You Have More In Common With The World Than You Think

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200 words, common ground, community, connecting, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, differences, DNA, doing the right thing, family, Fear, in common, justice, life, love, Relationships, talents, vulnerability

We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep.

William James (1842-1910)

The things that make people interesting are their unique talents. Like someone whose guitar playing moves us, or someone whose storytelling captivates us, whose art transports us, whose passion inspires us to change the course we’re on.

Sadly some things that make us different also divide us, like the colour of our skin, our level of education, our societal status, our culture, our belief system. Different takes us out of our comfort zone, makes us feel vulnerable. The unknown is frightening.

So we vilify those who aren’t like us. ‘They’ are less civilized, less intelligent than us. We create rules and laws that hurt them. We find ways to protect ourselves from them while overlooking the injustices we impose upon them.

The above quote is a good metaphor to clearly illustrate how we are all connected. What will it take for us to remember that although we are separate on the surface, we are very connected in the deep?

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES

I am so moved when the woman in the video learns she has a cousin in the room…

 

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Dear President Obama

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Barack Obama, building community, community, compassion, courage, democracy, doing the right thing, health care, hope, human rights, humanity, Hump Day Chronicles, integrity, kindness, laughter, leadership, life, Michelle Obama, passion, thank you, tolerance, USA, world issues

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama greet Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau at the North Portico of the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 10, 2016, for a state dinner. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Just a quick note to thank you and Michelle for being great examples of what leadership should look like.

I want to thank you both for all you did, and tried to do to make the United States and the world a more tolerant and safe and inclusive place. For ensuring that more folks had access to health care, for bringing hope to whole communities that had no hope before, for making tough choices, and patiently with humility, building solid relationships on the world stage.  And most of all, for doing it with the poise, dignity, passion, integrity, compassion and sense of humour that should be the norm for any person who occupies a position of power.

No single person is perfect, or always gets everything right, but I believe that you did the best you could within the choices you had, and I for one, felt that I could breathe a little easier, even from way over here in Canada.

I wish you and Michelle all the very best and I know that you will continue to make a significant mark in whatever challenge you take on next.

Well done and thanks again,

Diana Schwenk, Alberta, Canada

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

Hindsight is 20/20

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compassion, courage, doing the right thing, economy, greed, History, human behaviour, humanity, integrity, mercy, minimum wage, oppression, poor, profit and loss, slavery, trickle-down effect

Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.

 – Abe Lincoln

Looking back, most of us are relieved that slavery was abolished. How could anyone, with even an ounce of compassion, have thought it was a good idea?

But just imagine what slave owners thought and how they justified slavery during the civil war.

“What would it do to the economy if we have to pay people to work? I mean it’s not like we don’t house them or feed them or clothe them – wouldn’t they perish without us?”

Yet doing the right thing by abolishing slavery in America did not end life as we know it.

These days, there are those who work for so little pay they struggle to survive. Many are only one pay cheque away from losing everything.

“What would happen if we raised the minimum wage? I mean we need to make sure corporations make a profit so they can keep hiring. Eventually it trickles down, right?”

Will giving people living wages really collapse our economy and end life as we know it?

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

I wonder what future generations will think.

Ever Want Something, But it’s Not Right?

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200 words, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, doing my best, doing the right thing, growing up, integrity, true to yourself

“Every time I’ve done something that doesn’t feel right, it’s ended up not being right.” – Mario Cuomo

YOU KNOW WHAT this quote is talking about, right?

There’s this thing you want to do. Like maybe get revenge on someone that’s hurt you or a loved one. Or maybe it’s not so black and white and if you just leak certain information about your competition, you’ll get the promotion or the contract or whatever. Yet even though you want to do it, you know it would be wrong.

Or maybe there’s something you really want, something you’re secretly obsessing about, but having it would mean someone else might get hurt or miss out in some way. And you know it’s not right but you struggle with it because you really want it. You tell yourself if you don’t get it, you will regret it for the rest of your life. And up until you finally decide, it could go either way.

It can be tough, but here’s what I’ve learned.

Whenever I’ve heeded the feeling that something wasn’t right, I have not regretted it. Whenever I’ve ignored the feeling, it’s always ended up not being right.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

Dare To Do Our Duty

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200 words, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, doing the right thing, grace, growing up, integrity, judging, kindness, living in the moment, lost wallet, love, world issues

Lets have faith that right makes might; and in that faith let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it. – Abe Lincoln

Yesterday my friend Helga was telling me about a movie she recently saw about a man who finds a wallet.

The man who finds the wallet initially intends to return it; in the absence of ID, the man calls the name and number on a slip of paper he finds tucked deep in the wallet.

The person agrees to call the owner of the wallet and pass on the wallet-finding man’s contact information.

Later, the man finds a lottery ticket tucked into the wallet and checks the number.

It’s a winner.

And now the man begins to struggle with his initial intention.

It’s easy to judge this man.

We’d like to think that we would do the right thing.

But doing the right thing isn’t always easy.

If it were, wouldn’t everybody be doing it?

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

Often, doing the right thing takes us off track, or costs us in some way. I can’t help thinking that the price of not doing the right thing though, is ultimately more costly.

Rising To Leadership

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200 words, courage, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, doing my best, doing the right thing, integrity, leadership, peers, principles, raising the bar, setting standards

There are standards to which government, religion and higher education should be held. There are examples that politicians and principled businesspeople should endeavor to set, regardless of whether their peers are making that effort. There’s right and wrong, not just better or worse.

And there’s a word for recognizing and rising to that: leadership. We could use more of it. ~ NY Times, Weary of Relativity, May 23, 2015.

I was directed to the above article by Live & Learn.

There are times when I convince myself that I’m doing alright by telling myself that:

• I do better than that other person.
• I’m not as bad as so-and-so.
• This is how everyone else does it, it’s good enough.
• Things are fine, why should I go that extra mile?
• There’s not enough time to do it the way it should be done.

Lowering the bar is tempting, especially when I’m tired. I don’t want to go there though. I want to strive to always do my best. I won’t always succeed but I want to keep that bar raised high.

I want to do right, not just better than others.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

Are high standards important to you?

I think an angel lives across the street…

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angels, believe, Calgary, compassion, courage, Diana Schwenk, doing the right thing, generosity, God, goodness, Homelessness, kindness, living in the moment, love, mercy, passion, Relationships, world issues

Something very beautiful happens across the street. And it’s been happening for quite some time, long enough so that I can’t pinpoint exactly when it started.

I don’t often see them go into the apartment complex across the street.

I’ve only seen two or three enter the building over the years.

They looked as if they’d lost all hope. Their bodies bent by some unseen weight on their shoulders.

As if every drop of strength had been beaten out of them.

Dirty

unkempt

under the influence

seemingly at the end of their rope.

No, I haven’t seen many go in, but I have seen them come out.

Usually between 8:00 and 9:00AM. Sometimes just one, other times they exit in groups of two or more. Always groomed. Clean clothes. A travel coffee mug in hand. And on their backs, a backpack that I imagine is filled with their meager belongings and maybe a snack for the road. Their bodies still bent, yet maybe a little less so.

I think an angel lives across the street.

A kind soul who takes pity on those who live on the fringes of society. A loving human being who gives them shelter at night. An angel of mercy who washes their clothes and lets them have a shower. A compassionate man or woman who may even feed them breakfast before they head out for the day to face the harsh reality of their lives on the street.

The actions of this angel do not end homelessness in this cold Canadian city. These actions do not provide a permanent solution to homelessness. But to each individual person who is touched by this angel, these actions must mean the whole world.

I don’t really know what happens across the street. But I believe I am witness to something quite extraordinary. The truth is, I don’t think knowing more is even necessary.

Something tells me the benefactor across the street is not doing it for recognition or praise. That shining a light too intensely on his or her kindness would somehow ruin these beautiful acts.

I think an angel lives across the street…and that’s enough for me.

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

I have marveled and wondered a lot about the activities across the street over the years. Does your neighbourhood have an angel? Can you think of a time when you witnessed an act of compassion and kindness that touched you deeply?

Standing On Sacred Ground

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200 words, Burning bush, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, doing the right thing, God, grace, integrity, journey, judging, life, mission, sacred ground, spiritual, vision, Who I am

Let the refining and improving of your own life keep you so busy that you have little time to criticize others. ~ H. Jackson Brown Jr.

One of the most life-changing letters I ever received was sent to me from a missionary in Guatemala when I was in my early twenties.

I was new in my faith and struggling with questions of judgment and grace and had written to him about it.

His reply to me referenced the Biblical Burning Bush story found in Exodus.

He told me my journey was my own. That I shouldn’t worry about other people and what they did on their journey. That God would reveal to me when I was standing on sacred ground and when it was time to remove my sandals from my feet.

Why is it that when we discover a truth about our own journey, we feel a need to impose it on everyone else? How does our way of doing something suddenly become the right way for everyone else to do it?

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

What would happen if instead of judging and correcting others, we sought solely to be the best version of ourselves?

The Snowman’s Hat

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200 words, caring, community, compassion, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, doing the right thing, integrity, kids, learning, living in the moment, Mothers

Do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do, not because you want something in return. ~ unknown

He’s lost his head, but still has his hat!

One day, a young mother and her son built a snowman outside my window.

It was a cold night. Mother and son were dressed for the arctic, completely covered up except for their eyes peeking out from their scarves.

They rolled three huge snowballs and stacked them one on top of the other.

When the snowman had a face and branches for arms, they placed a hat on his head.

Since then we’ve had more snowfalls, more wind, some warmer days and flash freezes. The snowman has lost his hat many times.

Always, someone notices it gone, retrieves it and puts it back on his head. One woman at first just walked past, then returned, picked up the hat and put it back on his head – as if it was the right thing to do.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

It’s easy to put a hat on a snowman, but it isn’t as easy to do the right thing in real life…

…or is it?