Contrasting our Rights with Those of Others
Topic: Making Decisions

 In my opinion, the woman I met, who refuses to vote, needs to spend at least a year in a country where she has none of our blessed freedoms. She needs to be in a place where the government hands down decisions with a heavy hand, behaving as if it is God instead of the tyrant that such governments really are.

I've lived in a country where freedom of speech and freedom of press and freedom of choice were not a privilege.   Neither was the freedom of religion.   Of course, the lady also has the freedom not to vote.  Thereby, relinquishing her right to have a part in one of the most important elections in the history of our nation.  She has the right to be apathetic. 

The first commandment is one I'd like to see as a universal one, even though it comes from a religious text that happens to be Judeo-Christian.  No government, no institution, and no religion--in fact, no religious text--should be God.  When we allow it to be, we make the "god" a tyrant.  And that's power abuse.

Down with Apathy, Up with Choice
Topic: Making Changes

"I've seen 'em on TV.   I know what they are saying.  I'm not interested in either one.  I'll just see what happens."  That came from a middle-aged woman who opened her door to my attempt to engage her in a conversation about early voting last week.  My stomach was already churning from the reek of tobacco coming from inside the residence.  I found the repulsion of the woman's attitude more repulsive than the tobacco.

While I accept that everyone has a different idea about how to achieve "liberty and justice for all,"  the idea that individuals in a free society would choose to believe that voting is not a responsibility--that's what upsets me far more than the ones who have views far different from mine on the issues that are high on my list.

I voted yesterday and encourage you to do so.   Just in case something happens that prevents you from going to the polls on election day.  It's an opportunity I never want to miss.  What's more, I plan to be using my little set of wheels to get others to the polls on election day.   Maybe you can consider doing this, as well.

When I was in North Carolina a few years ago, one lady gave me more encouragement than anyone there.  She was the one who told me not to worry for one minute about further coordinating a speaking engagement in Raleigh.  She said this within 60 seconds of getting her on the phone, as soon as she heard I was coming there on a speaking tour.  She assured me that she knew the people who would be most interested and would see that they were assembled at Meredith College, a renowned women's college in the city.  She did!

Laura Hilton is with Interact, an organization that is about working for oppressed people.  One of it's primary concerns is sexual and domestic violence.  Laura happens to African-American. 

Interact is asking us to get involved in supporting their organization, as well as a cause for which they are working.  So I'm passing this along to you.   It only take 60 seconds!

 For every Interact friend who visits www.allscripts.com/givingback between now and Friday, Oct. 24, Allscripts will donate $3 to us, up to a possible total donation of $10,000!

Now, $3 may not sound like much but if every one of our supporters were to visit the website and watch the 1-minute video, it would amount to a sizable donation.  And, it’s a race between us and four other Triangle charities to get the most viewers and capture the largest donation. 

So please go now to www.allscripts.com/givingback, leave your name (no other information is necessary), select Interact, and watch the video called “Connect to Health.” The video humorously describes a key problem with healthcare today – the lack of connectivity between doctors, hospitals, labs and other parts of the system.  And it spells out the solution.

Share this email with your friends and acquaintances … send it to your colleagues and family.  When you forward this message, try not to include more than 25 addresses at a time to avoid your message ending up in Spam or Junk folders. Every viewing represents $3 more towards building our financial strength, so we can continue to provide great services to the community.

Now go watch the video!  J

The Courage to Heal
Topic: coping
Some of you may be interested to know that the 20th anniversary edition of The Courage to Heal is out.   http://www.amazon.com/Courage-Heal-4e-Survivors-Anniversary/dp/0061284335  No doubt the authors have learned much since the original publication.  Just as everyone in this work. 

Following "Idols"
Topic: spirituality

A lady by the name of Robin was on the Today show this morning.  Chosen because, for the past year, she's been doing everything that Oprah prefaces with "you just have to do this" or "have to have this."  She's spent about $3000 already buying things that Oprah says we all need--I doubt anything I have is on the list except for low-heel shoes (probably not the ones she recommends, though). 

Robin isn't necessarily an Oprah fan, though it sounds like she admires her about as much as I do.  She just wanted to make a very good point.  Wanted to show just how ridiculous life can become if one unquestionably follows anyone.

Patience Wanted, Not Perfection
Topic: Making Changes

Some people, including many of my students, believe that patience and passivity go hand in hand.  They do not know the difference.  This goes for some of the parents of students, as well.

Problem is that they want me to be patient when they are passive.  Or pretending.  Both of the latter P words refer to another P word.  Spelled with a big P.  You guessed it--Practice!

What makes a good teacher is the same that thing makes a good student.  That leads to a 5th P word.  Persistence.

Whether we are dealing with systems or working on ourselves, a sixth P word needs to be eliminated.  That would be Perfection.

Occasionally, we'll get things perfect.  Problem with piano, like a lot of things in life, is that what one person sees as perfect, the next will only see as Progress.   Sometimes my students come in thinking they've gotten something perfect, only to find out that I see their "accomplishment" as Pitiful!  Depending on my mood that day, I may not be as patient as they would like when that occurs.  On my good days, I'll resort to just being persistent and give them a good lecture on the importance of paying closer attention to the details they are supposed to consider important already.  That is, if they want to make music rather than just a bunch of strident noise.

Practice does NOT make perfect--at least not usually.  It does make Progress in all of us.  Keeping this in mind is essential, as we patiently approach our own personal struggles, system challenges, or with individuals who can drive us insane. 

Stress Relievers
Topic: coping

This weekend, Ron and I acquired two precious little kittens.  Brothers--we think they are brothers.  At least they are siblings.

As different as daylight and dark.  In fact, we could have named the grey one Night and the yellow one Sunshine.  Our 9-year-old neighbor had different ideas, and we liked hers.  Even before she saw them, just from the description, she decided they should be Thunder and Light'ning. 

I spent the weekend studying them, sharing them with the neighbors, attending to their needs. 

Although, when our kids were young, we had several litters of kittens and puppies both, I suppose I had less time for them back then than I do now.  Or maybe I've just become more observant.  At any rate, I was amazed at the difference in the personalities of these sweet creatures.

Sunshine, who looks like a tiger,  is the very pro-active one.  Or impulsive, depending on how you look at things from a kitten's point of view.  The fluffy grey one, Thunder, seems to accomplish just as much as Sunshine.  Yet Thunder sits back and watches to see how Sunshine approaches things before Thunder joins in. 

At one point, Sunshine was even bossy.  Crying to the top of his voice, leading me to believe something was wrong.  Not in the least, I discovered.  He was calling his brother to get out of his bed and come eat.

Don't tell the cat experts--these are farm cats.  We are keeping them outdoors by choice.  I'm thinking, as I watch them develop, perhaps I will examine their individual traits.  In my old age, I'm leaning more toward being a Thunder.  Of course, the way I see it, Thunder has nothing wrong with his voice.  He's just making choices that aren't quite as frisky.  Perhaps with more contemplation than his brother--who knows?  And maybe I should add, who cares?

Fear
Topic: coping

McCain says "The greatest economic crisis of our lifetime" when he speaks of the current situation.  My mother must be laughing.  Of course, she's older than McCain.  However, she has kept very fresh in her mind and in mine the Great Depression.  So this is certainly not the greatest economic crisis of her lifetime--McCain needs to change his pronoun to "my."

The old adage came from Roosevelt, back in those awful 30's:  "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."  I think this may very well apply to today's situation, as well. 

Fear is not the only thing we have to fear in our lives.  Not in every situation.  Sometimes fear is helpful in our choice of reactions, especially when we are in imminent danger.  The problem comes when we blow it out of proportion and let it rule our lives and our reactions to everything we do and everything we hear.

I'm refusing to do that, but it's a lot of work to keep things in perspective.

Fear
Topic: coping

McCain says "The greatest economic crisis of our lifetime" when he speaks of the current situation.  My mother must be laughing.  Of course, she's older than McCain.  However, she has kept very fresh in her mind and in mine the Great Depression.  So this is certainly not the greatest economic crisis of her lifetime--McCain needs to change his pronoun to "my."

The old adage came from Roosevelt, back in those awful 30's:  "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."  I think this may very well apply to today's situation, as well. 

Fear is not the only thing we have to fear in our lives.  Not in every situation.  Sometimes fear is helpful in our choice of reactions, especially when we are in imminent danger.  The problem comes when we blow it out of proportion and let it rule our lives and our reactions to everything we do and everything we hear.

I'm refusing to do that, but it's a lot of work to keep things in perspective.

The Power of Creative Crisis
Topic: Power

Today, I speak to you totally out of my role as a piano teacher. Yet what I have to say relates so much to the process of impacting individual lives and institutional dynamics, as well.

Sometimes, as a teacher, I create crises.  It may appear to be a semi-involuntary response.  It may even feel like that.  Yet I've seen it coming for a while and usually am rather certain that it's highly unlikely to avoid a crisis.  I do it when I sense that the student or his or her family are going down the wrong road and refuse to wake up.   Knowing that occasionally a family does.

You see, families often think that learning to play the piano is play. Now, play is optional, right? It's an important part of our lives, but we can play the way we want to play and choose what we want to do in a whole realm of what constitutes play.  What I often wonder is if the parents have had this same pattern growing up and are now unable to cope with the demands of responsible parenting.  It's difficult to tell.  There are some things I know for a fact, though.......

Learning to play the piano is not a matter of life and death, and I never want it to be. It IS, however, a matter of commitment to a very difficult task that will eventually allow the student to truly play the piano--at a time when working to learn something new is going to be a lot more fun than in the initial stages. 

One of my colleagues with a highly respectable record recently told me that she had picked up only two new students this fall.  "Both of them decided it was just too much work for them," she said with a chuckle.

The problem with individuals learning skills that have the potential for lasting a lifetime is that it is a lot of work.  This is true for institutions, as well, if they have had a history of pretending to be something that the institution obviously is not.  It is a lot of work to face the depth of reality that is required to develop character and responsibility.

So here's the crux of it all: It is just totally against my philosophy to contribute to the developing irresponsibility in a kid, even though that refusal has cost me quite a few students. It is, likewise, against my philosophy to spend much time with people or institutions that are irresponsible or immature. If that sounds selfish and demanding, that may very well be a good assessment.

What happens when we create crises? We may end up the losers of some things and winners of others. There is a price to pay. What is remarkable, however, is how many times I've seen my students turn around, just as I did my patients in mental health nursing, when I have the courage to hold the boundaries and keep the crisis alive! To that I'm committed, and it's not child's play doing it.