Who I Am (A Declaration)

Who am I?

I am an optimist. I am an idealist.

I am the possibility of freedom and joy.

I believe freedom and joy are available to every person... in every moment... in the face of every circumstance life has to offer.

Finding freedom and joy in each moment gives access to power.

My interpretation of reality becomes my reality.
My interpretation of reality is my power, and it cannot be taken from me.

I am the words that I speak, for those words create my interpretation of reality.
Therefore, my word is my power.

I am a member of a worldwide community...
one that inspires me and one that I am proud to be part of.
That community is called "human beings."

I am on this planet to make a difference.

My presence and my way of being impacts everyone around me...
both when I am aware of that impact and when I'm not.

I choose to be a force for good in the world.

I am committed to self-expression.

I am committed to my own freedom and joy...
and to your freedom and joy, too.


Who are you?

You are my friend, my family, my lover.

You hold in your hands the promise of a new future.
You are everything-nothing.

You are a member of my community... the community of human beings.
You are a reflection of me, and I am a reflection of you.

In the end, there is only we.

The Christmas Spirit...

A friend recently posted this video on her Facebook page and it inspired me to try something different this year. I'm going to make most of my holiday gifts for friends and family, or I'm going to recycle things that I already have and would love to share with others around me. In addition, I'm going to match the money I spend on gifts, supplies for making gifts, wrapping, and shipping by donating to charities that make a difference in the world.

Of course, this adventure has required me to get started early, and here's what I've already noticed:

1. I love being artistic, but it's something I often fail to make time for in my day-to-day life. Making gifts for other people has given me an amazing reason to be artistic, rather than coming home and plopping down in front of a computer game or book. So it has been a real gift to myself, too.

2. Making a promise to match my holiday spending with charitable giving is forcing me to be creative and think about every dollar I spend. I'm doing things like making my wrapping paper out of materials I already have in order to save money. And that's a good thing... because rampant consumerism is definitely NOT a good thing. (If you're not sure why I say that, check out www.storyofstuff.org)

3. For the first time in years, holiday gifts mean something to me. You see, I've already logged hours of time making gifts, and I've spent each of those hours thinking about the people I love... reminiscing about our times together... trying to envision what they would enjoy the most. That's what Christmas is really about. It's a lot more work than clicking the "buy" button at some Internet shopping site, but it's been so worth it to me.

4. I haven't had to survive the obnoxious crowds, super-sappy holiday music, long lines, and "buy, buy, buy" messages that bombard people in malls and stores these days. Which means I get to decide what Christmas is about for me, rather than letting pop culture decide for me. And I've got more time for making those gifts... do you see the cycle?

5. I get to honor my friends and family AND make a difference in the world through charitable giving. That gives me warm fuzzy feelings inside.

So if you're reading this, here's my request: take a few minutes to watch the video and decide how YOU'RE going to make a difference this year. Maybe it will be something small... that's okay. It all starts with small acts of kindness.

And please know that you'll be getting something relatively small or hand-made from me... and that I don't expect anything expensive or extravagant from you, either. Your love and friendship is enough... everything else is just a bonus!

Hair....

You know, it takes mere minutes to cut off inches and inches of hair. And it's fun... for a while. Here's the problem: when you finally decide you miss all that hair and you want it all back, it takes MONTHS to grow it out again. Why do I keep forgetting this? Why?

Oh well, at least I have a fantastic stylist friend... hopefully she can help me avoid the oh-so-awkward phases that are often inevitable while it's growing out again...

SoulCollage Party...

Last year for my birthday my best friend Megan and I took a class called SoulCollage* where we learned an amazing art technique that helps you get in touch with your own inner wisdom. This year - for my 31st birthday, which is coming up Tuesday - I'm hosting my own SoulCollage class, led by collage artist and SoulCollage facilitator Susan Marra. It will be amazing... and you're invited! Here are the details:

SoulCollage is a process that uses imagery to access your inner knowing. Through this simple process of SoulCollage, you will create one or more cards depicting an inner aspect of yourself and then using a unique questioning process to receive guidance from the images. You'll be creating beautiful art at the same time! Everyone has access to their creative inner knowing and anyone can do this fun and simple SoulCollage process.

The workshop will be led by Susan Marra. She has been a collage artist for 22 years. Discovering SoulCollage in 2007, she embraced the process as a fun and profound tool for self-exploration. She became a facilitator in 2008 and teaches classes around the Pacific Northwest.

The cost for the workshop is $30, which includes the training and all of the materials needed to make several SoulCollage cards of your own.Please feel free to invite other people - just make sure to let me know in advance who will be attending!

Date: Saturday, November 22, 2008
Time: 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Location: Somewhere in Beaverton - Check Back Soon!

I'm including one of my completed SoulCollage cards, as well as the journaling that goes with it, to give you an idea of how the process works. I draw a card whenever I find myself challenged or frustrated in life, or whenever I've got a big decision to make. Often times, the card I choose is a perfect reminder of some part of myself that I've lost touch with... either positive or negative. It's often just enough to get me back on track. As you read the words below the card, listen to them as if the card is speaking to you. In this instance, it is the voice of the little girl that we are hearing.

I am the one who carries Peace within myself. I am in this world, but I am not of this world.
I create my own reality in every moment.

I am the one who chooses my own focus. I do not bend to the tide of public opinion and I do not surrender myself to the fears of others. I am a force for hope and love in the world. I am a rock of safety and kindness, and the chaos washes over me without altering my view of the world or muddying my childlike innocence. I find beauty in every moment.

I am the one who looks the monsters in the eye and smiles, refusing to run or to cower in fear. I am always with you - you do not need to cower anymore, either.

I am here to remind you that life goes on. I am here to tell you that you are more powerful than you have ever imagined. Do not forget - you are the creator of your own Universe. You choose your own reactions to life's challenges... you choose whether to focus on the monsters or the flowers... you paint each moment of your reality, much like you choose the images on each of your SoulCollage cards.

Today, I am asking you to paint with colors of hope, love, beauty, and compassion.

* SoulCollage is the process, created by Seena B. Frost, of creating and “reading” a deck of collaged cards from found images – cards that are arranged in suits for the primary purpose of self-exploration and self-acceptance. SoulCollage cards are made from original purchased art (e.g., art published in magazines, calendars, books, cards, etc.) and personal materials (e.g., photos). SoulCollage cards are not to be sold, traded, or bartered and are to be reproduced only for the personal use of the maker of the card. For more information about this amazing process, check out www.soulcollage.com or www.kaleidosoul.com.

Why I'm Voting for Barack Obama, Part 3: The Economy

I am by no means a brilliant economist. In fact, I scraped my way through MicroEconomics with a "C" in college. But there are two economic issues that I have opinions about in this election: taxes and regulation.

Taxes

John McCain claims to be against increased taxes... there's even a link on the main page of his website called "Don't Tax Me Joe" (referring, of course, to the now infamous Joe the Plumber). McCain voted for the Bush tax cuts, and he's already said he wants to continue those cuts and expand them as much as possible. The economic theory behind this is that keeping money in the hands of the people encourages business growth and creates new opportunities, while also providing incentives for people to move up in the world.

From a purely economic standpoint, that sounds great. After all, it's easy to decry Obama's tax increases for the wealthy as socialist attempts to spread the wealth around, and what all-American citizen would want that?!?

Well, I would.

You see, I'm looking at the economy from the other side, as someone who's struggling to make ends meet. I have a great education (BA in Sociology and MA.Ed. in Elementary Education) and a job with a great company (teacher in Nike's Child Development Programs). I perform a service that is valuable for our society, a service that I am uniquely trained to do. I take care of people's most precious commodity - their children. Yet there are still months when I have a difficult time making ends meet.

For years before starting my current job, I had no health insurance because none of my employers offered it and I couldn't afford my own policy on my meager income. I've only recently started saving for retirement, and I know I'm not saving as much as I'll actually need (but it's a start). I live in an apartment, and - even in the current "buyer's market" - owning a home seems to be a long way away for me. And I would love to be a mom, but no matter how much I squeeze my budget, I can't afford to have a child anytime soon.

If I'm having a tough time on my salary, I can't imagine how people who make less than me are faring. I did the math... a married couple in which each person makes minimum wage takes home even less money than me - much less! And that's in Oregon, where the state-mandated minimum wage is much higher than in the rest of the country. Somebody's got to do those jobs. We all eat in the restaurants where the bussers and dishwashers make minimum wage. We all load our children onto school buses where the drivers make less than a living wage. We all eat produce that was harvested by people making dismal pay. We all rely on working class people every day. It doesn't make sense to me to create an economy in which a large portion of the population does honest work and still can't live a satisfying life.

The common rhetoric is "Well, if they'd gotten an education and made different choices, they could have worked their way to the top, too." But that makes no sense. In order for our economy to operate, somebody's always got to be at the bottom. We couldn't all "pull ourselves up by our boot straps." Who would wash the dishes, drive the school buses, harvest our vegetables, care for our children while we're at work?

So if a slight increase in taxes on the wealthiest people and corporations (for example, Obama is proposing a three-percent increase on any business's profit above $250,000 per year) will allow for the funding of social programs to help the vast majority of us who will never make that much money in our lifetimes, than I support it.

The gap between the poor and the wealthy in America is ridiculous. There is no reason for someone to make millions of dollars a year, not when there are entire families living in one-bedroom apartments and wondering whether they should pay their heating bill or their car payment that month. Here's an example: according to the SEC, the CEO of Exxon-Mobil made over $16 million in 2007. Of course, that's not much for a company whose net profits totaled over $40 billion that same year. If you do the math, I would have to work 444 years to equal the amount Rex Tillerson made in one year. And Exxon-Mobil brings in the same amount of profit each SECOND that I earn in gross income every two weeks. I don't mind people doing well for themselves, but that's kind of nuts.

Regulation

The idea behind de-regulation is that when we leave free markets alone, they regulate themselves. And they probably do... over time. But the most compelling argument for regulation that I can think of involves the things that happen in the short run while the markets are balancing themselves out.

By their very nature, capitalist markets are driven solely by profit - corporations are designed to do whatever will make the most money. So ethical concerns become a factor only when they impact the bottom line. Here's an example to illustrate the point:

A toy company comes up with a bright new idea for a brilliant baby toy. They shop around for the least expensive means to produce and distribute the new toy in order to maximize its profit potential. Let's say that in this case, that means producing the toy in mass quantities in a large factory overseas. The factory is staffed and managed externally, so the original toy company has very little direct insight into the production process - but that's okay... after all, this particular factory was the cheapest bidder. They must be doing something right.

Only it turns out that the production was so cheap because it relied on poor quality materials, ones that hadn't been fully tested or approved for use in children's toys.

Eventually, the market will self-regulate. Children will begin to get sick and recalls will be necessary. The toy company will lose market share because parents will be afraid to buy their toys, so they'll switch to higher-cost factories or institute stronger internal oversight measures. They'll make sure their new toys don't contain the dangerous materials that caused the original problem, and they'll advertise like crazy to compensate for the decrease in sales. They won't do any of this because it's the morally correct thing to do - they'll do it to regain their market share and keep their profit rolling in.

But how many children got sick before this happened? And could stronger government regulation have prevented the problem in the first place by requiring oversight of all materials used in the manufacturing process? And what about the other problems that arise when cutting costs is the highest priority? Like dismal wages and working conditions in third-world factories... how will the market self-regulate those things if Americans never really find out about them?

Markets are designed around self-interest and profit maximization. I don't have a problem with that. But there are certain instances when the bigger picture needs to be considered... ethical issues, health issues, and other areas where the potential cost is just too high for any self-respecting society to pay. That's where regulators step in - to do what markets themselves are unwilling or unable to do.

Like Bush before him, McCain has always supported deregulation or worked to undermine the existing regulatory laws. They believe in giving corporations and the market free reign, something that I'm just not comfortable with.

While regulation may not be the biggest economic issue this country is dealing with right now, it does serve as a marker for the overall economic philosophies of the two candidates. And on this issue, like many others, Barack Obama has my vote.

Why I'm Voting for Barack Obama, Part 1: Introduction

News stories over the past few days have (understandably) been dominated by coverage of the two main candidates for the presidency: Barack Obama and John McCain. I've heard pundits and analysts giving out assessments of the candidates' strategies, I've heard the candidates themselves repeating their chosen mantras over and over again, and I've heard interviews with ordinary people talking about how they'll decide who gets their vote.

Sadly, through all of this, I haven't heard much focus on the things that really matter: the issues. People keep talking about whether or not John McCain is a hero because of his time as a POW during Vietnam, or whether or not Barack Obama's charisma will make him a better leader, or whether or not Americans are ready to elect a black man to the presidency... and so on and so forth.

But not many people are talking about the issues... the bare bones choices that the next president will make, choices that will dramatically impact all of our daily lives as national policies are shaped over the next four years. The personal characteristics of the people behind those policies matter very little to me - I want to know what they're going to DO if they're elected.

So I'm going to post several blogs discussing the policies that matter to me in this campaign. In each case, I agree with Barack Obama's policies and I disagree with John McCain's policies. I'll be sharing why, but (hopefully) in a respectful manner. I understand that not everyone will agree with me, and I honor the fact that everyone has to grapple with these issues for themselves. But I do hope people are doing just that - grappling with the issues. I hope they're not voting because of a gut feeling, or a candidate's public persona (which was probably designed by publicists and handlers for public consumption, anyway), or age or race or any of the other personal details that won't have much of an impact on the real issues that are facing our nation.

I realize these blogs might have made more of an impact earlier in the campaign, since many people have already cast their votes or made their decisions. But I also know that the issues I'm discussing here aren't going anywhere... and it's important for all of us to consider where we stand on each of them. So I believe these posts will remain relevant long after the presidential election - regardless of who wins - as we all consider the direction this country should head in the years to come.

*** Note: I'm only going to use information about the candidates' policies that I get from their own websites and promotional material. I won't be listening to their assessments of each other's policies or the opinions of third parties, since those can be easily skewed. I'm getting the descriptions of their opinions and policies "straight from the horse's mouth."

Hello... Love... Are You Out There???

What happened to the days when people married their high school sweethearts?

What happened to the days when people stayed together for decades without wondering if they were missing out on something better or playing the field to size up the competition?

What happened to the days when people couldn't wait to get married because of all the things they weren't allowing themselves to do until AFTER that sacred ceremony (ahem... I think you know what I'm talking about here...)?

Don't get me wrong... I know those days haven't disappeared completely. And I also know that I've phrased these questions to present a highly romanticized version of old-fashioned love.

But I'm starting to feel like there's an epidemic of independence among my generation. We were so eager to do things differently than our parents that we walked away from some traditions that weren't so bad to start with.

So now I find myself in a bit of a predicament at age 30. I'm single... and at times I'm lonely.

I'm not lonely in a day-to-day, sitting-alone-in-my-room-being-depressed kind of way. I have lots of amazing friends and a fairly active social life. I attend events that interest me and I've got plenty of people to call when I need to chat.

But I'm lonely in a deep, abiding, who-will-I-share-the-rest-of-my-life-with kind of way.

I want someone that loves me just the way I am... someone that I can love completely, too. I want the security of knowing I don't have to be playing mind games and staying one step ahead of my partner. I want someone to share my secrets with. And I want to be a mother, with an amazing father by my side.

I'm not the only thirty-something person I know in this situation... in fact more of my friends are single than married. And while the single life has plenty of benefits, many of us are beginning to feel an urge to settle down.

But where do you go when you're ready to settle down? Where do you find true love?

I never realized how easy it was to date in high school and college until I started to seriously consider the idea of dating as an adult a few years back.

Back then, we were surrounded by people in our age group who shared lots of things in common... if nothing else, we were in the same classes so we always had something to talk about. And our "world" was small enough back then that it wasn't too difficult to figure out who was single and who was already in a relationship.

Now we have.... Internet dating... and speed dating... and bars... and Craigslist... yeeecccchh.

Don't worry, I haven't given up on love. But I am asking for help:

1. Do you know any fantastic (and single) guys who are equally frustrated with the challenges of meeting great women who are looking for committed relationships? Send 'em to this blog or give 'em my phone number...

2. Do you know of other ways to meet people... ways that actually allow you to get to know one another and share common interests, rather than just getting drunk and trying to look cool? Share 'em in the comments section or give me a call and let me know...

3. Do you have any other words of inspiration or advice? Lemme know, please...

Until then, I'll leave you with this quote from Leo Buscaglia:

"Perfect love is rare indeed - for to be a lover will require that you continually have the subtlety of the very wise, the flexibility of the child, the sensitivity of the artist, the understanding of the philosopher, the acceptance of the saint, the tolerance of the scholar and the fortitude of the certain."

Packing... and children... and selling out... and freedom

I've been packing my things all day. My new job at Nike has inspired me to make the big move across town to Beaverton. That's right... Beaverton. The "not-Portland" of Portland, Oregon. That little voice in my head (you know, the one that used to run my life before I got wise to it's presence) keeps whispering "You've done it Amy... you've sold your soul." After all, I'm working for a HUGE corporation and moving to Beaverton.

But here's the interesting thing: I'm really excited about the changes that are happening in my life right now.

Until this year, life always looked like a series of choices between two extremes: black or white, chocolate or vanilla, marriage or freedom, sell-out corporate job or lifetime of poverty.

Then I grew up... somehow, when I wasn't really paying attention, I grew up. And now I look at things a little differently.

You see, I used to think those choices defined who I was, so each choice was a really, really big deal.

But in the past year or so, I've found this "me" person inside... and she's there all the time... through all the choices... wherever I go. Defining her isn't so simple anymore. She exists all on her own, fully formed.

Some of the choices I make fit her like a well-worn sweater pulled out of the closet on cold winter mornings, while others are a bit scratchy and tight through the shoulders. But she's still there, intact, the whole time.

Now I have the freedom to "try on" lots of different choices and see how they feel. I don't have to worry about losing myself in the transitions... I couldn't do it if I tried... I'm in there, through thick and thin. And I don't feel any pressure to define myself "correctly." I realize now that was always for other people's benefit, anyway... and it doesn't seem too important these days.

So I spent the day packing... and the whole time I listened to the kids laughing and playing outside my apartment window. And it made me smile. Those kids, they're onto something...