Awesome Stories 275

/ July 1, 2016

This week Awesome Stories brings you urban paradise, wholeness, Captain Planet and Navajo justice.

Urban Paradise in Detroiturban paradise, Awesome Stories

Shu Harris has a dream to build a safe, caring, urban paradise in the middle of the Highland Park area of Detroit. The neighborhood faces huge challenges with the loss of people, library, schools and investment, but Shu is determined to create a sustainable neighborhood called Avalon Village that helps kids learn, grows it’s own food and supports small business. Her grand vision and passion have attracted several partners, her son, a successful Kickstarter campaign, and plans to turn the abandoned house next door into a place for kids to come after school. The plans also include solar lighting, rainwater harvesting, local food production and turning the abandoned places into something beautiful and useful.

 

Taming the Inner Tyrant

In this article called Seeking Wholeness, Patty de Llosa talks about learning to embrace the complexities of ourselves as the path to wholeness. For Patty, this required learning to dialogue with her inner critic and the many aspects of self that often drive us to do what we do. Among all these inner voices, we may find our inner child to be the most important. Jung and others have argued that the inner child is the voice of our inner potential or connection to the divine. Patty offers some experiments to help us find more wholeness. A friend of mine talks about having a party and inviting all of his disparate voices to the discussion. The only way to become whole is to embrace and befriend all the aspects of ourselves, both the pretty and not so pretty aspects.

Captain PlanetCaptain Planet, Awesome Stories

I don’t know if he’ll ever be as popular as Captain America, but Lawrence Bloom has found his purpose. After gaining material success and finding it lacking, he realized that he wanted to help save the planet from people. Along the way, he’s become the chairman of a company called Be Energy, Secretary General of an IGO called Be Earth Foundation and an in-demand speaker and mentor. You might think after all he has accomplished that he’d be slowing down at 72, but he continues to be a champion for the planet, aka Captain Planet. I agree with his perception that the fundamental problem is man’s sense of being separate from the planet, when in fact we are an integral part of the web of life. He believes we are at a tipping point where we either come together to help save the planet or risk extinction as resources and the planet are overtaxed by our current lifestyles.

Navajo JusticeNavajo justice, Awesome Stories

The Navajo justice system is much different that our justice system. Theirs is focused on the good of the group, reparation and healing. Our system is mostly focused on punishment. Our justice is a top-down hierarchy based on power. Theirs is a collective, collaboration that is very focused on the needs of the victim. It’s an enlightened approach that is most concerned with healing, wholeness and the good of all. We could learn a lot from their justice system. Navajo justice rocks!

May we learn to live in peace with each other, understanding that we are part of a world community. Peace out!

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31 thoughts on “Awesome Stories 275”

  5. Thanks for another batch, Brad! The Navajo justice was inspiring even as it made me think about all sorts of things– how hard it is to say “justice is this, and not that…” It seems presently we are best off with a particular code of agreements, as we don’t live in the same close-knit societies as the Najavo did and perhaps do today…? How to have a justice system rooted in the heart? It seems to me it would require an overhaul of the values represented by our mainstream culture perhaps? Nevertheless, it is a beautiful idea to contemplate…

    Peace
    Michael

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    • Thanks for your insightful musings Michael. Yes, justice is a complex idea, that is probably driven by local culture. It seems our culture would benefit from justice that was more rooted in heart, cooperation and the good of the whole community. But how to create the details, I don’t know. Consensus decision making might be one tool, as well as bring the people together on both sides to talk, face to face, heart to heart, practicing deep listening and dialoguing. to peace and justice…

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  7. Awesome list – I particularly love the one about Navajo Justice. I have a small heritage of Navajo and Cherokee in my family tree and the desert southwest has always called to me. Even though I live in the southeast, I always feel such awe when I’m back home visiting family and seeing the Rockies and their formations and Indian landmarks. Thanks for sharing!

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