
with a smile and like I really mean it, because they work so hard
standing in the cold all day.
I offered up my seat to the pregnant woman in lab during an hour long seminar.
… I won’t give up on school and I refuse to be miserable for the
next three years, so I’m changing my attitude instead. I’m working
hard to make myself happy for once, rather than everyone else in my
life.
I permed and cut my mom’s hair for her. And I stayed all day to help
her in the salon.
I kept my sick boyfriend company all day on Sunday.
I washed all my laundry as well as my roommates on a Friday night.
Took me 5 hours.
I rediscovered the free wonders of the public library and it’s secret special 5th floor with one of a kind books and beautiful maps you can explore.
I am searching for an alternative solution to arthritic pain for a dear friend of mine
I wrote my 13 year old sister a letter, hoping to convey the meaning of empathy, and compassion. Trying explain why I am away from home, and how much my job means to me.
“‘I have done my best.’ That is about all the philosophy of living one needs.” by Lin Yutang.
Today I helped a young boy count to 10.