education in America

Interesting video analyzing the education paradigm in America.  Just thought I'd share :)

human superheroes

Everyone has the potential to do great things.  More than the saints and superheroes can apply for such work.  After all, we are all human.  And we are all capable.  We just need to believe we have something worth giving.

This gave me hope.

"Beyond that, it seems self-defeating to want our heroes to be perfect, because we aren't perfect ourselves. As Sides says, 'By calling our heroes superhuman we also let ourselves off the hook: Why do the hard work of bettering the world if that’s something only saints do?'"

marketing

I recently got a new job in marketing, so I've been thinking more about what exactly it is.  Marketing has changed quite a bit in the past few years.  It's more about building relationships and taking part in a conversation.  Marketing is so critical to many of the things we do and participate in.  I read this blog post earlier in the week by Michael Hyatt.  He gives a quick overview of marketing in today's world.  Worth reading :)

currently

sometimes I wonder if it was all a dream.
but the photographs don't lie,
and the small stream of Arabic that flows
beneath the surface tell me otherwise.
where is the heart of me?

i am not a Muslim,
but when i Feel the Quran,
God grabs my soul
and leaves me breathless.
presence. fullness. peace?
alive, at least.
centered.

Hmdulillah.

maroc reflections

In Morocco, I touched some of the depths of my soul and discovered so much of my heart and my being.  Even after months of being back, I struggle to again reach those depths.  I wrote in Morocco about how both the first and third world have a superficiality to them.  However, they are two very different types of superficiality.  I find myself drowning in a world full of materialism and tunnel vision.  The world is small here, and most people keep the doors of their soul closed even to themselves.  Work is no longer just something I do, it's what defines my life, fills my day, eats my thoughts, and steals my attention.

I hunger for a world filled with moments of still silence.  It's as if I've forgotten; silence can give me emptiness if I don't remind myself.

For two years, I dug to my depths and sought peace.  Yet in this new place, I must perform this work again in order to find myself in this new context.  I have to adjust to find a new balance after this change in scale, measure, and weight.

Perhaps this is our life work--to find ourselves again and again as our scenery changes thus forcing a change to our inner selves.  If I can find the space, will you help me find myself?