How Boring Would It Be?

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200 words, acceptance, caring, closed-mindedness, compassion, courage, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, differences, diversity, forgiveness, growing up, happy, health, joy, kindness, love, mercy, passion, tolerance, wisdom

“Differences are not intended to separate, to alienate. We are different precisely in order to realise our need of one another”-Desmond Tutu

How boring would it be

if I was like you and you were like me?

If we all looked the same, thought the same, and liked all the same things?

Because, I love how you challenge me and what I believe, even when it makes me angry.

I love what I learn when I struggle with you, even when it makes me cry.

I love what you teach me, about myself and the world, when you share your thoughts and life experiences.

When I am weak, you are strong and when you are weak, I am strong.

We need each other.

If you really think about it, closed-mindedness and conformity are way more threatening than diversity.

How boring would it be if I was like you and you were like me?

How would we grow?

How would we even know what we’re missing?

How would we learn about forgiveness?

Acceptance?

Compassion?

Mercy?

Wisdom?

Courage?

Kindness?

Love?

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

Why would we even want, or need, to spend one single moment with each other?

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Happy Thanksgiving – Gratefulness

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200 words, community, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, diversity, gifts, grateful, Gratitude, living in the moment, love, memories, Relationships, Thanksgiving

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”  ~ Epictetus

Gratefulness makes us happy – it’s scientifically proven!

If being grateful makes me happy, I want to be grateful every day – not just on Thanksgiving.

Below are just some of the things that fill me with gratitude:

With my family at some German restaurant outside Montreal in 2009

• The odds of conception are 15% – 25%. I was born. I am alive and well. Life is a gift I cherish.
• I am loved by family and friends. No matter what comes my way, I am not alone.
• I have the necessities of Life. Food in my stomach. A roof over my head.
• The teachers and mentors who have taught me important life-lessons and encouraged me in my journey.
• The opportunities I have had to help others along in their journey.
• I live in this beautiful country of freedoms and rights.
• I belong to a community of diverse people with unique gifts that can build a better world than we were born into.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

What are you grateful for?

The Other Bottom Line

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community, Community engagement, Diana Schwenk, diversity, donors, gifts, health, Hump Day Chronicles, inspiration, leadership, mission, motivation, non-profit, organizations, passion, Philanthropy, Philosophy, resources, talents, vision, volunteers

The Other Bottom Line  is the name of a blog I hope to introduce to you soon. The name is based on the premise that money is not an organization’s only bottom line.

I believe that a healthy organization is a group of individuals that work together toward a common vision. In order for an organization to make a real, sustainable impact, it needs to engage its entire community.

A plant fights for life by overcoming all odds and reaching for sunlight through a cement barrier in my parking lot.
In the same way, when a community is engaged and working toward a common purpose, anything is possible.

An organization succeeds when impassioned people motivate others to become engaged by inviting them to participate in fulfilling its mission.

The Other Bottom Line  will be a resource and a place to discuss non-profit workers, those they serve and the communities who are engaged with them.

Below are the beginnings of the foundational pieces for The Other Bottom Line.  Let me know what you think!

~

Vision: An engaged community

Mission: building capacity in non-profit organizations by encouraging them to invite like-minded people to become engaged with them.

Philosophy:

When an organization’s community is engaged, heart, soul and mind; the resources to support their mission will follow

When two or more people are passionate about a cause, project, mission, etc., and they work together using and valuing each other’s individual gifts and abilities, you create an engaged community. It makes sense to seek out those with a common heart and vision and employ their gifts toward a common purpose.

There really is no point in chasing after highly skilled people or wealthy donors in the hope that you will be able to convince them your cause is worthy if they don’t share your organization’s passion to fulfill its mission . Why spend your time coercing someone to believe in something that doesn’t interest them?

Rather encourage them to engage in an area that relates to their own passion and move on – after all, philanthropy is bigger than just one cause.

The organization’s mission should apply to everyone; from leadership and front-line workers to volunteers, funders and clients

Most organizations have a mission statement. Often their mission is thought of by staff as applying only to their clients/program users. The mission should apply to everyone.

For example I worked at an organization who looked after homeless people. Their mission statement was to mobilize the church and work with the community to compassionately respond to the needs of the less fortunate.

This mission was relevant for everyone from the board of directors and staff to the clients, volunteers and supporters. All were called upon to empower others to fulfill the organization’s mission.

Achieving sustainability through diversity of talents and funding sources

If every person has the same perspective most of the people are not necessary. It is an amazing thing to behold an organization that employs and values gifts and abilities at all levels from a diverse community made up of people with varying backgrounds and experiences.

Adopt the tested and best practices of others – there’s no need to re-invent the wheel

Non-profits need to, and often do, share with and learn from other organizations. If an organization does something well; it should share it with others. This benefits the greater community.

Keeping it to themselves does not give them an advantage. Being generous with information is its own reward.

And when an organization is diving into new waters, they would do well to talk to those who have been there before while also getting feedback from their engaged community.

It’s not about the organization; it’s about their community

What a shame it is when an organization focusses on its own needs over the needs and desires of its engaged community. ESGEE Musings  illustrates this well in this post that compares the customer service provided by two different airlines.

Too often organizations deem the latest technology or internal processes as more important than the experiences of those who want to be engaged with them.

This can result in their supporting community being unsure of how they can contribute and wondering if they bring any value at all to the organization. If organizations do not endeavor to understand the heart’s desire of their community or honour their contributions, someone who does will scoop them away.

It’s not about the organization. It’s about the community and facilitating a way for people who care, to engage with the organization without overwhelming them with difficult systems.

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

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What if

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caring, community, compassion, courage, courteous, Diana Schwenk, diversity, equality, generosity, good character, goodness, happy, helpful, hope, integrity, kindness, love, meaningful, passion, peace, question, spiritual, tolerance, world issues

I know I’m not the first person to ponder what if and I probably won’t be the last.

Even as a child, I would question the way we humans treated each other while at the same time I know full well that, at times, I’ve treated people differently based solely on their appearance or status.

Why do I do that?

I clearly remember wishing that humans would intentionally start marrying people outside of their race and having children. My child-mind wondered how many generations it would take before we all looked alike, spoke the same language and adopted similar values and beliefs.

I still find myself yearning, praying and wishing because isn’t every person worthy?

Isn’t every life sacred?

Realistically, I know that there’s probably no chance we will all become one people, with one language and value system but…

~

What if it didn’t matter if you were black, white, red or yellow?

What if it didn’t matter if you were politically left, right, or in the middle?

What if it didn’t matter if you were educated, uneducated, employed or unemployed?

What if it didn’t matter if you lived in a mansion, an apartment, a hut or on the streets?

What if it didn’t matter if you were rich, poor, or somewhere in between?

What if it didn’t matter if you were Christian, Jewish, Muslim or something else?

What if it didn’t matter if you were straight, gay, bisexual or trapped in the wrong gender?

What if it didn’t matter if you were fat, skinny, short, or tall?

What if it didn’t matter if you were physically ill, mentally ill, or healthy?

What if it didn’t matter if you were young, middle-aged or ancient?

What if it didn’t matter if you were happy, sad, alone or overwhelmed in a crowd?

What if your status wasn’t determined by birth, religion, gender, or economics?

What if it didn’t matter if your hair was blond, brown, red, black or purple?

If your eyes were blue, green, brown or black?

If you spoke Hebrew, Arabic, English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Polish, German, Russian, or Pig Latin?

If you were Asian, African, European, North American, Hispanic, or Middle Eastern?

If you had a high or low IQ, EQ or cholesterol level?

What if you understood that at your core…

that in essence we are all spiritual beings

who just happen to have a variety of different outer shells and experiences?

What if all that mattered was that you had good character and integrity…

that you strove to find beauty and goodness and meaning in others and in all that you do?

that you were:

Kind to others

Thoughtful

Generous to a fault

Courageous

Tolerant

Loving

Encouraging

Helpful

Hospitable

Compassionate

Truthful

Courteous

Passionate

Hopeful

I want to make a conscious effort to live these values in my life. I know I won’t always be successful, there will be days when I fall short but if I can become aware of the times I don’t quite measure up, I can correct myself and begin again.

What do you think? What are some of the things you could do differently?

What if?

Related articles

Every now and then I look at the links WordPress recommends. I was quite moved by the link below. If you have a moment, give it a read. It really is quite powerful.

• What Will Matter – Michael Josephson (tersiaburger.com)