The "Year in Review" is like old stadium cups: Empty

I will not be using the FB “year in review” nor perusing the many similarly titled articles in print and social media.  I remember enough of 2014 without prompting.  There were some great moments – travel,  time spent with friends, parties, events, and just serene moments.  And there were some pretty awful moments, mainly at funerals for people too young to be passing.  Every year is that kind of mix, I suppose, though the highs seemed a little higher and the lows a little lower this year.

I am very grateful for the people in my life. More than anything, I want to be fully in the present and working toward an engaging future, rather than re-hashing past.  There’ll be time for that later most likely.  Spontaneity is fun, but working toward something – career, hobbies, relationships, projects  – seems to make your luck happen rather than hope for it.

The retailers lead our subconscious into believing life is an endless loop for seasons and seasonal purchases – too much food for Thanksgiving, superfluous gifts for Christmas, fattening candy at Valentine’s, green beer at St Pat’s, and so on.  The cycle quickens and the years go faster when you live by rote…but grappling with any given day’s opportunities & challenges, looking that day square in the eye, figuring it out, and living. Well, that beats a mindless cycle.  Oh there is nothing wrong with traditions and seasons and annual events – just grab that day and squeeze some life out of it.

Don’t make a list of resolutions about exercise and weight loss (not that I’m against those goals) but make a lists of things you want to do and places you want to go…some of which might require you to be in slightly better shape!  I’ll definitely be more intentional about doing my morning push ups if there is a rock climbing adventure a couple of months ahead.  Okay, maybe I will not be rock climbing this year, but I’ll be doing something new & different. Because that is the engagement I need, we need, to be fully alive.

Have fun in 2015!

Everyone Deserves a Safe Community

Over the years I have had the opportunity to work alongside people I respect in neighborhoods as far flung as Mallory Heights and Collierville, Smokey City and Cordova, Beltline and Bartlett. No one I've met in any of these different places wants litter, drugs, gangs, and crime. We have more in common than you think.

Three people  were beaten by a mob  in a Kroger party lot while a 14-year-old was shot & killed while sleeping in his own bed.  Students were robbed on the U of M campus and an elderly man was beaten in a laundromat in Glenview.  Violence is everywhere and the victims are of every race, age, and income level. Press conferences will not stop it. Nor will bumper stickers or billboards.

People have different opinions about emphasizing policing vs parenting vs programs and more. I don't have answer, just an opinion.  I see two mandates for people who are willing to choose fight over flight:

•       Do not be a victim. Educate yourself about  protection and be ever vigilant.
•             Support  causes and/or programs that have a chance of turning a kid away from gangs and toward positive activities and associations.

It is not about race. It is about fighting evil.  Our weapons are will, determination, and engagement. 

Lest you think our town is boring

Fun things through the end of the year. Now go and enjoy!

8/30-31  Mid-South Music & Heritage festival

9/5         Art on Tap, Dixon

              Rock for Love, Crosstown
              Greely Myatt art opening, David Lusk Gallery
              David Sloas art opening, main library

9/5-10/12 Levitt Shell fall series

9/6         Zoo Rendezvous

              Rock for Love Overton Square

9/7         CHC Rock for Love,  Levitt Shell
9/9         Latino Memphis leadership luncheon, H I
9/10       Business Women's Conference, H I

9/13       Cooper Young Fest
               Russell George memorial fundraiser for Church Health Center, E&H

9/14       Stomp in the Swamp, Lichterman Nature Center
9/16      Yancy Villa art opening, JCC      

9/18       Art for Jobs, Advance Memphis

9/19       Emily Ozier art opening, CHC wellness
9/21       Best Burger Fest, Minglewood

9/26       Vin-A-Que, Brooks

9/28       Foodie Sunday at MidSouth Book fest

              SPAYtacular, Ecco

10/2       MIFA Feed the Soul, Warehouse

10/4       Blues Ball, Gibson Guitar

10/10-11  King Biscuit Blues fest, Helena

                 Pink Palace Crafts Fair

10/11     Opera Memphis Don Giovanni

10/17     Libration gala, main library

10/18     MEMfix, Edge district

10/24     Amy Hutchison- Jurgen Tarres art opening, CHC Wellness

10/25     Art on Fire, Dixon

10/25-26  RiverArtsfest
10/30     Tenn Shakespeare Co presents Richard III

10/31     Masquerade Ball,  Pink Palace

11/1       Magical Night at Overton Park
              Barnyard Ball, Memphsi Farmers Market

11/8       Orpheum Auction

              StreetDog Foundation Howl at the Moon, Warehouse
              Adapt-A-Door, Memphis Heritage

11/9       Cyclocross race, Greenbelt park

11/27     MIFA Thanksgiving Meal Delivery

12/25    Super T at Newbys

12/31    NYE hiding in a cabin somewhere

Finding the Elusive Fulfillment

The search begins pretty early. I think that all babies crawling across a room have simply begun a journey which never ceases: the search for fulfillment.  Food, water, warmth…the basics are pretty easy to spot and usually to satiate. The more elusive fulfillments – affection, accomplishment, respect , etc – are a good deal more difficult because they are to some degree transactional.  Affection is loving and being loved. Accomplishment comes in a field of endeavor often with some sort of infrastructure and previously set records or milestones. Respect is the outcome of both accomplishment or struggle  and relationships.

Some people find fulfillment in material gain…or think they do. Others find fulfillment in pushing themselves to ever do more and be better. Still others find fulfillment not directly in themselves but in and through other people – helping the downtrodden,  mentoring the young, celebrating and sharing in the accomplishments of friends and family.

Many find fulfillment in faith and worship. This requires less focus on self and more focus on community as defined by the faith tradition. It means less control but a larger sense of belonging.

As with all things, balance is important. Every day can’t be filled with a series of exciting, adrenaline inducing adventures any more than every meal can be comprised of dessert items. Contentment is sometimes perceived as being counter to what we view as fulfillment, but it is also complementary.  Contentment is to fulfillment as light is to dark: one is necessary to define the other.  Seeking peace of mind, too, can be fulfilling, even when it is not thrilling!

BY WHAT ROAD?

BY WHAT ROAD?
If you are engaged in making Memphis better, you may not be the first to come up with a particular idea. And you may not be the last. Our town has a long legacy of social entrepreneurism, good neighbors, organized efforts, and some loose & random initiatives. Sometimes we re-invent. Sometimes we build upon existing work. Our town is worth the effort so don't stop. Just try to observe, learn, collaborate, include, cooperate, and grow along with the other folks trying to do some good whenever possible. 

So when you are bored  & have a few spare minutes, check out some of these past & present initiatives, how they came about, what they accomplished -

Memphis Jobs Conference, Volunteer Services Bureau, Future Memphis, Leadership Memphis, Goals for Memphis (Leadership Academy, New Memphis Institute), MILE at U of M, Volunteer Center of Memphis Volunteer Mid-South), Hands on Memphis, Mpact, Carnival Memphis, Memphis Manifesto, Bioworks Foundation, Volunteer Odyssey, 100 Black Men, Make Memphis, City Leadership, Choose901, CreateMemphis, Memphis Fast Forward,  Links, Greater Memphis Chamber (Mid-South Common Market, Think Memphis, Memphis 2005), Memphis Tomorrow, NEXUS, The Junior League of Memphis, Memphis Urban League Young Professionals, Mayor's Young Professionals Council, Shelby Co. TN , Mayor's Innovation Delivery Team, GiVE 365 and that's just long enough of a list that I will hear from someone I forgot to include! 

There are many more, but this is sample enough to show that people care enough to get involved, and I don't need any magazine published on some coast to validate me or my city beyond that assurance. Amen.