Category Archives: Personal Values

The Road to Diamond, Day 219: The Fan, The Fury Gusts and The Waters of Hell

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Community, Family, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

July 5, 2025- As I waited behind mother and child, to get a cold drink during the Rodeo Parade outside, the baby decided to show me the portable battery-powered (and baby-finger-proof) fan that was keeping her cool. She reveled in the cool breeze it provided, taking care to lift it at the base and keep its flow directed at her face. There was a definite look of satisfaction, that she was doing this herself.

After the parade ended, I headed to Farmers Market, for our customary breakdown of tents and weights. One of the tents is “Feed Your Neighbors”, which provides food boxes to the needy. As I prepared to take the tent down, a gust of wind came from the east and took the form of an updraft, lifting the tent, even while the stone and steel weights were still attached. Two men working nearby rushed over and helped me remove the weights and take down the tent. A Market officer came over and also helped with the final take down.

While that was going on, a second gust of wind also became an updraft, lifting a second tent, weights and all, clear to where a vendor’s car was parked. The car was slightly scratched and its windshield caught a star, as the projectile came to rest. Fortunately, none of the five people in the area were struck. That was our experience at Prescott Farmers Market, this afternoon.

A little over 1,000 miles to the southeast, hell had broken loose, in the form of a stationary front that caused the Guadalupe River, at Kerrville, to rise 20 feet in less than two hours. Children’s summer camps and RV parks along the river bank were inundated, people and vehicles were swept away and families were shattered, in what will register as a signal tragedy of the entire year. Eighty people have been confirmed dead so far, with as many as 41 people still missing.

This has given pause to the stated plans for dismantling the Federal Emergency Management Agency-as well it should. The elements are no respecter of budgets, spread sheets and ideologies. In this time of natural flux, woe be unto anyone who pulls the plug on community response to hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, flash floods and earthquakes. I read the stories of those people, mostly young girls, whose lives were snuffed out and I crumble. I also read that this is making an impression on the President of the United States. Please, God, may it be so.

In about 5-6 months, my first grandchild is due to come into this world. I pray for her well-being, every morning. Once she is here, there is nothing this grandfather will not do to help her grow in health, strength and safety. My heart goes out to all those whose memories of their children are all they have left.

The Road to Diamond, Day 218: What Price, Independence?

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, distraction issues, Historical, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

July 4, 2025- “I’m surrounded!”, the little girl said to her older sister, when called back to the family spot, at this evening’s fireworks watching gathering. She was referring to the tall weeds that were on three sides of her. I was sitting on the fourth side. Going around my folding chair was her easy way out, and back to their gathering place she went.

It is a tough Independence Day for many people. A complicated, and widely-reviled, Federal budget has been put in motion. Fear, on all sides, has people figuratively circling around one another. Like the child mentioned above, the fearful panic, without seeing the whole picture, which does present equitable solutions. The short term solution has ever been centering oneself, then learning to listen- to really hear-what those in our communities have to say. The longer-term answers will then present themselves.

What is the price of independence? I have mentioned, in the past, the economist Thomas Sowell’s truism that “Everything is a trade-off.” Permanent solutions would only work if there were permanent circumstances. The Universe, and everything in it, is not static. So it is with independence. It is an opportunity for an individual to establish oneself and make one’s own decisions. Teenagers and young adults seek, and can thrive, on independence. Once established, however, strict independence needs enhancement.

The next level of social evolution, therefore, is interdependence. People seek partners, and then to be part of communities, as they get older. A strong marriage is 100/100. A strong community draws on the strengths of all its members. A wiser community welcomes new members, with skill sets that enhance the established order, and help it adapt to changing circumstances. Gradually, there is more diversity in a community that is not stagnating.

You’ve also read here that “freedom is not free”. Those who relegate decision-making to louder, more insistent voices should not be surprised to find themselves under the thumbs of grifters, dogmatists and tyrants-and a lot sooner than they might expect. It’s happened in small towns, states and nations. Invariably, this happens when a critical mass of citizens choose to not exercise their duty to take part in the affairs of the community. Then, there comes governance by plurality. This has happened to conservative populaces and to communities where the majority are of a progressive bent. Dogmatism and self-interest are not exclusive to one or another ideology.

Each of us is given free will and the wherewithal to make informed, quality decisions. Putting these to use is the only guarantee that we have, as a nation, to retain the Republic that Benjamin Franklin told us we have the responsibility to keep.

The Road to Diamond, Day 217: Fulfillment

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Historical, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

July 3, 2025- It was not as hard as I thought it could have been. Getting beds of pine needles off several roofs at Bellemont Baha’i School was a two-person operation, with a third helping to rake up and bag the piles. I did not have to climb ladders, this time. The man who will take my place as camp manager, the week after next, was glad to take ladder duty. I was able to do a fair amount of needle removal from the ground level, thanks to our fashioning a tool consisting of a leaf rake inserted into a hollow aluminum pole. The tool also worked from the ladder, and he was able to carefully manipulate it, so as to remove small beds of needles from higher points on two of the roofs.

Yesterday, a team delivered supplies from the Red Cross to Navajo Nation officials who are managing two shelters for people and one for animals, in response to a wildfire that is about 13% contained. The importance of inter-agency teams in this sort of situation cannot be understated.

With the Federal government stepping back from several aspects of meeting the needs of destitute or under-privileged people, the importance of such co-operation across social institutions is sure to skyrocket. Problems do not disappear, by dint of official proclamations. They still need to be addressed, by people interacting in a co-operative manner. Thus, will promises continue to be fulfilled.

It was because people of means from France, the Netherlands and Germany kept their vows that the desire of British colonists to forge an independent country was fulfilled. It was not a perfect nation, by any means, and still isn’t-but 249 years ago tomorrow, the idea of a nation making a stab at a government based on the will of its people was born in earnest.

We have yet to fulfill the rest of the promise, but the work goes on.

The Road to Diamond, Day 216: Moving Towards Control

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

July 2, 2025- Four good men spent their Wednesday bringing supplies to a collection point in Window Rock, AZ, for transport on to the two shelters at which people dispossessed by the Oak Ridge Fire are staying. By nightfall, the blaze itself is 6 % contained. Several other fires around northern Arizona are not presently posing a threat to communities, so we end the day with a sense of control, however tentative it is in this Fire Season.

Working for safety, and for justice, is an ongoing process. There will always be natural threats, in a complex environment and there will always be those who would take things away from others to feather their own nests, so to speak. Life is not a zero sum game, though, and the people who are expected to suffer the loss of health care coverage, and even the right to vote, in silence, are very unlikely to accept that state of affairs. I am not among those who would suffer, but that does not mean I think it is right to take things away from those who are vulnerable-especially children, the disabled and the infirm elderly.

Each of us has a choice to make, every single day-to exercise self-control or to indulge self, at the expense of others. That choice-making affects everything from what we put into our bodies to how we interact with others. Those choices, in turn, will determine the quality of our lives-and may affect how long those lives are. One can be self-centered or inclusive of those around.

I know what my choices are, in various aspects of life-and prefer to include others, in both planning and in activities. I also have come to prefer proactivity and discernment, over reactivity and inattention. The difference that has made is immeasurable.

The Road to Diamond, Day 215: Everything, and Nothing

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal Values, service, Social, Spiritual, Striving

July 1, 2025– Happy Canada Day, everyone!

Today has also seen a burst of activity, on the two major fronts of my summer. Two wildfires have been top of mind for me, these past few days. A major blaze has been consuming the pinon forest between Window Rock and Ganado, on the Navajo Nation. The Dineh have been able to manage shelters, staffing-wise, and will have Red Cross logistical help, by tomorrow noon. They have plenty of government and private enterprise help, in fighting the blaze. Some friends are among those displaced, and I hold out hope that their homes will survive.

Another blaze, closer to Home Base, also led to us gathering a standby crew, but it has since been largely contained and the crew dismantled. There are all manner of small blazes, underscoring the poignancy of the Twelfth Anniversary of the Yarnell Hill Fire, which led to the deaths of 19 wildland firefighters. Over the weekend, in northern Idaho, a transient was asked to move his vehicle by wildland firefighters. He responded by shooting at them, killing two commanders and wounding an engineer. He later killed himself.

That last incident highlights a fringe element, those who believe that their priorities and their privileges supersede everyone else. We used to call them sociopaths. Now, many of them see themselves as ascendant-even to the point that there is an active movement called Accelerationists, who want to replace elected government with all-powerful Boards of Directors, headed by Chief Executive Officers, who can run roughshod over everyone else, in the name of “efficiency”. This is a huge step away from the workings of the customary publicly-owned corporation, which has a charter, a mission statement and a code of conduct. It, to me, is a system built for sociopaths. (Indeed, Elon Musk recently made a statement that empathy is a weakness of Western countries.) There is little difference between such people and the Idaho shooter.

That brings me to the second overarching concern of the summer: Baha’i gatherings. On Sunday, about forty youth and adults gathered for a lively session of songs and devotions. There was no egotism and no one-upmanship. Yesterday, some of the same youth spent the day visiting adults in their homes, sharing prayers and inspirational stories. Over the next two weeks, various gatherings will be held in the Phoenix area and at Bellemont Baha’i School, for further activities along those lines. These inspirational and collaborative activities are in direct contrast to the self-absorbed depredations described in the last paragraph.

I draw reassurance, also, from conversations with friends here, conservatives and liberals alike, who may not agree on much, policy-wise, but who will stand together against any forces that try to deprive us of the freedom and traditions that we have cherished for 250 years.

He would take away everything is likely to be left with nothing.

The Road to Diamond, Day 214: Proactive

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Family, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

June 30,2025- A year ago, I was sitting aside the woman who gave me life, as she took her last breath. The moment was a bookend. She had worked very hard to make sure that I survived a rough birth, and that I overcame many obstacles, some self-imposed, in order to at least enjoy a long and fairly well-lived life. Her overriding instructions were “Don’t take yourself too seriously” and “Stay ahead of the game”. Mom’s approval mattered far more than either of us sometimes realized, and the struggles I had with self and others, over the year, largely were brought to a close when I reverted to what she had tried to instill, so often and so selflessly, over the decades.

I can never think of a time when her rejoinder “Poor baby” was callous or misplaced. A child of the Depression, who lost her father to cancer in its midst, and saw her four oldest brothers off to war, in the 1940s, and her younger brother as well, in the Korean conflict, was nonetheless shaken when I headed off to VietNam, for what was a mercifully non-troubling ten months of rear echelon duty. She was a paragon of persistence.

In a generally love-filled marriage, that lasted 37 years, she would often find herself facing her fears about her youngest son, alone. It took some constant communication to get her loved ones to understand just how much she wanted for the little boy, who became a disabled man. We each grew into compassionate adults, who would ourselves fight for the well-being of the least among us-and who would give anything for our children and, in my siblings’ cases, grandchildren. I know the latter now, anticipating a grandchild’s birth with a heart that is bursting with love.

Mom is now with so many of the souls she loved, and is looking out for the rest of us. I can count several times, in the past year, when there has been that one extra push to get me over the threshold. It has made some rather tall orders shrink down to hurdle level.

I only hope I have continued to make her proud. God knows, a reciprocal pride has welled in me, for as long as I can remember.

The Road to Diamond, Day 213: Triage

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, distraction issues, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, service, Social, Spiritual, Striving

June 29,2025- As I was about to leave for a long-scheduled Baha’i gathering of youth and other community members, at a local Clubhouse, the phone rang with an urgent message from the Red Cross, requesting immediate action. As I had been told my presence at the gathering was needed a half hour prior to the start time, I let the caller know that I could tend to the other matter in two hours’ time. The caller said the matter would be handled by others, in the meantime.

As it happened, the matter, which was a contingency plan in case a wildfire evacuation gets more intense and needs Red Cross intervention, was handled by the caller. A standby team was assembled and I was able to connect digitally with all concerned, after the gathering ended. The wildfire evacuation is being handled by other agencies at this point, anyway. I will keep watch on the situation, over the next few days.

This week is likely to be full of several synchronous events, as we segue into the second half of this riotous calendar year. We mere mortals will have to prioritize, and use triage. Matters which are brought to my attention, with great fanfare, hubris and warnings will get a careful hearing, but if they come in the face of prior commitments to more vulnerable people, I will ask, as I did today, for the matter to fall to someone else. It’ll be amazing how well the matters are handled. I am just past the point in my life where anything, other than family emergencies, will rattle my cage.

The gathering at the clubhouse was spirited, uplifting and well worth the two hours. I can say the same for every other activity that has been fulfilled, even in the face of competing or synchronous demands for my attention. Commitment brings rewards.

The Road to Diamond, Day 212: Volunteer Shoots

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual

June 28, 2025- The young lady was hesitant at first, picking up a few signs and long traffic cones that were light of weight. I didn’t say anything, figuring she may have back problems or other issues. The fact that she was even there at the Market and was proactive was a boost in itself. Any help I get, especially in the heat, is more than welcome. After seeing this old man lift the tent weights and other items, she decided that she could lift them also. That warmed the heart of the market manager, who had recruited her, a few weeks ago. It is always a joy to see someone display more self-confidence.

When gardening, it is exciting to see plants that had not been intentionally sown spring up and often reveal a mix of species, a hybrid. Purists are bothered by this, but the hybrid has a purpose. It may be more nutritious; more disease-resistant and more suited to changing climate.

New arrivals in an enterprise, in a community, in a nation often bother purists. They have a purpose, however. In the activities in which I have been volunteering, for five years or more, others are showing up, to lend a hand. From the Farmers Market, the Red Cross and Bellemont Baha’i School, to Slow Food and the American Legion, there will be no loss of mission because new faces are taking on the challenge. I will be going on to another calling, towards the end of this year. It will take up the lion’s share of my time, and that is a blessed thing.

The same is true of those who are arising to take on leadership roles, at the community and national levels. Their ideas may not be those espoused by the established order or those ideas to which many have become accustomed, but they may be what are needed for changing times. Yes, there are constants-the virtues, like trustworthiness, honesty, integrity and industry-all based on love. Those are as likely to be found among the new arrivals as among the best of the long-time members of the community or citizens of the nation.

All deserve a hearing.

The Road to Diamond, Day 211: “No Distinctions”

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

June 27,2025- “No, it doesn’t matter where they are from, there should be no distinctions made when it comes to protecting children!” So said a bystander, when I recounted an action I had taken, three years ago, to safeguard three Mexican girls. He was right, of course, but the fact that he took umbrage at the reference to the girls’ nationality belied the xenophobia, masked as universalist concern, that arises nearly every time there is mention of the human rights of specific marginalized groups. Had I been talking about white girls, there would not have been any yelling or jutted jaw. (The same “ALL lives matter” ruse has been replayed countless times, when people try to deflect attention from specific cases of injustice.)

Those who object to any use of the terms diversity, equity or inclusion say they just don’t want those terms to be part of official policy, as in “Thou shalt hire members of marginalized communities, and prefer them over someone who belongs to the dominant community.” There is a case to be made for not specifying groups or for having hiring quotas. That case, though, is rendered null and void when the marginalized are not hired, admitted to colleges or otherwise given a shot at success, because of ingrained tendencies to render them invisible or prejudge them as incompetent, shiftless or untrustworthy.

The city council of Home Base I recently voted to not insert a paragraph stating that the city welcomes everyone, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, or national origin, into its land use document. That would be all well and good, but for the frequency of redlining and the official overlooking of harassment towards the marginalized. Most people, conservatives as well as liberals and progressives, accept people on an individual basis, anymore. Officially, though, too many local governments cherry pick and try to institutionalize the pecking order that favours one elite or another. This, too, is not exclusive to conservatives. The tendency, across the political spectrum, is to circle the wagons and shout down anyone with fresh ideas.

The angry bystander is right, just not in the way he intended: There ought be no distinction made between people, when it comes to basic human rights. This, however, applies to groups as well as individuals.

The Road to Diamond, Day 210: The Real Network

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Education, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

June 26, 2025- Towards the end of today’s work session at Bellemont Baha’i School, a tentative connection was forged with the local Fire Department-with the chance to build ties with a Federal agency’s local office, as well. It was noted that this networking is a win-win, as the agency needs a training site and we can use the high level support.

Anyone who knows about trees knows that they themselves network, communicating through root systems. Information is exchanged about moisture levels, changes in soil chemistry and invasive species that are harming a given tree or grove. The clandestine nature of this communication has only recently been noted by we, whose own exchanges tend to be loud, open and sometimes not carefully thought out. Trees cannot afford to be anything other than careful.

There has been much made of globalization and wide international governmental communication. There is a place for all this, of course, but humanity cannot afford to rely on top-down or inter-elite networking alone, for anything of long-lasting value.

Largely underneath the high-level interactions, wide communication between individuals and between groups of private citizens, across intranational and international boundaries, is the networking whose value will truly reorganize and reorder the fortunes of the human race-and of every space, both earthly and on any other body that we may occupy. This person-to-person communication has always existed, but only with intensive technology, and a renewal of integral morality, can it have a chance at succeeding in its purpose, which is to establish peace.

I look forward to this network getting all the more intense and well-organized, one heart to one heart, at a time.