As we are celebrating Thanksgiving, I like to remind myself to be grateful for the simple things in life. It was my family's goal this year to find a cozy cabin to get away from the daily rat race and connect with one another in a simpler, yet deeper way.
As we drove through the windy, snow covered mountains of Southern Virginia, we left behind densely developed suburbs, chain stores and light pollution. Our own mobile family pod, listening to the sound track of "Interstellar", playing old fashioned guessing games, while traveling through the darkness on search to find our piece of get away haven.
After causing our car GPS to suffer from major confusion as it tried to keep track of country road coordinates and unchartered Google Map locations, we relied on good old printed directions and our own navigational instincts to find our final destination. The ever so useful smartphone flashlight app guided us down the dark hill towards the entrance of the cabin, only a door seperated us from our holiday retreat: a rustic Appalachian style cabin, evoking a bit of an L.L. Bean commercial in us, black lab mix in tow, wearing fleece shirts in style and cozying up on a woven rocking chair next to the fire place. The digital connection made way for the analog bonding.
It is these quiet, peaceful, slower places on earth that allow me to look inward, to count my blessings and to be completely fulfilled with the pleasures of a simpler life. On our way here, we created a mental list of all the things we wanted to do, a list of all the things that we do not practice often enough, but promised to accomplish during this get away: sit by the fire place and play games - check - family dart competition - check - watching the night sky through the telescope - check - enjoy a cup of hot apple cider on the back porch rocking chairs - check - playing football next to the cabin - check - reading books - check - having a nice Thanksgiving meal as a family - check.
There is nothing I miss, everything that mattes is right around me. No discount big enough would have had me stand in line on Black Friday or sadly, even on Thanksgiving evening. My Black Friday accounted for profits in the family business, writing black numbers for good time and memories.
And as the Black Friday craze seemed to have crossed the Atlantic, showering shoppers in England with amazing bargains, I have found my own deal, to which I don't have to hurry, beat the crowd or rob retail employees of their own ultimate American holiday. I studied business, I get it: in the end, the balance sheet needs to be equal on both sides: your debit side (assets) is where you put your money in, your memories, your time with family and friends - it shows your future, what your money/memories are worth. The other side is your credit, how you funded your assets (either yourself or via other parties), how you made your memories possible. From that point of view, it seems that we have to invest into time with family, into slowing down, increasing our equity, so that we can enjoy our assets for years to come. Keep it simple, keep it balanced.
And as the fire place warms the cozy hut, I unpack the tealights I brought, enjoy my Lebkuchen (German style gingerbread cookies), Mandel Spekulatius (Almond Spice Cookies), a hot cup of Gluehwein (mulled wine) and open the Advent Calender that my mom sent me, guiding me through one of my favorite times of the year.
May your Thanksgiving have been blessed with the wealth of simplicity and be the beginning of a peaceful and joyous holiday season!
Friday, November 28, 2014
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Life is Like a Box of Chocolates
As reform of the U.S. immigration system is in the news again, I pondered the choices that people make each and every day to leave their home country and establish a new life somewhere else. Politics aside, those stories stem from real people with real lives that have stitched the cultural patches of the American quilt.
My own extended family has an immigration background. Both of my parents left the former German Democratic Republic (East Germany) as refugees right before the wall was built. With just a couple of suitcases and the most important documents, they arrived in a West German refugee camp, a country that shared a language with their former home, but not all cultural components. My father's family had to leave behind my aunt, who was expecting her first child and was not able to follow them before the construction of the wall was finished.
My father in law left the impoverished region of post-war Black Forest in Germany in the 50s and arrived under sponsorship in California with one suitecase and $25. He was a trained painter, and knew that going back was not an option. He had to make it work and was able to live the American Dream through hard labor and perseverance.
I am myself an immigrant. Albeit a choice I made not out of economic hardship or political prosecution, but out of love. I went through culture shock, adapted to my new "Wahlheimat" (my chosen home) and emerged as a German-American hybrid of sorts.
Over the years, I found myself drawn to people from different countries, always curious about their reasons for leaving their "Heimat" (home country). Here are a few of the stories that touched my heart:
We will never really know who all these people are whom we categorize as "immigrants", but we owe them one thing: listening to their story. They are human beings, parents, spouses, men and women who oftentimes don't leave their home country because they want to see the world. They leave everything that they have ever known and what meant the world to them because they would otherwise not be able to survive, make a decent living and raise their children. They came for hope, they came for love, they came for a better life. And these are the stories we may hear, if we tune in.
My own extended family has an immigration background. Both of my parents left the former German Democratic Republic (East Germany) as refugees right before the wall was built. With just a couple of suitcases and the most important documents, they arrived in a West German refugee camp, a country that shared a language with their former home, but not all cultural components. My father's family had to leave behind my aunt, who was expecting her first child and was not able to follow them before the construction of the wall was finished.
My father in law left the impoverished region of post-war Black Forest in Germany in the 50s and arrived under sponsorship in California with one suitecase and $25. He was a trained painter, and knew that going back was not an option. He had to make it work and was able to live the American Dream through hard labor and perseverance.
I am myself an immigrant. Albeit a choice I made not out of economic hardship or political prosecution, but out of love. I went through culture shock, adapted to my new "Wahlheimat" (my chosen home) and emerged as a German-American hybrid of sorts.
Over the years, I found myself drawn to people from different countries, always curious about their reasons for leaving their "Heimat" (home country). Here are a few of the stories that touched my heart:
- I have gotten to know refugees from the former Yugoslavia, where a terrible sectarian war in the 1990s and sniper attacks caused a family to leave their beloved town of Sarajevo to ensure a safer life for their 8 year old son. They became our neighbors, we shared a European background and learned to love their coffee culture. Their son became fluent in English practically over night, reciting "Life is like a box of chocolate, you never know what you're gonna get" in that perfect Southern accent by Tom Hanks in "Forest Gump". His father was a former engineer for IBM, who now worked as a pizza delivery man. There was a lot of sadness for leaving their beautiful country which doesn't exist anymore; their son gave them hope and paved the way for a new existense.
- Shortly before the fall of the Soviet Union a young Ukrainian couple was able to come to the U.S. under amnesty consideration. They were both trained teachers, he was an interpreter as well. Years later, they were Ukraininan language instructors for me and my husband, as we were preparing for our move to their country of origin. They slipped small anecdotes from the past into their lessons, such as the one about the aftermath of the Chernobyl accident, where all teachers were asked to report back to school with rubber boots and assist in a school cleaning by hosing down the roof with water. Upon our departure, they gave us their cousin's address, whose family we befriended and who taught us the richness of their culture.
- There is an Ethiopian family, who came to the U.S. via winning the green card lottery, the lucky ticket to come to the land of dreams. As most immigrants, they had to work their way up, get certified again in their professions and push their children to perform at the top of their class in school. They still refer to Ethiopia as their home country, longing to see family and friends, but it is their children's future that keeps them here. There is no alternative, no turning around, just moving forward. I learned about the Ethiopian coffee ceremony, roasting green coffee beans, fake grass scattered across the living room floor to replicate the outdoors and incense burning, filling the house with smoke. I danced Ethiopian dances and practiced ululation, a rapid tongue trill to express strong emotions and learned to love their food, wrapped in injera, the spongy, sourtasting flatbread.
- Another aquaintance of mine left her home country to seek medical help for her son at a major American research university. They left everything behind, their beautiful house, their employment, their belongings, their younger son's toys, their friends and family. Despite not being able to get the medical outcome they had hoped for, they decided to stay for now - one of their older children planning to go to college here. His enrollment status dilemma is a story in itself and shows how difficult it is to navigate the complicated immigration system despite English fluency. The young man is caught between two chairs during the college application process, not qualified as an overseas student, not qualified as an in/out of state student - so what box to check? What does apply? What scholarships is he eligible for?
- My hairdresser is from Korea - a woman who is working hard to get her two children through college and whose faith is deeper than the ocean. She has a little English-Korean dictionary on her table at the hairdresser. In her free time, you will see her reading it, always trying to improve her English just a little bit more. I told her how much I loved living in her home country, a place she has not visited in years. The tickets are too expensive, the journey too long, there is too much work to do here. It visibly pains her when I try to share some of my favourite memories of Korea. So we have decided to find more neutral conversation topics, such as gardening. We talk about how our flowers are in bloom, which ones did not make it through the last winter and which ones are our favorite: I learned she adores daffodils in the spring. I have never seen her garden, but it sounds lovely when she describes it. She is trying to bloom where she was planted, the reasons for her immigration story I will never know.
We will never really know who all these people are whom we categorize as "immigrants", but we owe them one thing: listening to their story. They are human beings, parents, spouses, men and women who oftentimes don't leave their home country because they want to see the world. They leave everything that they have ever known and what meant the world to them because they would otherwise not be able to survive, make a decent living and raise their children. They came for hope, they came for love, they came for a better life. And these are the stories we may hear, if we tune in.
Friday, October 10, 2014
Nobel Peace Prize, Universal Humanity and the Women in My Life
I had the privilege to spend a weekend with some women that like me, have arrived at a point in their life, where your life's path has reached a point where several other pathways branch off, a cross point of achievements, dreams, experiences, goals and regrets. I embrace this moment of choice because it is all about growing and blooming, finding ourselves all over again, in a new light. Reflecting on the past, that gives us roots and allows us to branch out in new directions.
In our wonderful weekend contemplations about womanhood, one of the women pointed out how women in the western world support each other less, resulting in a very insular existence for some, despite gender equality for the most part. By breaking free out of traditional gender roles and emancipate women to break through glass ceilings, ultimately entering the male world, we in the western industrialized world enjoy a tremendous wealth of opportunities. How do we support other women as they are weighing their options? Do we judge their choices and what is true emancipation in a cultural context?
Emancipation always includes an element of revolution and rebellion against set laws and expectations. There is no one exclusive definition of it, but rather nuances of freedom and rights that find their own place in a culture. I wanted to shed some light on women's liberation from deeply rooted social and cultural norms. Obviously that is the most challenging form of emancipation because it opens up the discussion of universality of humanity versus cultural relativity.
I do agree with Professor Karen Musalo, who was the lead attorney's for Fauziya Kasinga, a teenager from Togo, West Africa, who was granted political asylym in the United States in 1996 based on the basis of gender related persecution of women (source: http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v8n3/rightsandcultures.html). This case was a precedence since it granted political asylum in the United States to protect Kasinga from tribal marriage rituals in her home country of Togo.
Today, another young woman, Malala Yousafzai, made history for receiving the 2014 Nobel Peace Price (along with Kailash Satyarthi documenting and fighting child labor; http://nobelpeaceprize.org/) for speaking up about girl's education. Blogging about these issues is what caught the Taliban's attention on Malala's outspokenness and their determination to silence her. We know now, that Malala's voice is louder than ever. Her past has shaped her future and inspires girls around the world.
Breaking through tribal rules, religious beliefs, gender-based laws and corporate glass ceilings is what brings women around the world together under one goal: to be treated equally. Leaving our insular existence behind as we come to the crossroads of life, women need other women to cheer them on, to validate their choices and build supportive communities. Female nature is to nurture and to protect, to allow the seed to grow and the flower to blossom where planted. It is not what we stand up for or what choices we make, it is about being heard as an equal. Only then can universal humanity override cultural relativity. No more mommy wars, no more child brides, no more woman's trafficking, no more shariah law punishments, no more preference of unborn boys over unborn girls.
As I look at the women in my life, I am continuously astonished and humbled by their strength and courage: the mother, who left her home country with her son under asylym to escape sniper attacks in Sarajevo; the woman that battles physical pain every day because there is no cure; the woman that goes back to school in her 40s to learn English, the woman that decides to leave an abusive relationship with her two young daughters; the woman that starts her own business; the woman who loves another woman; the woman that allows her daughters to take off their veil and let their long hair fall over their shoulder; the mother who is making her house a home; the woman who wrote poems that were never published; the woman who is a trailblazer in a male dominated profession; the woman whose partner is deployed; the woman that sat in bomb shelters for hours; the woman that listens and understands; the woman who gives unconditionable love each and every day.
There is no right or wrong, but resilience to accept the choices we have made and give meaning to our lives. If we are able to acknowledge that in each other, we have truly reached liberation of women and for women.
In our wonderful weekend contemplations about womanhood, one of the women pointed out how women in the western world support each other less, resulting in a very insular existence for some, despite gender equality for the most part. By breaking free out of traditional gender roles and emancipate women to break through glass ceilings, ultimately entering the male world, we in the western industrialized world enjoy a tremendous wealth of opportunities. How do we support other women as they are weighing their options? Do we judge their choices and what is true emancipation in a cultural context?
Emancipation always includes an element of revolution and rebellion against set laws and expectations. There is no one exclusive definition of it, but rather nuances of freedom and rights that find their own place in a culture. I wanted to shed some light on women's liberation from deeply rooted social and cultural norms. Obviously that is the most challenging form of emancipation because it opens up the discussion of universality of humanity versus cultural relativity. I do agree with Professor Karen Musalo, who was the lead attorney's for Fauziya Kasinga, a teenager from Togo, West Africa, who was granted political asylym in the United States in 1996 based on the basis of gender related persecution of women (source: http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v8n3/rightsandcultures.html). This case was a precedence since it granted political asylum in the United States to protect Kasinga from tribal marriage rituals in her home country of Togo.
Today, another young woman, Malala Yousafzai, made history for receiving the 2014 Nobel Peace Price (along with Kailash Satyarthi documenting and fighting child labor; http://nobelpeaceprize.org/) for speaking up about girl's education. Blogging about these issues is what caught the Taliban's attention on Malala's outspokenness and their determination to silence her. We know now, that Malala's voice is louder than ever. Her past has shaped her future and inspires girls around the world.
Breaking through tribal rules, religious beliefs, gender-based laws and corporate glass ceilings is what brings women around the world together under one goal: to be treated equally. Leaving our insular existence behind as we come to the crossroads of life, women need other women to cheer them on, to validate their choices and build supportive communities. Female nature is to nurture and to protect, to allow the seed to grow and the flower to blossom where planted. It is not what we stand up for or what choices we make, it is about being heard as an equal. Only then can universal humanity override cultural relativity. No more mommy wars, no more child brides, no more woman's trafficking, no more shariah law punishments, no more preference of unborn boys over unborn girls.
As I look at the women in my life, I am continuously astonished and humbled by their strength and courage: the mother, who left her home country with her son under asylym to escape sniper attacks in Sarajevo; the woman that battles physical pain every day because there is no cure; the woman that goes back to school in her 40s to learn English, the woman that decides to leave an abusive relationship with her two young daughters; the woman that starts her own business; the woman who loves another woman; the woman that allows her daughters to take off their veil and let their long hair fall over their shoulder; the mother who is making her house a home; the woman who wrote poems that were never published; the woman who is a trailblazer in a male dominated profession; the woman whose partner is deployed; the woman that sat in bomb shelters for hours; the woman that listens and understands; the woman who gives unconditionable love each and every day.
There is no right or wrong, but resilience to accept the choices we have made and give meaning to our lives. If we are able to acknowledge that in each other, we have truly reached liberation of women and for women.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Foreign Students, Global Ambassadors and Fun, Fun, Elmo!
Today's radio broadcast on the Kojo Nnamdi Show, aired on WAMU, my lifeline to the world and critical issues, stirred up a strong emotion in me about how insular our view of the world and its inhabitants is. The topic of the show was the enrollment of foreign students in universities in the Washington DC area (for a podcast of the show go to http://thekojonnamdishow.org/).
According to data by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from January 2014, by far most of the foreign students in the United States came from China, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Taiwan:
A panel of experts connected the enrollment numbers to our local economy, immigration politics, STEM (Science, Math, Engineering, Math) workforce and global world at large. One caller's view struck a chord in me, which caused me to blog on this issue. Specifically, the caller spoke out of fear that these students were taking "our" education "away" which "we" built. The panel was speechless, scrambling for a reaction, as I was trying to understand my own sudden reaction to this topic.
One of the panelists, Neil Ruiz, a Senior Analyst and Associate Fellow, Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution, made one very important point in my opinion: he viewed these foreign students as true global ambassadors, that might go back to their home countries, where they apply their new skills and directly influence their domestic economy.
Factually speaking, the United States still offers highly valued graduate and post graduate education, which attracts qualified students from around the globe, albeit still only making up about 4% of the total students body in those universities. Our sons and daughters learn problem solving with classmates from different backgrounds in elementary school already. We should embrace international students bodies at universities more, as no free nation in the world stands alone in its attempt to solve global issues. Diversity and globalization go hand in hand. If we want to tackle the biggest challenge, that humanity has ever faced, namely global warming, we need to collaborate, align our STEM resources and share knowledge, not preventing others from riding along on the learning curve.
By enrolling foreign students in American universities, we invest into the future of their home countries. Study abroad opportunities empower women to gain a higher education, create global networks and foster research in critical areas. Our university bound sons and daughters will benefit through increased global awareness and connecting to people in their field of study from around the world. Politicians and companies's CEOs collaborate all the time, academia should be the third component of interconnectedness.
The local economy benefits from foreign students in much the same way as from tourism in this region. Restaurants, taxi companies, bike rentals, entertainment centers, etc. base their existence on students in general. Foreign students might even be more interested in experiencing American culture first hand and thus immerse themselves more into the local economy.
I understand this discussion can not go without shedding light on the validity of our immigration politics. But I would much rather put the power into the communities in which our children grow up in. It is here, where the change has to happen, so that we don't live in a fear driven world. The strength of the educational system in the United States has always been its community aspect. "It takes a village to raise a child", Hillary Clinton once said. I will state: "It takes a world to raise a child". My plea for education is simple: teach foreign languages as a core subject from an early age on, place globes and world maps in classrooms and continue to organize intercultural events at schools and universities.
And let's be honest, with Public Diplomacy, Hollywood and Sesame Street, young students abroad learn about the United States and what is/might be "typical American". I remember brochures by "EF Tours" (Education First) lying in my German high school's subschool office. I was intrigued by the possibility of spending a high school year abroad. However, it was not until college, where an internship in Los Angeles taught me the challenges of the medical technology market and ultimately led me to research this topic more as part of my master thesis.
The effect of globalization on education might be represented through this cute video clip by Sesame Street's character "Elmo". In the video "Fun, Fun, Elmo", the red fuzzy character teaches basic Mandarin Chinese, all on scene what I might think of a typical street in New York:
My intent of including this video is to demonstrate that we have adopted parts of other cultures so well into our American society, it might be time for other countries to do the same. Education is the basis for all economic development and can be a great equalizer among nations and ultimately lead to regional stability.
According to data by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from January 2014, by far most of the foreign students in the United States came from China, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Taiwan:
Source: SVEP (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System)
One of the panelists, Neil Ruiz, a Senior Analyst and Associate Fellow, Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution, made one very important point in my opinion: he viewed these foreign students as true global ambassadors, that might go back to their home countries, where they apply their new skills and directly influence their domestic economy.
Factually speaking, the United States still offers highly valued graduate and post graduate education, which attracts qualified students from around the globe, albeit still only making up about 4% of the total students body in those universities. Our sons and daughters learn problem solving with classmates from different backgrounds in elementary school already. We should embrace international students bodies at universities more, as no free nation in the world stands alone in its attempt to solve global issues. Diversity and globalization go hand in hand. If we want to tackle the biggest challenge, that humanity has ever faced, namely global warming, we need to collaborate, align our STEM resources and share knowledge, not preventing others from riding along on the learning curve.
By enrolling foreign students in American universities, we invest into the future of their home countries. Study abroad opportunities empower women to gain a higher education, create global networks and foster research in critical areas. Our university bound sons and daughters will benefit through increased global awareness and connecting to people in their field of study from around the world. Politicians and companies's CEOs collaborate all the time, academia should be the third component of interconnectedness.
The local economy benefits from foreign students in much the same way as from tourism in this region. Restaurants, taxi companies, bike rentals, entertainment centers, etc. base their existence on students in general. Foreign students might even be more interested in experiencing American culture first hand and thus immerse themselves more into the local economy.
I understand this discussion can not go without shedding light on the validity of our immigration politics. But I would much rather put the power into the communities in which our children grow up in. It is here, where the change has to happen, so that we don't live in a fear driven world. The strength of the educational system in the United States has always been its community aspect. "It takes a village to raise a child", Hillary Clinton once said. I will state: "It takes a world to raise a child". My plea for education is simple: teach foreign languages as a core subject from an early age on, place globes and world maps in classrooms and continue to organize intercultural events at schools and universities.
And let's be honest, with Public Diplomacy, Hollywood and Sesame Street, young students abroad learn about the United States and what is/might be "typical American". I remember brochures by "EF Tours" (Education First) lying in my German high school's subschool office. I was intrigued by the possibility of spending a high school year abroad. However, it was not until college, where an internship in Los Angeles taught me the challenges of the medical technology market and ultimately led me to research this topic more as part of my master thesis.
The effect of globalization on education might be represented through this cute video clip by Sesame Street's character "Elmo". In the video "Fun, Fun, Elmo", the red fuzzy character teaches basic Mandarin Chinese, all on scene what I might think of a typical street in New York:
My intent of including this video is to demonstrate that we have adopted parts of other cultures so well into our American society, it might be time for other countries to do the same. Education is the basis for all economic development and can be a great equalizer among nations and ultimately lead to regional stability.
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Social Media, Information Poverty and Sworn Sisters
Quick, quick, can you name all the media sites, through which you or an organization can connect to others and share content? Here is a little cheat sheet: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, Flickr, Vine, LinkedIn, RenRen, QQ, Sina, etc. Most likely, we all have used at least one of these social media sites to connect with others in order to share an organization's profile (product placement) or our own profile ("self placement"). The world seems to have become smaller, friends and family closer, the global population more informed and opinionated. We use logos and symbols to share our deepest beliefs and embrace cyberspace as a medium of self-expression. Events are easily marketed through social media, online fundraising is casting a wider net and privacy issues are challenged with every click. We experience a sense of information overload or an urge to always be up to date, being connected, not able to be without any electronic device feeding us the latest news.
Part of the reason for this permanent urge to connect is the speed at which information is disseminated. Information is knowledge. Knowledge is power. Just imagine for a moment that the Ebola virus ravages through your immediate region: emergency notifications would be reaching you within seconds because we have signed up to receive them through respective infrastructure channels. You would be able to search the CDC website for precautions; schools and office closings would follow and supermarkets would experience a rush for basic non perishable food items. Not so in West Africa, where the epidemic has a grip on several countries. City residents might have access to some news coverage, but rural areas are so remote and off the grid, that it is not a choice to be offline, but rather a sad and devastating reality. The global inequality of access to the internet becomes very apparent in situations like this, resulting in a different type of poverty, in "information poverty". Instead of twitter feeds, pinterest pins and facebook posts, handwritten warning signs on cardboard are held up by people as they are riding on pick up trucks through remote villages in order to share the information about the virus. Information is knowledge. Knowledge saves lives. How fast can we pass on information, so that more lives can be saved, more myths and beliefs about disease prevention be debunked?
All through history, mankind has always shared information that we validated as vital for someone to know. Smoke and lamp signals, hieroglyphics, individual letter printing press, pony express and pigeon airmail all served that purpose. Later on, telegraph, telephone, fax, and emails took over, so social media is just an innovative extension of sharing information. We always determined who and who is not the recipient of that information, given the premises that the recipients is literate or can decipher the message.
Secret languages, coding and cyber security are byproducts of this technological advancement. What struck me as a fascinating secret language was a "women's only" language from 19th century China, called Nu shu (translated as "women's writing"), that was not discovered until the 1960s. This linguistic gem took the world by surprise in that it was an entirely different written language than traditional Chinese. A language invented by women for other women, the sworn sisters, as described in Lisa See's book "Snowflower and the Secret Fan".
The secret language was embroidered on handkerchiefs, hidden in weavings and painted in the folds of fan, which found their way outside the compound walls, behind which these women were living in total isolation. It is extraordinary that this language existed for hundreds of years, hidden from the eyes of men, representing a form of emancipation in a time, when women's lives were more limited that we can fathom today. And at the same time, each hidden message inside a fan or handkerchief is like a facebook post, a glimpse into a day, the description of emotions following the statement - only without the smiley face symbols and snapshots of our adorable offsprings.
With the most recent upheavals around the world, I reevaluated the need for social media. Going back to my thought in previous blogs, about the Maslow Pyramid of Needs, I feel that the use of social media greatly depends on the socioeconomic rung on the global ladder a country has reached. The more of the basic needs are met, the more the individual uses social media for the individualistic purpose of self presentation. The further down on the Maslow Pyramid of Needs a country finds itself, the more these sites are used to raise awareness for the political and/or economic struggles under which the population lives, a sort of cyber revolution. Instead of cute kittens, we might see a video of a military attack.
Despite the criticism of social media, its use and applications, it is a tool for the global population to come together by choice. It is in our human nature to connect with others. Communicating with others broadens our understanding of each other, allows us to look at things from a different perspective and might even leave behind a human milestone in the historic continuum. And if you choose not to connect, there is always the option of going offline for a while - but it remains a free choice of an individual and should be available to all. It is a part of the freedom of speech and part of self-preservation, as much as the human connection. The next time you google, tweet or pin, appreciate the wealth of information that is available to you at your fingertip.
Part of the reason for this permanent urge to connect is the speed at which information is disseminated. Information is knowledge. Knowledge is power. Just imagine for a moment that the Ebola virus ravages through your immediate region: emergency notifications would be reaching you within seconds because we have signed up to receive them through respective infrastructure channels. You would be able to search the CDC website for precautions; schools and office closings would follow and supermarkets would experience a rush for basic non perishable food items. Not so in West Africa, where the epidemic has a grip on several countries. City residents might have access to some news coverage, but rural areas are so remote and off the grid, that it is not a choice to be offline, but rather a sad and devastating reality. The global inequality of access to the internet becomes very apparent in situations like this, resulting in a different type of poverty, in "information poverty". Instead of twitter feeds, pinterest pins and facebook posts, handwritten warning signs on cardboard are held up by people as they are riding on pick up trucks through remote villages in order to share the information about the virus. Information is knowledge. Knowledge saves lives. How fast can we pass on information, so that more lives can be saved, more myths and beliefs about disease prevention be debunked?
All through history, mankind has always shared information that we validated as vital for someone to know. Smoke and lamp signals, hieroglyphics, individual letter printing press, pony express and pigeon airmail all served that purpose. Later on, telegraph, telephone, fax, and emails took over, so social media is just an innovative extension of sharing information. We always determined who and who is not the recipient of that information, given the premises that the recipients is literate or can decipher the message.
With the most recent upheavals around the world, I reevaluated the need for social media. Going back to my thought in previous blogs, about the Maslow Pyramid of Needs, I feel that the use of social media greatly depends on the socioeconomic rung on the global ladder a country has reached. The more of the basic needs are met, the more the individual uses social media for the individualistic purpose of self presentation. The further down on the Maslow Pyramid of Needs a country finds itself, the more these sites are used to raise awareness for the political and/or economic struggles under which the population lives, a sort of cyber revolution. Instead of cute kittens, we might see a video of a military attack.
Despite the criticism of social media, its use and applications, it is a tool for the global population to come together by choice. It is in our human nature to connect with others. Communicating with others broadens our understanding of each other, allows us to look at things from a different perspective and might even leave behind a human milestone in the historic continuum. And if you choose not to connect, there is always the option of going offline for a while - but it remains a free choice of an individual and should be available to all. It is a part of the freedom of speech and part of self-preservation, as much as the human connection. The next time you google, tweet or pin, appreciate the wealth of information that is available to you at your fingertip.
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Maslow's Pyramid of Needs, Environmental Stewardship and I.V. Bags for Trees
I love starting my days with a walk along our neighborhood lake, immersing myself into the rich hues of greens and the scent of honeysuckle and wild roses. The walk only takes 20 minutes out of my morning before work, but they are 20 minutes of peace, inner contemplation and being one with Mother Earth, providing mental nourishment for a day - my green time does not require golf club memberships.
In a recent article about the Mekong River, I gathered that the English name of this mighty river system is derived from the Lao and Thai name "Mae Nam Khong" , meaning Mother of Water. I found it fascinating how we maternalize nature, clearly suggesting that nature is giving us life and nurtures us. Across all indigenous people and religions, Mother Earth plays a central role about understanding where we come from, and that life has been given to us, a gift that is to be cherished.
In my part of the world, nature fulfills our recreational needs, which when I look at it from a global perspective, is somewhat of a luxury. In the eye of climate change and ongoing industrialization of populous countries, it seems that preserving nature and feeding people is only going to become a greater worldwide challenge, which the developed nations must be willing to face. Unsustainable investment in the name of globalization is not the answer.
The rather utilitarian use of nature (i.e. using natural resources for survival) stands in stark contrast to viewing nature in Western nations as a place to be protected, a place for sheer enjoyment and relaxation from our rat race lives. Obviously, as poverty decreases, the recreational use of the outdoor space increases, much like in the Pyramid of Needs (Hierarchy of Needs) by the psychologist Abraham Maslow, which describes the levels of human motivation based on meeting needs. In accordance with this theory, one can transfer the different levels of needs to any situation that requires human motivation in order to jump up to the next level until we reach the highest level of human motivation: self-actualization.
Getting back to global economic development and its impact on nature and the planet at large, we find ourselves in the midst of the most challenging time to align economic growth with environmental stewardship. Some people claim this to be a time of national security as well, a global darwinism over natural resources feeding our hunger for gains in GDP, factory output and food production. So, how do we all as whole, protect Mother Earth and what changes in our own lives are we willing to make?
Most of the world still operates along an agricultural bell curve, where an increased input eventually leads to a diminished output. food and clean water are the most basic needs for a human being along with shelter and safety. As long as people are "stuck" on these two levels of Maslow's pyramid, the chances for advancing upward are low, nature remains a sometimes unforgiving companion, not giving enough, not nurturing, not a place for recreation. Darwin's and Maslow's theories intersect in these instances.
International aid programs and non-government organizations focus on these basic needs and lift people out of poverty and into the higher levels of self-awareness and self-actualization. Logically, if we are not able to fight poverty and safety, we can not expect people to become stewards for the environment, because natural resources will only be consumed for survival, no self-motivation to preserve it.
I envision better environmental partnerships between wealthy and emerging countries, a platform for exchanging scientific findings and best practices. Tied into these partnerships need to be educational opportunities for teachers, professors and students to increase awareness, teach advocacy and proactiveness. When people feel empowered, they pool their human resources and engage themselves in problem solution.
The UN Global Impact initiative (http://www.unglobalcompact.org/AboutTheGC/index.html) works with businesses around the world to ensure sustainable and inclusive economic growth within the framework of ten principles in the areas of human rights, the environment, labor and anti-corruption. This voluntary and network-based organization is able to operate in a non-bureaucratic environment, connecting the UN to the private sector.
Environmental stewardship and sustainability is a responsibility we all share. We might just be pulling at different points of the same rope, but we are all pulling our own weight. Industrial nations need to lead with promoting best practices locally and abroad. Using poor countries as a way to clean up our own mess, e.g. e-waste, by shipping electronic trash to places in Africa and Southeast Asia, where children pick through the electronic waste for valuable metals that can be recycled for a few dollars, while exposing themselves to toxins is not just unacceptable, but very short sighted. The problem here is the lack of law on our part to prevent this type of activity and the millions of poor people on the other hand trying to make a living under dire and corrupt circumstances.
Everyone of us can make small changes in our daily life, how we consume, what we consume and how we teach the next generation of environmental stewards. It takes one spark to ignite a passion in someone somewhere. Another organization, "Eco Tipping Points" ( http://www.ecotippingpoints.org/photo-video.html) collects local stories from around the world, where individuals and/or small communities found ways to live more sustainable. This is the momentum needed to activate people directly in their communities, to bring their challenges and projects to the surface for greater global collaboration.
A personal encounter comes to my mind, a visit to a Buddhist temple in South Korea, where a huge tree adorned the center of the temple grounds.
An IV bag stuck in its trunk, as if the monks wanted to make sure that the tree survives or is healed. A tree of life, lovingly cared for.
My hope is that people will continue to love nature, see the beauty in it and find peace. Only if we really learn to love the outdoors, are we willing to take on stewardship and make the political, economic and personal changes necessary to sustain our planet's intricate balance. It all starts with a community effort, reusing materials, consume fewer resources, a stream cleanup, storm drain labeling, etc. Every small effort has an effect somewhere in the world - after all there is only one Mother Earth.
In a recent article about the Mekong River, I gathered that the English name of this mighty river system is derived from the Lao and Thai name "Mae Nam Khong" , meaning Mother of Water. I found it fascinating how we maternalize nature, clearly suggesting that nature is giving us life and nurtures us. Across all indigenous people and religions, Mother Earth plays a central role about understanding where we come from, and that life has been given to us, a gift that is to be cherished.
In my part of the world, nature fulfills our recreational needs, which when I look at it from a global perspective, is somewhat of a luxury. In the eye of climate change and ongoing industrialization of populous countries, it seems that preserving nature and feeding people is only going to become a greater worldwide challenge, which the developed nations must be willing to face. Unsustainable investment in the name of globalization is not the answer.
The rather utilitarian use of nature (i.e. using natural resources for survival) stands in stark contrast to viewing nature in Western nations as a place to be protected, a place for sheer enjoyment and relaxation from our rat race lives. Obviously, as poverty decreases, the recreational use of the outdoor space increases, much like in the Pyramid of Needs (Hierarchy of Needs) by the psychologist Abraham Maslow, which describes the levels of human motivation based on meeting needs. In accordance with this theory, one can transfer the different levels of needs to any situation that requires human motivation in order to jump up to the next level until we reach the highest level of human motivation: self-actualization.
Most of the world still operates along an agricultural bell curve, where an increased input eventually leads to a diminished output. food and clean water are the most basic needs for a human being along with shelter and safety. As long as people are "stuck" on these two levels of Maslow's pyramid, the chances for advancing upward are low, nature remains a sometimes unforgiving companion, not giving enough, not nurturing, not a place for recreation. Darwin's and Maslow's theories intersect in these instances.
International aid programs and non-government organizations focus on these basic needs and lift people out of poverty and into the higher levels of self-awareness and self-actualization. Logically, if we are not able to fight poverty and safety, we can not expect people to become stewards for the environment, because natural resources will only be consumed for survival, no self-motivation to preserve it.
I envision better environmental partnerships between wealthy and emerging countries, a platform for exchanging scientific findings and best practices. Tied into these partnerships need to be educational opportunities for teachers, professors and students to increase awareness, teach advocacy and proactiveness. When people feel empowered, they pool their human resources and engage themselves in problem solution.
The UN Global Impact initiative (http://www.unglobalcompact.org/AboutTheGC/index.html) works with businesses around the world to ensure sustainable and inclusive economic growth within the framework of ten principles in the areas of human rights, the environment, labor and anti-corruption. This voluntary and network-based organization is able to operate in a non-bureaucratic environment, connecting the UN to the private sector.
Environmental stewardship and sustainability is a responsibility we all share. We might just be pulling at different points of the same rope, but we are all pulling our own weight. Industrial nations need to lead with promoting best practices locally and abroad. Using poor countries as a way to clean up our own mess, e.g. e-waste, by shipping electronic trash to places in Africa and Southeast Asia, where children pick through the electronic waste for valuable metals that can be recycled for a few dollars, while exposing themselves to toxins is not just unacceptable, but very short sighted. The problem here is the lack of law on our part to prevent this type of activity and the millions of poor people on the other hand trying to make a living under dire and corrupt circumstances.
Everyone of us can make small changes in our daily life, how we consume, what we consume and how we teach the next generation of environmental stewards. It takes one spark to ignite a passion in someone somewhere. Another organization, "Eco Tipping Points" ( http://www.ecotippingpoints.org/photo-video.html) collects local stories from around the world, where individuals and/or small communities found ways to live more sustainable. This is the momentum needed to activate people directly in their communities, to bring their challenges and projects to the surface for greater global collaboration.
A personal encounter comes to my mind, a visit to a Buddhist temple in South Korea, where a huge tree adorned the center of the temple grounds.
An IV bag stuck in its trunk, as if the monks wanted to make sure that the tree survives or is healed. A tree of life, lovingly cared for.
My hope is that people will continue to love nature, see the beauty in it and find peace. Only if we really learn to love the outdoors, are we willing to take on stewardship and make the political, economic and personal changes necessary to sustain our planet's intricate balance. It all starts with a community effort, reusing materials, consume fewer resources, a stream cleanup, storm drain labeling, etc. Every small effort has an effect somewhere in the world - after all there is only one Mother Earth.
Thursday, April 17, 2014
The Dandelion - Metamorphosis and Resilience
The Dandelion
In my opinion, the dandelion is a very tough plant! Not only, because it defies any gardener's good intention of eradicating it, but because it goes through an amazing and beautiful transformation, that is hidden inside its core. The tiniest of cracks might provide a dandelion seed with enough space in order to take root, thrive, grow and produce a beautiful yellow flower.
I remember growing up in the rural Black Forest in Germany, where grass fields would turn into yellow carpets in the spring. We used to collect the dandelion's golden flowers and create necklaces and headbands from them. They were a sign of winter's end, of a new season to start, of being able to wear short socks with our skirts.
Later, when my first son was about two years old, he had a German children's book about a ladybug living on a dandelion flower. The petals provided him with a safe home as they closed around the bug's body every night. One day, the flower would not open, worrying the ladybug. The inevitable and beautiful transformation of the yellow flower to a silver fluff ball, was illustrated by each seed flying off with its own sparkling umbrella. My son loved to run his little fingers over the shiny page. It was beautiful, and it was the beginning of a great journey, that would end possibly again on a meadow or in a crack in the sidewalk, only to produce another yellow flower that would send tiny messengers out into the world to tell its story.
"Bloom, where you are planted!", is what each seed could have said. This is not only the story of a flower, but of perseverance and strength.
In my opinion, the dandelion is a very tough plant! Not only, because it defies any gardener's good intention of eradicating it, but because it goes through an amazing and beautiful transformation, that is hidden inside its core. The tiniest of cracks might provide a dandelion seed with enough space in order to take root, thrive, grow and produce a beautiful yellow flower.
I remember growing up in the rural Black Forest in Germany, where grass fields would turn into yellow carpets in the spring. We used to collect the dandelion's golden flowers and create necklaces and headbands from them. They were a sign of winter's end, of a new season to start, of being able to wear short socks with our skirts.
Later, when my first son was about two years old, he had a German children's book about a ladybug living on a dandelion flower. The petals provided him with a safe home as they closed around the bug's body every night. One day, the flower would not open, worrying the ladybug. The inevitable and beautiful transformation of the yellow flower to a silver fluff ball, was illustrated by each seed flying off with its own sparkling umbrella. My son loved to run his little fingers over the shiny page. It was beautiful, and it was the beginning of a great journey, that would end possibly again on a meadow or in a crack in the sidewalk, only to produce another yellow flower that would send tiny messengers out into the world to tell its story.
"Bloom, where you are planted!", is what each seed could have said. This is not only the story of a flower, but of perseverance and strength.
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