Tag Archives: safeguarding

The Road to Diamond, Day 58: True North, ’25

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Family, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, service, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

January 25, 2025- It is finally getting cold here in Home Base I, the sort of bone-chilling cold that foreshadows a snowstorm. That storm is expected here, sometime between Sunday evening and Tuesday morning. I will be elsewhere during that time- largely in the air, or in airports: Phoenix, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Manila. Tuesday morning here will be the early morning hours, Wednesday, in Metro Manila. It will not be cold, and probably not wet.

I have received nothing but good wishes from friends here, and sense only good energy coming from the Philippines. My dear one, and our mutual friends, will believe that I am coming, when I get there, and send out the first messages on the ground. I have now gone back and forth so many times, that they who have largely spent their lives in one area have lost count.

Our True North, however, is the same. The Divine Spirit has gotten me from A to B, and back, countless times-even in 1971, when I was barely alive, spiritually, and all the more so, over the past four decades. It is that Spirit which kept Penny and I physically safe when our vehicle’s engine died, on a bridge above I-10 in Phoenix and again during the evening commute, in downtown Glendale, when I was pushing the car to a safe spot off a main street, while she watched from the safety of a sidewalk. It was that Spirit that landed me in this small and cozy apartment, when the house I was minding needed to be sold, eleven years ago this coming April. It is that Spirit that is bringing me back to Luzon for the third time, in less than two years.

It the same Spirit that has safeguarded two trusted friends here and kept each of them in home and hearth, despite limited circumstances. It keeps another little family, well north of here, in a tiny but sturdy house, as their grand-matriarch finds work wherever she can. It keeps my own little family in safe surroundings and guides them safely through times that could be far more uncertain. It sees my dear one and her family free from harm.

Each of us has had our share of harrowing situations, and will face them again, in times to come. It is our True North that will provide the way forward, each time.

These Are What Matter

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

October 27, 2020-

A “new poll” chirpily predicted a “surprise Republican blowout”, next Tuesday.

I don’t care.

What matters is what happens afterward. Regardless of whether this poll is genuine, or just a fabrication, designed to “make the liberals cry again”, the fact remains that, on Wednesday, November 4, on December 9 and again on January 21, we are each going to be essentially the same people we were, before the voting took place.

The thing that matters most is that no one loses heart. There are universal truths, with which it seems all people of good will ought be comfortable:

All life is sacred;

Everyone bleeds the same;

Calling another person a derogatory name, does not make it so;

Everyone is worthy of being treated with respect;

No one person, or group, is entitled to lord themselves over others;

Children are worthy of being loved and nurtured by everyone in their community;

Elders are worthy of being treasured and safeguarded by everyone in their community;

Our planet, and its life forces, deserve good stewardship, not ravaging for the sake of making more money than the maker knows how to handle;

All knowledge comes from the same Source-and it is not a human one.

The Road to 65, Mile 10: Teamwork

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Posted by on in Personal goals, Social

December 8, 2014, Prescott- This morning, I  covered a choral classroom.  This frog didn’t croak, but a group of sixth graders practiced their songs and watched a segment of “Mary Poppins”.  Then, a single guitar student, in a class of six, showed up for class and I learned his classmates were testing in another part of the school.  So, he practiced his chords and watched part of “August Rush”.  The Advanced Choir came in next, and led by two classmates, the group practiced a choreographic piece, based on “Here Comes Santa Claus”.

The mostly female ensemble struggled with their own need to catch up with their friends, after the weekend, and the uncertainty that so often accompanies adolescents trying to learn a new skill, while being thoroughly convinced that “all eyes are on MEEE”.  They worked hard, very hard, to make it perfect- apologizing to me, and to each other, when they felt it wasn’t.  In the end, their teamwork made the difference.

I thought they did a fabulous job, with the various new steps, and that they listened.  Confidence is so sorely lacking in teens, despite their reputation for swagger and bravado.  Maybe that’s why I can’t think of any other line of work that I’d rather do full-time.  Teaching, safeguarding and advocating for children and teens is, and will remain, my most urgent concern- whether it is skill-building, working to free captives and slaves, or just plain listening and encouraging.

Watching the kids engaged in teamwork set my week on a beautiful path.