Who's Still Inspired by that notion of " A Thousand Points of Light?" How about 1000 clients on your email list? How About Networking to Improve the World, the whole bunch of US--and the rest of the world too of course!

I am getting inspired right and left...so thought I'd share some of what I'm learning about and cool events. First off is The Salisbury Ski Jumps of CT which are not to be missed (at least see online!) Check out special talks from the Center for Catholic Studies spring speaker series at bit.ly/3oMY8Ke for talks on 2/17, 2/24, 3/10,3/31 and 4/14. The one on 2/17 is "Building a Bridge: Reaching Out to LGBTQ Catholics." The one on 2/24 is Changemakers: Catholic Women on Racial, Gender and Environmental Justice..." and of course there's more!

Thursday, Feb 4, 2021 marked the first-ever International Day of Human Fraternity, a UN celebration of multiculturalism understanding. Pope Frances and a top Sunni Muslim leader met online and is part of a promotion of greater peace. The Pope will travel to Iraq next month, in March 2021. These are a few headlines, along with CT educators pushing for teaching about LGBTQ orientations and more sexual education in the school curriculum along with more about sexual safety or abuse such as from Erin's Law (the initiative of Erin Meryn who getting almost all states to give all young people information to understand the need for ownership of their bodies in terms of safety and not being groomed, coaxed, tricked or pressured into being around inappropriate people or material that is not suitable for children, teens or others who are not of a mature age to be able to give consent and who do not understand harassment in its many sneaky forms. I am ad-libbing in terms of what may be covered but hopefully it covers the basics about the basis for safe, sane, appropriate interactions in and among people in this modern world.

Dining for Women (DFW) raises funds to help women and children in poor countries find a safe, fair footing as well. Some villages and areas in Bangladesh for instance are helping curb the tide of child brides by educating communities and the girls about safer options for being educated and mature before being in a relationship let alone a marriage. There could be a lot more coaching for free online for all people, girls and boys and people who identify along the gender spectrum or not to understand the options for them in a country, state and local area with support from safe, appropriate people to help each person gain more balance in their life for security economically, with housing, job or other supportive ways of finding a way to make ends meet and hopefully be valued and supported in a community.

There are discussions in CT to 'level the playing field' a bit more in terms of zoning regulations which kept non-White  or non-wealthy people out of an area whether they were born there, worked there or otherwise had connections to a town or area. One idea being floated is to let the state have more say in zoning laws than towns regarding land use or possibly other factors (allowing more affordable housing which is supposed to exist as as certain percent, but generally falls far below that.)

The idea of not having one's zip code determine one's education and life path is one more people are discussing as well. So stay tuned and chime in as you can with helpful ways to bridge many gaps in thinking and offerings. With online communities booming, more people are finding ways to hone their vision, message and offerings to help others who would benefit along those lines. I am taking classes with Janet and Chris Attwood as well as with David Shiang along those lines to grow my tribe.  

I have been doing this kind of networking and promoting community on many levels for decades, thinking that makes sense and is as much fun as putting on a show or ushering one. We're all part of the Big Show Called Life in Communities and Families and Friend Circles. Sometimes I run the movie of my life and think "I should write about what happened with all of the characters, really amazing souls, who showed up and are thankfully in their 50s and 60s and up to keep me informed about how their lives went...and see what we could share with younger folks to keep them inspired and prevent them from overwhelm in this ever more complex world.

I had thought of making alliances in our local tri-corner MA/NYCT area among faith groups and spell those out in a former post (which I'll try to find and mention here...but basically network all in a certain faith, then do an interfaith among Christian groups for instance and Catholic and Christian Orthodox, then join that with those of the Jewish faith (with the Reformed and Orthodox folks having their own alliance as well.)

Then invite all others in to have the growing understanding of where there were real variations in beliefs or lifestyles and help people consider those things respectfully. The laws in the US for instance are based on the Ten Commandments. It only seems fair to let more people know what those were and at least what the laws are 'early in life and often throughout' as well as updates to said laws or changes.

Then people would not be so surprised that many laws do affect one's 'freedom of speech and expression' even if in one's home or if talking with another. If one threatens to harm oneself or others, that's grounds for a wellness check. If someone is intimidating others that is also a concern. Look up CA Protective Parents Association (CPPA) and Battered Mothers Custody Conference (BMCC) to learn more about Domestic Violence and Custody concerns. The courts have been shown to be woefully deficient and abusers favored across the board in divisive custody cases. Not Good.

But many people cannot realize that likely due to decades of 'thinking the kids go with the mother...' and not factoring in the reality that men used to own women and children as their own property although seriously hurting them physically (beyond beating with a stick no thicker than his thumb for instance..thus 'the rule of thumb' origins) was not legal.

That doesn't mean it didn't happen and didn't get punished by the law. Women and children may still find themselves up a creek or between a rock and a hard place...The courts, laws and community factor into all of that from shaping a child's reality and outreach to women or lack thereof yet many still believe she can still 'just walk away at any time with the kids.' That just isn't so. Okay now back to thinking lofty thoughts and creative ways to dare and care about one another...much like the ski jumpers who launch off the lift and fly the distance...