I’m Sorry For My Generation

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children, community, giving a voice to today's youth, online community, Purpose, question, teens, world issues, youth leadership

A while back I tried without success to work on a post that would give the next generation of leaders a voice. I did get some responses, and although they were enlightning, I did not get nearly as many responses as I had hoped for. Then today I came across this post and was struck by its basic and fundamental message. Perhaps us ‘oldies’ need to revisit our sterotypical assumptions…

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The Rest of the Story

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Diana Schwenk, family, Germany, growing up, Hump Day Chronicles, memories, question, Russia, youth leadership

A few days ago I received an email from my uncle.

He told me that after a long while he checked in on facebook where he read my post Brotchen and Beer.

It gave him joy that somebody still thought about his dad (my Opa) every now and then.

L to R My great-uncle Waldemar and my Opa

My uncle said even when Opa was 60, he would still put a little money in my uncle’s pocket.

That reminds me of my dad who always, to this day, puts a little money in my pocket every time I see him.

He gets that from his dad, I guess.

When I wrote Brotchen and Beer I was looking around for a CD my uncle sent me a few years ago that has old family pictures.

My search proved unsuccessful amid hundreds of unlabeled CDs in my desk – a project for a future day!

As luck would have it my uncle included this picture of Opa in his younger years with his Brother-in-law, Waldemar in his email.

The email went on to say that Waldemar, my Oma’s brother, was shot in Russia many years ago, most likely by the SS but that that was a whole other story – one that I hope to hear one day.

After replying to my uncle’s email, he sent me another picture of me and him. I’m 17 years old in this picture and my uncle would be in his early 30’s.

The year is 1980 and my parents gifted me a trip to Germany as a graduation present.

Me and my uncle in my grandparent’s backyard

In this picture my uncle and I are sitting in my paternal grandparents’ backyard.

I love my hair in this photo – NOT – but one of my maternal uncles, a stylist, would give me the most god-awful perm in the next few days!

I have to admit that my uncle’s shirt brings a smile to my face!

Ahh-h the late 70s and early 80s brought a whole new meaning to fashion!

Sometimes I wish I had a scanner because I do have so many pictures I’d love to share with you of my childhood and my daughter’s childhood – maybe one day. 🙂

~

On another note…

I haven’t had much success in receiving responses to this post. My heart-felt thanks to those who did respond – it’s much appreciated!

I am listing the questions one more time just in case it might generate more responses. If not, I’ll let it go – I promise!

Who knows, it could just be that I am more anxious to know than others (who are 25 and younger) are eager to tell.

Or maybe, just maybe, it is not my story to tell.

If this is the case, perhaps these questions can act as a prompt for you to write your thoughts, in your own words, in your own post.

~ QUESTIONS ~

What do you think is the world’s biggest issue or problem? (describe it)

What do you think needs to be done to solve this issue or problem?/What are you willing to do?

Do you think it will be solved in your lifetime? Why or why not?

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

It’s interesting how some traits like my Opa giving my uncle pocket-money translate to the next generation…

like my dad still giving me pocket-money…

Are there generational practices or habits in your family?

What are they?

To Love is to Suffer

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200 words, caring, compassion, courage, Diana Schwenk, generosity, Happiness, integrity, joy, kindness, love, passion, peace, Purpose, question, Suffering, Woody Allen, world issues

“To love is to suffer. To avoid suffering, one must not love. But then, one suffers from not loving. Therefore, to love is to suffer; not to love is to suffer; to suffer is to suffer. To be happy is to love. To be happy, then, is to suffer, but suffering makes one unhappy. Therefore, to be happy, one must love or love to suffer or suffer from too much happiness.” Woody Allen

LOVE

Whatever you do

Whatever you say

Wherever you go

LOVE

Before you do it

Before you say it

Before you go there

CHECK YOUR MOTIVES

If you are motivated by anger

Don’t do it

If you are motivated by fear

Don’t say it

If you are motivated by distress

Don’t go there

Just LOVE

Will you get hurt?

Probably

Will you be betrayed?

Likely

Will you be mocked and belittled?

Possibly

So should you love anyway?

Can your love make a difference to someone who is alone?

Is a life led by love worth the effort?

Absolutely!

 Lesson here: just stop over-thinking it!

And LOVE

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

What’s the worst that could happen?

That through it all you chose to love?

 

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)

Fear

Tags

courage, Diana Schwenk, Fear, love, Purpose, question

“Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you’re scared to death. ” ~ Earl Wilson

Have you ever been really afraid of something you were facing?

Have you ever worked really hard for something and when you got what you wanted you wondered if you had what it would take to manage it?

Fear can be crippling.

Fear can be paralyzing – you feel like a deer in the headlights.

Fear can grip you so tightly that it doesn’t seem feasible for you to break free.

Your chest tightens.

Your heart races.

Sweat pools at your temples.

It makes you doubt you are able to overcome.

It makes you question even the things you previously knew you were equipped to do.

The temptation may be to just let go and get swallowed up.

But here’s the good thing about fear.

Yes, I said GOOD thing!

Without fear there can be no courage.

And courage is a decision to act in spite of fear.

And acting with courage empowers you and moves you toward a purpose or desired outcome.

Courage allows you to act and live as if you have already achieved your purpose.

Don’t get swallowed up.

One return-trip in a time machine – where would you go?

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Calgary, Diana Schwenk, Jesus, question, Sea of Galilee, Time travel

It’s Saturday as I write this and I’m sitting in Tomkins Park in Calgary, Alberta listening to a band called the Wine Soaked Preachers. They’re local and very good.

The Wine Soaked Preachers

I have a note pad and a pen with me and I’m thinking about a post I read this morning by Inner angels and enemies where the writer asked some very thought-provoking questions.

My Favourite question was, “If you had access to one return trip in a time machine, how would you use it?”

Today, in long-hand, I will attempt to answer this question as if I’m really going back in time.

I step into the time machine having made my destination choice…

…I appear on a road that leads to a lake, a lake that is so big it seems like a sea.

A lone man sits by the lake. Is he meditating, thinking?

I watch him from a distance and wonder if he knows I’m there.

I have so many questions for him, so many things I want to ask him, but I know by the size of the crowd that has slowly been gathering around him, I might only get the chance to ask one.

I can’t quite hear what he is saying so I move a bit closer. I’m standing on the outer edge of the crowd that has started growing exponentially larger by the second. So much so, that people are pressing against him.

He stands and speaks to a man who nods and leads him to a boat that is anchored close to shore.

The once lone man steps into the boat and continues speaking in a language I’ve never heard but for some reason I now understand.

He’s saying something about farming and planting seeds – but I know his story has a deeper meaning.

My mind drifts back to why I’m here… I need to pick a question…there are so many flashing through my mind. How can I pick just one? As each question passes through my mind, I dismiss it as not worthy enough, not important enough.

“I tell you the truth…” His voice draws me out of my thoughts… ”there are many who have wished that they could see what you’re seeing and hear what you’re hearing right now.”

I look around; the crowd has become overwhelmingly and unbearably huge.

~

Wait…

is he looking at me?

No, he can’t be.

Yes! He’s looking right at me.

His eyes are both intensely severe and soft. His jaw line is hard and yet he exudes… he’s spilling over with kindness and love.

The crowd suddenly blocks my view of him completely. I realize now that I won’t be able to ask him even one question.

Just behind me to my left, there’s a large rock and I head toward it and sit down.

The sun is low in the sky.

I sigh – a deep sigh.

I did not get to ask a question.

But I’ve read so much about him and now I’ve even seen him – Wow!

~

And suddenly he’s there…

standing behind me.

His hand on my shoulder.

“What’s your question, Diana?”

Every question I have ever had seems strangely trivial now.

I’m just so happy…

no I’m ecstatic to be here in his company.

He walks around and sits beside me. I look at him. There’s nothing about his appearance that sets him apart.

I mean he’s not excessively good-looking or anything, but he is so beautiful to me.

I tentatively lay my head on his shoulder, a tear rolls down my cheek and together we watch the sun as it dips below the horizon.

It would be so amazing if you decide to choose a question and write your answer in a post.

Check out Connecting with Questions and let your imagination go.

I can’t wait to read it!

Left foot in isn’t good enough

Tags

answer, Diana Schwenk, Hokey Pokey, left foot, lost, question, whole self

“Wisdom from the Hokey Pokey. Put your whole self in” ~ a coffee shop sign

I can’t put my finger on it. But it’s there, at the tip of my tongue, or stuck in my throat like a lodged chip that I can’t spit out or swallow.

Something is off. Not off enough to be SCREAMING. Because then I would know what it is.

But it’s off. It’s unaligned.

Hokey Pokey (Photo credit: jkarsh)

Somehow I’ve betrayed myself or talked myself into believing or…

It nags at me, it pokes and jabs, trying to get my attention.

I can’t see it…

…or I don’t want to see it.

I can’t put my finger on it.

But it’s there, buried in my head

like a glimpse of a dream, my brain struggles to recount the details, my heart longs to find it again.

What have I lost – carelessly squandered?

It’s hard to find the answer when the question isn’t even clear.

I need to find a way

So I can live fully in the moment and

engage, relate and belong

I need to put my whole self in again.

Do you have your whole self in?