Wie könnte Albert Schweitzer, Friedensnobelpreis von 1952, ansonsten aber ein guter Mann, etwas gegen den Online-Marktplatz Amazon haben? Zumal Schweitzer ca. 30 Jahre vor Gründung des Unternehmens verstorben ist? Es gibt für alles eine logische Erklärung, und so auch hierfür.

Es gibt eine Stiftung, die im Geiste ihres Stifters für das friedvolle Nebeneinander aller Kreaturen dieser Welt eintritt, und daher folgerichtig Albert Schweitzer Stiftung heißt.

Die Albert Schweitzer Stiftung engagiert sich gegen Missbrauch und Quälerei von Lebewesen, so auch gegen die Pelztierhaltung und -verarbeitung. Amazon hingegen handelt bzw. lässt mit Tierpelz handeln und unterstützt damit Missbrauch und Quälerei gegen Wehrlose. Die Vertreter der Stiftung haben versucht, mit den Verantwortlichen des Unternehmens ins Gespräch zu kommen, um den widrigen Umstand dem Unternehmen ins Bewusstsein zu rücken. Dieser Versuch wurde ignoriert.

Auf nachdrückliche Nachfrage erhielt die Stiftung eine E-Mail mit der Ausrede, man würde die Produkte gar nicht selbst, sondern nur über Drittanbieter verkaufen – was beweist, dass Amazon mit der Rolle des Handlangers und Zuhalters kein Problem hat.

Was also tun? Ohnmächtig aus der Wäsche gucken oder sich wehren? Die Albert Schweitzer Stiftung ruft zu Abwehraktionen gegen Amazon auf. Zahlreiche Proteste und Boykotts haben viele Unternehmen zum Einlenken gebracht, selbst Peek & Cloppenburg haben auf Proteste von einigermaßen Vernunftbegabten Menschen reagiert und Pelzprodukte aus dem Sortiment sortiert. Warum nicht auch “unser aller” Amazon?

Was ich tun werde: Ich bin langjähriger und zuverlässig zahlender Amazon-Kunde – gewesen. Ich kaufe dort bis auf weiteres nicht mehr ein. Meine Bücher kaufe ich ab sofort bei Libri, meine Elektronik bei den üblichen Verdächtigen in Reallife.

Darüber hinaus werde ich diesen von der Albert Schweitzer Stiftung vorbereiteten Protestbrief schreiben: http://albert-schweitzer-stiftung.de/tierschutz-aktiv/petitionen/pelz-amazon

Verse of the Day:
“When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.”
~Deut 8:10

Quote of the Day:
“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.”
~ Albert Schweitzer

Lyrics of the Day:
“Don’t wanna leave this world, knowing I’ve lived in vain.
No time for myself; so sorry, so ashamed.
Don’t wanna leave this life, knowing I’ve barely tried.
Chase down all my dreams that I’ve hid away on the inside.”
~“Burn Out Brighter” by Anberlin

currently listening to “The Sinatra Christmas Album” by Frank Sinatra

“i thank god for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees & for the blue dreams of sky & for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.” — e.e. cummings

“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough” — Oprah Winfrey

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.” — Marcus Tullius Cicero

“I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose.” — Woody Allen

“I do not think we have a “right” to happiness. If happiness happens, say thanks.” — Marlene Dietrich

Jax

“Purring is not so different from praying. To a tree, a cat’s purr is one of the purest of all prayers, for in it lies a whole mixture of gratitude and longing, the twin ingredients of every prayer.”  — Kathi Appelt (The Underneath)

“I am as bad as the worst, but, thank God, I am as good as the best. “ — Walt Whitman

“When we find someone who is brave, fun, intelligent, and loving, we have to thank the universe.” — Maya Angelou

“Everyday, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can.” — Dalai Lama XIV

“In the end, though, maybe we must all give up trying to pay back the people in this world who sustain our lives. In the end, maybe it’s wiser to surrender before the miraculous scope of human generosity and to just keep saying thank you, forever and sincerely, for as long as we have voices.” — Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia)

“The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude. “ — Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

“You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance.” — Kahlil Gibrán (The Prophet)

GiGi

“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy: They are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” — Marcel Proust

“Be present in all things and thankful for all things” — Maya Angelou

“Fell in love with a beautiful blonde once. Drove me to drink. And I never had the decency to thank her. ” — W.C. Fields

“True forgiveness is when you can say, ‘Thank you for that experience.’” — Oprah Winfrey

“Gratitude is a ‘heart’ memory” — French Proverb

“He was still too young to know that the heart’s memory eliminates the bad and magnifies the good, and that thanks to this artifice we manage to endure the burden of the past.” — Gabriel García Márquez (Love in the Time of Cholera)

“In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.” — Albert Schweitzer

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ” — John F. Kennedy

“I tell you this, my friends, in the experience of my life time, the failure and the pain have certainly outstripped the triumphs. But this has not destroyed my faith — my faith in reason, in truth, in human solidarity — but, on the contrary, it has made it indestructible. I see the hope of the world in you. And, from my heart, I thank you.” — Frida Kahlo

“Thank you, God, for this good life and forgive us if we do not love it enough.” — Garrison Keillor

Happy Thanksgiving!

To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant,
to enact gratitude is generous and noble,
but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven [Johannes A. Gaertner].

Beyond the occasional thank-you note you manage to get in the mail, or the quick, “Thanks!” you utter, are you truly living a life of gratitude?

Running around. Living our lives at an exhausting pace.

Too hectic. Too much. Too little time.

We’re so busy looking for that and building this and trying to squeeze ourselves into the next 60 minutes.

It’s no wonder we scarcely notice the kindness from a stranger, acknowledge the generosity of a friend, or remember the thoughtfulness of a family member as we rush to and fro, trying to meet expectations and deadlines and self-imposed ideals.

Our lives are so busy we need a reminder to be thankful. We have to schedule our gratitude. Fortunately, we have a day set aside just for this purpose. An exit ramp, if you will, from the rat race to a thankful place.

A mandated respite to cherish kindness, honor sacrifices, recall our blessings.

After the traveling and meal preparations and dinner table discussions. When the dishes are cleared away and the left-overs are put away. Let’s not forget that tomorrow is really about pausing to remember, reflect, and reach out.

It’s our opportunity to acknowledge the kindness and generosity, the courage and sacrifice of others. To sincerely appreciate our blessings.

But we need not wait for one day on the calendar to be grateful. We should strive to live a life marked by thanksgiving.

Make it a habit to tell people thank you.

To express your appreciation
sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return.

Truly appreciate those around you,
and you’ll soon find many others around you.

Truly appreciate life,
and you’ll find you have more of it.

~ Ralph Marston

Commit to living a life of gratitude every day. “Take nothing for granted. Train yourself never to put off the word or action for the expression of gratitude” [Albert Schweitzer].

Whatever you are, be a good one!

Deanna

According to Jonathan Chait, the author of The Big Con:  Crackpot Economics and the Fleecing of America, “In the conservative mind, the Ronald Reagan presidency lives on in the golden shimmering past, an ideal that Reagan’s successors must strive to approach but can never fully live up to, like the teachings of Christ.”

Although Reagan left the White House in early 1989, Chait describes how, more than two decades later, conservatives invoke Reagan with the fervor of religious acolytes, “seeking to spread his word to the faithful and beyond.”  As Chait tells it, the conservative press treats Reagan as if he remained a living, breathing presence.  They cite him almost daily, asking:  “What would Reagan do?”

Do you recall, during the debates between the candidates vying for the Republican Presidential nomination, how each candidate tried to distinguish himself from the others by claiming to be the most conservative and thus, the most Reagan-like?  In other words, WWRD has become the litmus test for deciding whether a particular issue or individual passes muster among red-state Americans.

So, take your pick:  WWRD or WWJD?

When the Washington Times listed the key lessons Americans learned from Reagan, the list included, most prominently, “lower taxes.”  In an editorial written for the Weekly Standard, William Kristol urged then-President George W. Bush to “start recapturing the Reaganite high ground of tax cuts and economic growth and opportunity.”  Any self-proclaimed conservative today aspires to emulate Reagan and cut taxes, cut taxes, cut taxes.

Why belabor the obvious, you say?  If you asked that question, then you’ve illustrated how narratives about the lives of public figures can be re-shaped for ideological purposes.  Because the written record, if one wishes to consult it, demonstrates the unthinkable—namely, that Reagan was far from the politician who epitomized conservatism at its purest.

True, Reagan enacted a substantial tax cut during his first year in office and “unapologetically targeted [it toward] the highest income levels.”  But here comes the gotcha moment.  “Panicked by rising deficits,” Reagan’s administration “signed on to the largest tax increase in American history in 1982 and another major tax hike in 1983.” No!  No!  No!  You say.  That simply can’t be!  But it is.  Did you really forget?

Despite the immense quantity of documentation (photographic, electronic and printed) pertaining to the Reagan Presidency, despite the constraining effects provided by the memories of millions of Americans who directly experienced the Reagan era, the life of Reagan is being re-imagined with virtually no protest.

Whether we’re progressives (who hate Reagan) or conservatives (who adore him), we nod our heads whenever Reagan is touted as the “cut-taxes-no-matter-what” President.   Still—if we earnestly wanted to ask WWRD today, the answer might not be that he’d cut taxes—at least, not if we turn to the historical record to formulate a possible answer instead of relying on today’s partly fictional account.

We have, in this re-imagining of Ronald Reagan, an example of how the collective memory of a public figure—in this case, of an American President—can be distorted (by some) for ideological purposes.

By analogy, we might wonder how much the narratives provided by Jesus’ disciples changed during the years that followed his crucifixion.  The earliest New Testament Gospel is the Gospel of Mark; most Biblical scholars assign it a date of about 70 CE at the earliest (a few scholars find evidence suggesting the early part of the 2^nd Century).  Mark’s author makes mistakes about Galilean landmarks and customs during the time of Jesus; this supports the conclusion that he never, himself, traveled to Galilee.  Scholars also generally agree that the final portion of the gospel, Mark 16:9-20, which describes the encounter between the resurrected Christ and his disciples, is a later addition.

If two decades have allowed our collective memory of President Reagan to drift in spite of enormous documentary evidence, how did three decades minimum between Jesus’ death and the writing of the Gospel of Mark affect the collective memory of Jesus’ followers?  Note also that, today, skepticism is built into our worldview.  In the early centuries of the common era, belief in demons and magic was widespread, placing few checks on narrative renderings of events.

Until quite recently, most Christians assumed that the Gospels were sources of historical information.  Nineteenth-Century critical scholarship, however, witnessed an explosion of interest in reconstructing the life of Jesus.  Theologians like David Friedrich Strauss (1808-1874) studied the Gospels, intent on excavating the details of Jesus’ life.  Strauss hoped to write a historically-grounded account for his German audience.  Instead, he discovered that the Gospels contained only a few, truly historical fragments and these were so sparse that he decided it was impossible to reconstruct the personality of the human named Jesus.  The only Jesus accessible through the apostolic testimonies matched post-dated prophecies and proto-messiahs drawn from Jewish messianic literature.  Strauss’ efforts laid the groundwork for the research of later, highly-respected “life of Jesus” researchers like the Nobel-prize winning Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) who agreed with his conclusion about the irretrievability of the details of Jesus’ biography.

Strauss also realized that both supernaturalists and rationalists used faulty approaches when they attempted to construct the life of Jesus.  They read their own opinions about him into the thought-world of primitive Christianity.  Focusing on the passages that supported their views, and from these, they constructed the Jesus they wanted to find.  That Jesus was little more than the reflection of their own psychic faces, reproduced in the ancient, splotchy mirror of the Gospels.  Conservative theologians “found” a picture of the Jesus of conservativism; liberal theologians “found” a picture of the Jesus of liberalism.  Both pictures were, and remain, historically untenable.

Thanks to the research of scholars like Strauss and Schweitzer, the “life of Jesus” approach to reading Scripture was largely abandoned, although it was dusted off in the mid 1980’s and tried again by the (liberal) Jesus Seminar.

What can we learn from the Gospels?  Mostly, we find in them a record of the primitive church’s views about Jesus.  Read through the eyes of his early followers, Jesus rises from the page in the form of a visionary preacher with an apocalyptic message, the bearer of news about the immanent end of time and the coming of the Kingdom of God.

Is the absence of solid, biographical information about Jesus necessarily fatal to Christian theology?  Absolutely not.  Some Christian scholars—Paul Tillich, Gordon Kaufman, David Tracy, and Sallie McFague come to mind—acknowledge this absence and move on to develop compelling theologies in spite of it.  Nonetheless, too many theologians working today fail to acknowledge the abyss between the Jesus whose life story has been almost completely lost to history and the Messiah they claim to find in the Gospels.  Non-specialists follow their lead.

The similarity to the Reagan legacy is striking.  The press, right-wing Republicans, left-wing Democrats, and our fallible memories fail to acknowledge the abyss between the Reagan whose actual life was extensively documented, and the so-dubbed arch-conservative who “always” opted for cutting taxes.  Young people who didn’t witness the Reagan era follow their elders’ lead.

WWJD or WWRD, take your pick.  But to which J or R are you referring?  To a Jesus or a Reagan who reflects your own psychic face and who conveniently shares your opinions?  Or are you referring to a Jesus about whom you admit you know little?  Or to an Reagan whose historical record you’ve studied at least a little?

Post-moderns no longer believe that it’s possible to separate fact from fiction.  There is no such thing as “fact” post-moderns like to say; there are only “accounts” refracted through social norms and personal experience.  Perhaps.  But does this mean we should abandon the effort altogether?

There is a difference between the Gold-standard-for-cutting-taxes (wishful-thinking) Reagan and the author-of-the-largest-tax-increase-in-American-history (actual) Reagan.  There is a difference between the Christ-of-Christian-theology (speculative) Jesus and the Jewish-eschatological-preacher-about-whom-little-is-known (human) Jesus. Paying attention to the difference matters.  It saves us from mistaking the one for the other and dishonoring Truth.

And Truth, even if we can only hope to glimpse it imperfectly, is worth the effort, don’t you think?

References:  Jonathan Chait, The Big Con:  Crackpot Economics and the Fleecing of America (New York:  Houghton Mifflin, 2007); James C. Livingston, Modern Christian Thought:  The Enlightenment and the Nineteenth Century, 2^nd ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ:  Prentice Hall, 1997).

La seule possibilité de donner un sens à son existence, c’est d’élever sa relation naturelle avec le monde à la hauteur d’une relation spirituelle.

Citation de Albert Schweitzer

remind someone of a kindness or act of generosity you have shown him or her. Bestow a favor and then forget it.

You must give time to your fellow men – even if it’s a little thing, do something for others – something for which you get no pay but the privilege of doing it. ~ ALBERT SCHWEITZER

Over at Magpie Girl’s blog, the 8 things was inspired by Dia de los Muertos (“Allerseelen” in German, which means “All Souls”). I read her list of Saints and Sinners before I went to bed the night before last and somehow Rachelle ended up in my dream and she was getting cross at me for not being able to come up with 8 things for Saints and Sinners. Although, she assured me via twitter she would never get cross, I thought I better do it anyway.

So here are my 8 Saints and Sinners:

1. Albert Schweitzer: I went to a Grammar School in Germany that bore his name. 9 years. I loved school, absolutely blooming loved it. Hard to believe I know. But back to him. I never appreciated what a great man he was despite all the effort by our teachers and school to convey it. He was a man of great ethics. “Until he extends his circle of compassion to include all living things, man will not himself find peace.” He founded a hospital in Africa, Lambarene, he won the Nobel Prize, he loved music and was the founder of the “Orgelbewegung”. He was a doctor, a theologan and anti-colonialist (and that was huge back then). He was a follower of dreams. A truly great man.

2. Jane Austen: I am certainly not alone with my love for Jane Austen. She is one woman universally admired and loved. I love her books and re-read them often. Especially, Persuasion, which is my favourite. I like that she was a cynic. And that she possibly didn’t quite fit in. Why else would the “not fitting in” be such an important part in all her books.

3. My grandfather: I have no real memory of him, still he belongs there. With all the mystery of his past, his family and what happened during the war. Was he German, Czech or Hungarian or Austrian? I will never know.

4. Tante Else: My grandmother’s older sister. She married a Czech man and stayed in the Czech Republic after the war. Seamstress par excellence, when she came to visit she would sit over the sewing machine all day and produce the most wonderful items of clothing. She is also a style icon for me, as she was always impeccably dressed. And she was funny, if you were in her company you’d laugh until your belly aches.

5. My Grandmother “Oma”: As much as recent events have shone not such a nice light, as difficult as she was, as discouraging as she was and despite her protecting my father all my life, despite all of that, I do miss her. I love that the simple act of baking a cake can bring back happy memories of my childhood.

6. My best friend: Miss her. Every.Single.Day.

7. Albert Einstein: I always think if I’d met him I’d have cooked him “Knoedel und Rotkraut” (dumplings and red cabbage). Love his wit. And his intelligence. “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”

8. Marlene Dietrich: For all her faults, I admire her because she a) realised that the Nazis were bad news b) was at the frontline entertaining troups c) was dedicated to her art d) must have been an incredible cook and e) she loved Berlin.

Why don’t you play along, simply go to Magpie Girl’s blog and start doing an 8 things list.

My Step-by-step Strategy

by Jurgen Homola (www.jurgenhomola.com)

Welcome back to the 3rd and final part of How to Effectively Handle a Smear Campaign Against You. So far I have shared with you the story of “The Frog And The Scorpion” in Part 1, where I illustrated that individuals are always true to their nature in everything that they do. In Part 2, I gave you an example of a smear campaign which happened to me personally and now, in Part 3 of How to Effectively Handle a Smear Campaign Against You, I am going to give you my promised step-by-step strategy to follow, just in case this kind of thing happens to you.

In case you have not read any of the previous parts of How to Effectively Handle a Smear Campaign Against You, here are the links to each part:

Part 1: The Frog And The Scorpio

http://therealjurgenhomola.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/handlesmearcampaignpart-1/

Part 2: My Personal Story

http://therealjurgenhomola.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/handlesmearcampaignpart-2/

I can remember, as a student and even when I started out as entrepreneur, to get a message to the other side of the world took a fax machine. And that wasn’t so long ago either. Later, along came software that made faxing simpler. And then – finally – came along the Internet. Now, everyone has access to everyone else. And as time was ticking along, the Internet became double-edged sword. The Internet has become THE tool for freedom of expression. This is really great.

What a phenomenal advancement! It was certainly needed and it must – without doubt – be maintained as a tool for freedom of speech. However, there is now also a true danger for anyone to be defamed. It happens daily. And it is starting to happen more and more. And if you don’t know how to handle these senseless personal “cyber attacks”, times can be pretty challenging. Trust me, I know all about that.

To combat these “cyber attacks”, it does require a strategy that will effectively help you to maintain your reputation – and do so fast. But how does one go about doing this?

“Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust and hostility to evaporate.” – Albert Schweitzer

Now for my suggested strategy on …

How to Effectively Handle a Smear Campaign Against You

Before I give you this strategy, I do need give you a quick disclaimer: I am not an attorney, and neither do I give legal advice. This article is not legal advice. It is my suggested strategy – a suggested step-by-step method you can follow to get control over your life, should someone launch a defamation campaign against you.

This strategy does work, but you have to work it before it will give you results. You will not get results by feeling sorry for yourself, or if you rather want to lash back in anger. Always remember that, with any strategy, there is hard work and action required. The harder you work the strategy, the better and quicker the results. If you just read this strategy and don’t follow the steps, it won’t work. If you are afraid of applying the steps outlined in this strategy, you need to push yourself beyond the point of fear. Do a NIKE on your fear and JUST DO IT – apply the strategy. Go for it! You can do amazing things. Just trust in your own abilities.

And then, should you decide to let someone else handle this on your behalf, make sure that they follow YOUR integrity and YOUR strategy. ALWAYS stay abreast of facts. Know what is happening and when. Give them a plan of action and the results you expect.

What is a Smear Campaign?

Before I go on, let’s also take a quick look at what is a smear campaign really is. A smear campaign is a premeditated, deliberate, intentional – and often baseless – attack on the reputation of an individual, a group of people, or a company. Unfortunately, most of the time, the accusations of a smear campaign have no merit. And because people don’t think before venting their anger (smear campaigns are usually because of some anger or jealousy issues – a manipulation technique to try to get others to comply with the angry or jealous individual’s beliefs), such campaigns can have a cataclysmic consequence on its target.

Now, let the “fun” begin. Here is what you need to do:

Step 1:

ALWAYS act fast, but never in anger! This is something I never did – acting fast. I didn’t have these strategies. And then, I wasted valuable time by thinking this attack would eventually sizzle out. It never does. I was angry. “How could they do this?” was my question, instead of “How can I turn this into something good?”, “What can I learn from this?” and “How can I help others who are facing the same or similar challenges?”

It is ABSOLUTELY VITAL that you ACT FAST. This is the major keys in fighting a smear campaign. Decide how to respond to the accusations fast – very fast. In most cases the accusations are implied, insinuated and convoluted. You need to recognize exactly what you are accused of having done. Once you identified what you are accused of, you can plan your response. However, ALWAYS ACT IMMEDIATELY.

Time is definitely never on your side in these cases. The faster you act, the better. And don’t be afraid to tell others about the defamation campaign against you. You definitely need to tell others that someone has launched a smear campaign against you. Some times you even need to go to the police.

Your pride will be ‘nicked’ quite a bit, but THINK. Leave your emotions out of it as far as you can.

Step 2:

Always remember to respond with a prudent but vigilant defense. Be true to your own nature. Don’t compromise your integrity. The worst things you could do is to respond with “honorable” resentment. Don’t believe for a moment that you are justified by applying “righteous anger”. Take a stance that makes the accusers seem ridiculous and unintelligent for even thinking what they are accusing you of. Always stay calm and confident in your defense. Show that the accusations are ridiculous and that these are noting but lunacy.

Step 3:

Now, secure the support from all reliable acquaintances and friends. Once you have, it is time to tactically threaten that you will expose the perpetrators. I know this may sound as if I am contradicting myself here. Not so. It took me two years of fighting my urge to respond in anger. But not responding in anger does not mean I will be walked all over. I am using every possible avenue I have to obtain recompense for damages caused by the accusers. However, I am not doing it out of revenge or anger. I have this philosophy: If someone steels my sandwich when I am hungry, I want my sandwich back. An apology is not going to feed my hunger. The sandwich will. You took my sandwich, and I want my sandwich back. Make me a new one if you have to, but give me my sandwich.

This is the step where you move on into your real serious mode. You will first need to secure the support of all your close links – all those who are on your side. Round up everyone you know. Then, use these people – in particular those who owe you – to help. Do research about your accusers on the internet. Look all over for things they have done which you can use to build up your ‘arsenal’. Play “Colombo” – play detective. You will be astonished how much information you will find, even if the accusers think they were clever by spreading the defamatory information anonymously. There are sources and ways to get information on IP addresses that will lead you directly to your perpetrator, even if their web sites and blogs are private or – as in my case – your identity is stolen. The likeliness of you suspecting who your accusers could be is huge, so you do have a head start on this anyway.

Once you have the information, prepare it to be published. Now, talk with your accusers. Give them a chance to correct their foolishness and demand from them to fix what they messed up. They need to do this publicly. If they play hardball, don’t be intimidated.

Approach those involved with the accusers and threaten legal action if they do not renounce and distance themselves from those conducting the smear campaign. Contact website administrator and CEO’s of companies owning the web sites that publish the defamations, and diplomatically demand that they remove the bad publicity about you on the web. Explain to them what you are about to do, Sometimes this alone can get any bad publicity removed from a site, sometimes even ban the author from administering and maintain these sites. Everyone knows that accomplices to criminal activities are as guilty as the accused.

Step 4:

If your accusers pretend that they were not involved, go public.

Now that you are fully armed with intelligence, proof and you have given all the opportunity to fix their mess, simply turn the wheel. Make the accusers the accused. Publish your story and the information you found about your accusers. Get it into various available news media, in particular by using the Internet. Write press releases. Write articles. Wherever possible, stay anonymous. Use the same tactics your accusers use. The chance is almost 100% that they have gone about smearing your name anonymously.

But always remember that when you go to battle, never react. Don’t get cocky. Simply respond. Keep your cool all the way. Always keep your accusers guessing. Make sure you stay one step ahead. You have identified the individuals and groups who are waging the smear campaign against you. consider nothing off limits – but stay calm and collected. Don’t bend the law and – if possible – have a legal heavyweight on your side. Expose the dirty laundry of anyone involved – anything the accusers has done in the past. Publicize all the “dirt” of the accuser. Go public in a big way – on your blogs, your web sites, on your social network – use every avenue you can think of. There are many. Use al the avenues you can think of.

Simultaneously, write articles that will promote your professionalism and elevate you on the web. Write about your passions. Make sure you avoid your accusers stealing your identity. What you are ultimately doing here is to get your stuff out onto the web and at the same time getting your accusers into a position where they have to explain their actions publicly.

Step 5:

Persist uncompromisingly and relentlessly. Don’t give up and don’t be fooled into delaying your anti-defamation campaign. It is hard work, but the effort will pay off. You have given the perpetrators enough opportunity to correct their wrongdoings. Now you have to stick to your guns to get the results YOU want – to be exonerated from any accusations.

If you want to effectively fight a smear campaign, you need to expunge any memory that you were ever accused. To do this, bring the smear campaign against you into disrepute. Publicly question your opponent’s credibility. Pursue with this strategy relentlessly. Don’t be persuaded that your accusers are finally giving in. The chances are that they will get even madder than what they were before.

As far as possible, try to stay anonymous in your strategy, except where you tell your story on your own web sites. Always be factual, and always be honest. And remember never to do anything out of anger.

Sue everyone involved – even the web site owners – for slander, extortion and damages if need be, and never be intimidated. Lay criminal charges the moment you can prove extortion, harassment and intimidation. These are serious criminal offenses and are punishable by law. Don’t drop the charges against anyone unless you have your accusers compensate you for your damages. You gave them the opportunity to refute their accusations. They refused to do so. You need to do something to remove them from your life so you can go on doing what your are best in.

I sincerely hope that you never need to follow these steps – ever. I then also hope that this article has helped you in some way or another, even if you are not defending a smear campaign against you. If you need to use these steps to help you in fighting a smear campaign against you, I sincerely wish you victory every step along the way. By following these steps outlined here in How to Effectively Handle a Smear Campaign Against You, and by doing so without anger, you will find that you will get results.

The secret is never to get emotional. Try to let go of the thought that you have to hurt your accusers because of the pain they caused you. Accept that you have been defamed. I know how much it hurts. I know how your pride is nicked. But always avoid retaliation. Retaliation is often seen as an admission of guilt. Your aim is now that your accusers need to defend their actions.

I wish you LOTS of luck and many, many years of “smear” free life. Please feel free to comment on articles on my blog at www.therealjurgenhomola.com. Go to www.therealjurgenhomola.com and share your own experiences. Please also use www.therealjurgenhomola.com to share your thoughts or opinions. And to learn more about who Jurgen Homola really is, please visit my web site at www.jurgenhomola.com. You can also follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/JurgenHomola

In my next few articles I will show all entrepreneurs why they will never get the finances they deserve and what to do to make sure they get unlimited funding for any of their entrepreneurial projects. So make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed and sign up as a member of this blog. I will have lots of amazing complimentary tools and resources available to all subscribers.

And remember this: Take care of your own destiny. Keep abreast of facts concerning you and be aware of what is being written about you on the Internet. Do searches – Google – on your name regularly. You might be surprised what you find.

Jurgen Homola

www.jurgenhomola.com

www.therealjurgenhomola.com

http://therealjurgenhomola.wordpress.com

PS. I would gladly hear from any attorney who may read this and be willing to consider this as a possible case on a contingency basis.

Why this subject?

by Jurgen Homola (www.jurgenhomola.com)

Welcome back to Part 2 of How to Effectively Handle a Smear Campaign Against You. Good to “see” you again.

In case you are reading this article before Part 1, my name is Jurgen Homola, and I am back for Part 2 of How to Effectively Handle a Smear Campaign Against You, you can read Part 1 by simply follow this link: http://therealjurgenhomola.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/handlesmearcampaignpart-1/.

Today I am going to continue with Part 2 of How to Effectively Handle a Smear Campaign Against You.

Let me just say this, before I proceed: Fortunately, smear campaigns aren’t the order of the day – luckily. Sadly, though, more and more people use the Internet as a tool to bad-mouth others. Although the Internet is being so effectively used for advancement for the most part, there are those who use the Internet as a tool to harm others. And as effective as the Internet is in the advancement of humanity, the same is true for its misuse and abuse. These few individuals that misuse and abuse the Internet, feel justified in venting their anger. In my opinion, they are predominantly dishonest, unprincipled and unscrupulous. Just as scorpions are true to its nature, so are these individuals (read the story of The Scorpion and The Frog in Part 1 of How to Effectively Handle a Smear Campaign Against You (http://therealjurgenhomola.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/handlesmearcampaignpart-1). These individuals simply are true to their nature – begrudging others any freedom and wanting to harm them at any cost.

Why do these individuals select to use this powerful tool to launch a smear campaign? Well, the answer is simple. Nowadays, most everyone can do research on any subject or person via the Internet. As a matter of fact, up to 85% of people who are introduced to others in today’s environment, use the Internet to “Google” the individuals they meet. Google is being used to “investigate” individuals in more cases than you might think. Employers and recruiting agents are main “investigators”. Then there are business connections who “check each other out”. The aim of a perpetrator is usually to get high ranking on Google, which is “hitting hard where it hurts most” – right at the top of the search engines – so that those who do research, easily would find perpetrator’s  defaming information first.

So, what do you do if this happened to you? Should you turn the other cheek? Do you know what you should do for the effect of a smear campaign against you to have as little impact as possible?

“Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.” – Albert Schweitzer

Let me share with you an example. Not just any example, but a REAL up-and-close example – one that was aimed at me personally. If you would do an Internet search – or “Google” – on Jurgen Homola, you will find several web sites and articles, attesting mostly to my professional skills and good reputation – I am glad to say. You will find that I was interviewed as expert of choice on the subject of Raising Capital – one area I am passionate about. I write and publish articles on the subject of wine – another passion of mine, in particular good red wines. And then, I write and publish articles about corporate structuring and finances, which is an area I built my consulting career on. I love to talk and present the unique and creative angle about most things, where business and finances are definitely my most favorite subjects I present talks on.

You will also see that I serve on various Boards as Director, Advisor and Consultant in a number companies in various countries. Generally you will find a whole bunch of really great stuff about me. But then, you will also find a few web pages that are rather defamatory. I experienced – firsthand – the “sting” of a defamation campaign against me. Even though it looks like may “victims” this campaign is all form the same people. To get their point across, they even stole my identity.

Allow me to elaborate before I give you my suggested step-by-step strategy to successfully lead you through a smear campaign aimed against you, should it ever happen to you. I truly hope that you won’t ever need to use this strategy. But if you should ever need to, it will be a most valuable tool for you. It is absolutely vital that you follow the steps in the strategy to counter any possible damaging effects of a smear campaign against you. More about that later.

In my elaboration, I have decided not mention any names of the persons responsible, although one of these individuals was foolish enough to publish his real name in his posting. The reason behind my decision? You might ask: Wouldn’t it rather have been better to lash out and to hit back where it hurts most?

Well, let’s put it this way: I went through two years of constant mulling and re-editing this article to its present version. I can assure you that all previous versions would have made “Dallas” (the TV series) look like a “kindergarten” play. Of course I wanted to hurt the “perpetrators” – and REAL hard – because of what I had to endure. It wasn’t a breeze in the park, I can assure you of that.

Albert Schweitzer said: “A man is truly ethical only when he obeys the compulsion to help all life which he is able to assist, and shrinks from injuring anything that lives.” My whole life evolved around helping others, ever since I can remember. Why would I now allow a brief moment of malicious actions against me to cause me to completely disregard and neglect a lifetime of passion to help others – and then also dump my life philosophies? Like these individuals, I am simply being true to my nature. And my nature is to help others wherever I am able to and wherever others will accept my help.

Then there are several reasons I simply wouldn’t lash back. Neither should you, if you are in a similar position. Lashing back is not the answer – ever – even though we may feel fully justified to do so. There is a famous proverb that says: “Every seed produces after its own kind”. And then, I am sure you have heard the saying “As a man thinks, so is he”, right? I certainly don’t intend harvesting anything but the best and I cannot be who I am not. I don’t intend “creating” what I don’t want, and neither should you.

I then also – strange as it may seem – still want to provide these individuals an opportunity to remedy their actions which I attributable to their bad judgment, their ignorance and their negligence. Also, by not lashing back or mentioning their names, I won’t jeopardize any legal standing. Most importantly, I am true to my nature and will not violate my core belief, which is to mind my own business – doing something about my life. I would rather do that, than to waste my time trying to convince others of my innocence and that they should not believe all the bad “stuff” written about me on the Internet. And, of course, then ultimately, because I would rather spend my time to find ways to help people like you. I would rather assist others, helping them where I know I can make a difference in their lives. Wouldn’t you rather want me to show you how you can live a better life – if you so choose – rather that than just reading about another meaningless ‘soap opera’?

Now, here is the background, before I give you the specific step-by-step strategy to lead you through a smear campaign against you, should it ever happen to you.

Background

I was associated with PowerWays Management Consultants as CEO and Chairman. Two individuals hired PowerWays Management Consultants to advise them on a variety of business aspects, including business structuring, corporate credit building and raising private capital. Four months after being hired and providing extensive consultation services, the board of PowerWays Management Consultants decided to cut its losses as a result of unpaid bills by these clients and terminated services to them. PowerWays Management Services basically “fired” these clients. Because of my relationship with one of the individuals (he was supposed to have been a personal friend), PowerWays Management Consultants agreed to forego their accrued $78,000 of unpaid consulting and disbursement fees. Besides that, I arranged that these individuals could keep all documentation PowerWays Management Consultants had prepared for them, so that they could pursue in their funding drive. We had already provided them with all the documentation.

You might also ask: Why didn’t PowerWays Management Consultants take any legal action against these clients? Good question. The reasons are these:

1)     PowerWays Management Consultants had structured them for maximum protection against any personal and corporate legal action and liability;

2)     PowerWays Management Consultants had structured them for maximum protection against any asset losses;

3)     To sue them would have meant incurring additional legal expense of at least double what they had owed PowerWays Management Consultants, and because of their structuring, would have been futile any way;

For PowerWays Management Consultants, it made absolutely no sense to pursue with any actions against, or relationship with, these clients.

“Search and see if there is not some place where you may invest your humanity.” – Dr Albert Schweitzer

This “friend” was not happy about the ultimate decision PowerWays Management Consultants took to “fire” them. In spite of the generosity, he further demanded that PowerWays Management Consultants reimburse their initial $ 6,200 that was used on their behalf to establish their elaborate corporate structure and other disbursements.

When PowerWays Management Consultants would not comply with their demands, these individuals then sadly began their defamation campaign on the Internet. They publicly threatened us with this defamation action unless PowerWays Management Consultants complied with their demands. This, in legal terms, is called extortion. Initially, I thought that it was just a brief spell of anger and simply left it at that. I even advised our Board of Directors to ignore their threats. How wrong I was.

Together with the Internet onslaught, they distributed deceitful “Wanted” posters in various places, cities and countries I personally travel to, urging anyone who saw me to call their local law enforcement.

The accusations on the “Wanted” posters? Let’s just say, they were real stupid in making such accusations. I CAN tell you this though: One consequence was that I was cross-examined by the FBI and Interpol, both of which exonerated me internationally from the accusations on these “Wanted” posters. With tongue-in-cheek, I can only laugh and say that I am now one of only a few individuals in the world who can claim that they have full clearance from both the FBI and Interpol. The definition of “exonerate”:  to free from a charge, blame or the imputation of guilt; declare and prove blameless and guiltless.

What to do? Gratefully, I have a whole bunch of friends and colleagues to thank for their support. Even though I see the humor in all of this today, I must admit that there were numerous opportunities to give up and lash back.  Thanks to Raleigh R. Pinskey of www.raleighpinskey.com and Carolyn McCormick of www.successcoachforlife.com – both of whom encouraged me to find something positive and bring it to others. And this is the result. I eventually found a way of giving back instead of hitting back. And if this should happen to you, stay positive and surround yourself with others who encourage you in the same way my friends and colleagues did.

“Do something wonderful, people may imitate it.” – Albert Schweitzer

Now that you know the background to why I am giving you my step-by-step strategy on exactly How to Effectively Handle a Smear Campaign Against You, simply go to Part 3 of this article. Should something similar happen to you where you have to preserve your reputation, I know that you will find this step-by-step strategy extremely useful to successfully lead you through a smear campaign aimed against you. But like I said, I really hope it never happens to you.

I am looking forward to “seeing” you in Part 3. Until then, wishing you Godspeed.

To read Part 3 of “How to Effectively Handle a Smear Campaign Against You”, please follow the following link: http://therealjurgenhomola.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/handlesmearcampaignpart-3/. Alternatively, you can also copy and paste the link into your browser address bar.

Jurgen Homola

www.jurgenhomola.com

www.therealjurgenhomola.com

http://therealjurgenhomola.wordpress.com

The Frog And The Scorpion

by Jurgen Homola (www.jurgenhomola.com)

The Internet… WOW, what an evolution! And in such a short time! What an amazing tool to educate ourselves – constantly – about so many subjects. What an amazing tool for business, too. It levels the playing field between the “little man” and large corporations. No longer is the world such a huge place. No longer do we need a Fortune 500 presence to build a huge income generating corporation. The world is now truly our oyster.

We can communicate in ways only dreamed of before the evolution of the Internet. Before then, it seemed to take ‘forever’ to conclude business deals. To find the right resources took ages of research. The Internet made our life far simpler in many ways, virtually at the click of a finger – or rather, at the taping of several keys on a computer keyboard and connecting onto the World Wide Web.

Sadly however, with this wonderful evolution – as with most great inventions – along came the abuse and misuse of the Internet too. This is the reason for me writing this article, where I show you how you can counter one of the “stings” of abuse and misuse on the web. Before I continue though, I’d like to tell you a story about “The Frog and The Scorpion”, just to illustrate a principle we seem to forget when in comes to common sense: Every creature is true to its nature. People are true to their nature. What do I mean? Well, just read the story about…

“The Frog and The Scorpion”

On a sunny day in the dessert, straight after the summer rains, with the river filled to the brim from bank to bank, there was a Mr. Scorpion who wanted to cross this river. He knew it was pointless for him to attempt this on his own. He knew he would merely drown if he did try – scorpions cannot swim. And he also knew, for him to walk till he found somewhere to cross could take days, possibly weeks. Who knew if he would find a place to cross anyway? Mr. Scorpion would die just trying. So what to do?

As he was contemplating a way across, he saw Mr. Frog swimming in the river. He called out: “Mr. Frog, I want to cross the river. I cannot swim. Could you please help me get to the other side? I could sit on your back and you could swim me across.”

Mr. Frog replied: “Mr. Scorpion, how do you think I could help you? You are a scorpion and scorpions sting frogs. If I let you on my back you are going to sting me while I swim across to the other side and I will die.”

Mr. Scorpion replied: “Don’t be silly, Mr. Frog. I wouldn’t sting you. I would drown too if I did. I don’t want to die. I want to get to the other side. Now why would I sting you if I knew I would drown? And what’s more, if I don’t get to the other side I am going to die here anyway. So, why would I sting you? It just doesn’t make sense now, does it? Could you please help me cross the river?”

Mr. Frog considered Scorpion’s answer for a while: “Well, what Mr. Scorpion says makes a lot of sense. He wouldn’t sting me because he would die too if he did. Mr. Scorpion wants to get to the other side to stay alive.” So Mr. Frog agreed to swim across the river with Mr. Scorpion on his back.

All was well. But then the unthinkable happened. About half way across the river, Mr. Frog saw in the reflection of the water how Mr. Scorpion was lifting his tail across his back slowly, aiming to sting him at the base of his neck.

Then, like lighting, before Mr. Frog could say anything, he felt the excruciating burning sensation where the aculeus – or the stinger, for the non-biologists like me – penetrated the soft skin at the base of his neck and Mr. Scorpion released his full load of poison into the flesh of Mr. Frog. Almost immediately, his vision became blurry, his breathing shallow and his muscles grew weaker by the second from the poison spreading rapidly through his body.

Mr. Frog couldn’t believe it! Mr. Scorpion stung him, even though it didn’t make any sense! With weakness in his voice Mr. Frog said in disbelief: “I don’t believe it! Mr. Scorpion, you said that you wouldn’t sting me. We are half way across the river. And now we are both going to die. Why did you do this?”

There was this almost unbearable silence between the two of them. Life was draining from Mr. Frog. The scorpion replied: “I am a scorpion and scorpions sting frogs. I am just being true to my nature.”

This is Jurgen Homola. For about 2 years I contemplated writing what you are reading now. Hopefully it will inspire you, leaving lots of nuggets behind for your use. I started out by talking about the Internet. Then I moved on to the story you just read. Why would I do that?

Remember I said too that sadly, with this revolutionary evolution of the Internet came the misuse too? Well, here are some questions for you that you may not have considered before:

What would you do if someone launched a defamation – or smear – campaign against you?

What would you do if you piggyback someone on your back to help them across to the “other side”, and they “sting” you – and use the Internet as one of their “stingers”?

Daunting questions you never had to answer before, right? At least most haven’t had to think of this question before. In the past, you could just forget about some menial threat from someone to defame your name – or launch a smear campaign against you. But in our world today, where everyone has access to the big wide world via the Internet, you cannot – and should not – ignore such threats.

This was the brief introduction to the article of How to Effectively Handle a Smear Campaign Against You. Go ahead and read Part 2, where the saga continues and where you can learn about the exact strategy of how you can handle a smear campaign against you if one is ever launched against you.

Until then. Again, I am Jurgen Homola. I will see you on the other side at Part 2. And remember, as in the story of The Scorpion and the Frog, people will always be true to their nature.

To read Part 2 of “How to Effectively Handle a Smear Campaign Against You”, please follow the following link: http://therealjurgenhomola.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/handlesmearcampaignpart-2/. Alternatively, you can also copy and paste the link into your browser address bar.

Wishing you the best – ALWAYS.

Jurgen Homola

www.jurgenhomola.com

www.therealjurgenhomola.com

http://therealjurgenhomola.wordpress.com

Einem Ondit zufolge fragt sich der geneigte Leser, warum er auf der Kraftwortseite von einem Nilpferd angesehen wird?

Der Grund ist einfach: Ich kenne dieses Nilpferd persönlich, habe ihm aus nächster Nähe im Shire-River in die Augen geschaut und wir haben uns sofort verstanden. Es hatte deshalb auch nichts dagegen, dass ich es fotografiere.

Zweitens habe ich gelernt, dass Nilpferde zwar sehr friedliche, aber auch sehr kraftvolle Tiere sind – trotz ihrer friedlichen Absichten sind sie die gefährlichsten Tiere Afrikas. Wer einem Krokodil zu nahe kommt, hat noch durch Flucht eine Chance. Oder er verliert nur die Hand, die es ihm abbeißt. Wer sich jedoch mit einem Nilpferd anlegt, hat definitiv keine Chance …

Drittens erinnert es mich an Albert Schweitzer. Von ihm wird berichtet, dass er einmal auf einer Bootsfahrt auf einem afrikanischen Fluss zwischen Nilpferden entlangfuhr. Und genau in diesem Moment fuhr ihm der Satz in den Sinn: “Ich bin Leben, das leben will, inmitten von Leben, das leben will” – und aus dieser Erkenntnis heraus entwickelte er das Konzept der “Ehrfurcht vor dem Leben”. M.E. ist das eine Schlüsselerkenntnis, die auch in den ethischen Diskussionen unserer Tage (z.B. in der Frage der Tötung auf Verlangen, euphemistisch aktive Sterbe-”Hilfe” genannt)  noch nicht mit allen Konsequenzen berücksichtigt worden ist.

“The only escape from the miseries of life are music and cats…”

— Albert Schweitzer

Please help Midnight and Nala!

Our mom is joining the Peace Corps and can’t take us with her (boo, hiss, Peace Corps! >^..^<).  So, we need a new home.

Please check out our page:

Help Midnight and Nala Find a New Home!

http://stacyforsythe.com/help-midnight-and-nala-find-a-new-home/

Our mom’s email address is on our webpage (we’ve hit the big time now!).  However, here it is again:

knjoneslaw@hotmail.com

Thank you so much for your love and consideration!

Purrs, head butts, and love!

xoxo,

Midnight & Nala

“Those not tied down by suffering are called to help those who are chained by suffering. But they should not think, ‘Behold, I am giving an example’ — that spoils it. Anyone who thinks of the example he will give to others is occupied with things he ought not be doing.” –Dr. Albert Schweitzer

“Hope is renewed each time that you see a person you know, who is deeply involved in the struggle of life, helping another person.” – Dr. Albert Schweitzer

I’ve had an amazing eight days but have been too busy to write all about it.  Tomorrow and Tuesday I have midterm exams, and I just completed a paper for a naturopathy foundations class.

Significant points I want to share before I get back to studying radiography:

1) Darren Hardy posted a quote on Facebook today that was an eye-opening reminder for me:

“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”-Albert Schweitzer

Today, I watched and listened to Steve Edwards, a man who was my dear friend during our youth, now a guitar virtuoso who performed with a symphony orchestra with beautiful talent and passion.  He appeared to be in love with the music and having tremendous fun, too.  While I do not know the details of his recent life, with regard to his music career, this man is a success!

2) I re-discovered this week that I love what I am doing – being a medical student and becoming a physician. I INTEND that the unfinished business I have to attend will be but a brief detour, and not a distraction from my long-term goal.

Strategy for Success: Do something every day that will move me toward my goal.

I choose to go back to studying, now.  I’ll be back after my exams this week.

LMB

Shortlink: http://wp.me/pFspV-1l

Glimmender Docht / genicktes Rohr

Die Spinne schleppt das eine Beinchen nach. Es ist Mittwoch 09.45 Uhr. „Weg mit das Viehzeug“. Martina haut mit dem Wochenspiegel nach dem kleinen Tierchen, das nur noch langsam über den Tisch krabbeln kann. Dann geht sie mit ihrer Freundin Petra weiter die Angebote durch. Im Katalog. Per Telefon. Und noch einmal schlägt sie zu. „Fort mit dich!“ ruft sie. Da endlich fällt die Spinne tot vom Tisch.

Menschen sind manchmal grausam. Dabei kennt es doch jeder: Der Lebensdocht glimmt nur noch. Man ist geknickt. Man pfeift auf dem letzten Loch. Man ist beratungsmüde, therapieresistent, ausgefördert und unbelehrbar geworden in den Augen der Leute. Wenn die Spezialisten des Menschlichen sich dann abwenden. Wenn Kassen und Versicherungen unter Umständen kündigen. Wenn Beihilfen und Kredite gestrichen werden. Dann bricht man zusammen und die Lampe verlischt. Was tun?

„Freut Euch des Lebens, solange das Lämpchen noch glüht / pflücket die Rose, eh sie verblüht“. In der Welt der Operette mag das stimmen. Für Betroffene ist es Hohn. Die Bibel sagt: „Das geknickte Rohr wird ER nicht zerbrechen und den glimmenden Docht wird ER nicht auslöschen“ (Jesaia 42,3).

Die Gottheit bleibt und geht nicht fort. Sie haut nicht drauf. Sie sieht den glimmenden Docht und bemerkt die Bruchstelle. Gibt keinen falschen Trost, sondern bleibt einfach da. Das zu wissen ist wichtig.

Dieses Wissen nützt nichts im Sinne eines Nutzens. Es wirkt aber, je „nutzloser“ wir werden, auf unsere Sinne. Wir begreifen vieles neu oder anders. „Ich bin Leben, das inmitten von anderem Leben leben will“ sagt Albert Schweitzer. Vielleicht gelingt es auch uns, die Erloschenen und Geknickten zu achten.

-

©  f e d e r h a l t e r

I love books.  At times in my life when I was randomly searching for inspiration I would follow my heart based on emotions or words, and then I’d go in search of a book to light my way.  The magic only happens once in awhile but when it does…it changes my paradigmn of  life’s meaning.  A book can open the door to your deepest dreams and desires.  The picture on this webpage (at the bottom) is the grave of Albert Schweitzer.  The headstone is an identifying symbol representing one of those “sacred moments” when I found a written example that changed my behavior and my understanding.  This moment resonnated with me  about what is most important in life….what is truly fulfilling and meaningful.  I was exploring an old bookstore in Atlanta, Ga. in 1994. I had never really heard of Albert Schweitzer but I remember out of all the thousands of books…a little paperback jumped off the shelf into my heart and mind.  The words on those pages were like a seed planted in my soul.  The book served as a bridge to a homeland that brought alot of my thinking into one place. The name of the book is, “Out of My Life and Though.”  In Schweitzer own words, he told the story of the evolution of his mind and heart in giving up what I consider the greatest talents ever assembled in one human being for a primitive life of service above self in Africa. The impact the book has had on my life is truly undescribable.

Books are like good friends.  They are always there for you and they never leave you lonely or without substance; that is, if you choose them with purpose in mind.  They speak to you from the shelves and they are always dressed the same…their covers and yellowing pages…remind you of what is found inside. Every once in awhile you visit with them again, just to be reminded of who they are and who you are or more importantly what you want to be. They never fail to transport me back to a time when I was a kid in the summer and would go to the old, brick library in my hometown of Hartsville, S.C.   My mother insisted that I participate in the summer reading program.  If I close my eyes….I can still smell the musty old books…hear the dead silence of the room…and feel the incredible sense of magic that came from looking for just the right match for my dreams.  Sometimes a sports figure…or a president like Lincoln would emerge from the shelves…but as I reflect, I was always searching for inspiration or even more…something outside of me to connect with what was inside of me. Tangible ideas that somehow threw paint on the thoughts and feeling that swirled unseen in the wind of my heart and soul.  A book could do that…and when I could finally see the wind in the form of words…it was like finding a buried treasure. I never tire of finding the deeper meaning of my life in a book. It is one of the truest gifts I have experienced.

Just yesterday, I relived an experience from almost 25 years ago.   I picked up a book entitled “Never Have Your Dog Stuffed” by Alan Alda of the famed TV Show MASH.   It’s his own words about the journey to find meaning in his life and work.  Some time back I was told of a commencement speech Alda had made at his daughter’s graduation and I loved the analogy he used about “best things are said last” – a visual of laughing and crying with friends and then as you leave to go home…”you linger at the threshold of the door…” as you turn around to say goodbye…”best things are said last.”  I’ve always  loved the emotion and human realness of this thought so when I saw his book on the shelf  in the bookstore it called my name. Funny, unaware and totally blind, a book knows just when to find you and get involved in your quest to make meaning out of this complicated and mysterious world. I haven’t finished it yet but I can’t wait to move deeper into its pages and uncover more of my soul.  I know when it’s happening and it’s happening now.  The sense he makes out of the struggles and challenges…the moment he spoke at his dad’s funeral, finding a picture of himself in his estranged mother’s lockbox at the bank after she died, the lessons on listening, relating, and after an exhaustive search in life, finally finding meaning and purpose in a TV Show that was full of laughter but dressed the heartfelt convictions he had longed for all of his life.  I would not trade this experience for all the money in the world…because if I did…I still couldn’t buy what can only happen inside.  Inspiration is not for sell…unless you are buying something that will not last.  I don’t like mingling in that store, the merchandise is cheap and it usually does not work three days after I buy it.  The wellspring of inspiation is about the lasting…and believe me that stuff is expensive…it just doesn’t cost alot of money.

Schweitzer and Alda found me in the pages of a book or did I find them?  In any case, life would not have been as rich or meaningful without their presence.  It’s exciting to think who else is preparing to enter my mind and heart through a book in the days and years to come.  I have a feeling on the day I prepare to leave this earth…my most sincere and heartfelt wish will be….I wish I had one more day to read another book.

My library is a group of friends that I call on in times of joy and in times of need.  They each have a purpose and role to play in my life. Some have had leading roles…some  are just stand ins for a particular scene…whatever the case…they all have different personalities and touch me in different places.  I love reading about history, leaders, sports, archaeology, religion, and heroes…but my favorite is a biography.  It combines a number of these elements into one life and synthesizes lessons learned and lights the way for the future. So the books in this library will tend to reflect my love for this theme – the search for inspiration, meaning, and wisdom.

It’s Blog Action Day, an annual event sponsored by Change.org in which thousands of bloggers around the world post about the same issue on the same day. The goal? To ignite discussion about an issue of global importance and relevance.

As we wrote in our post announcing Beyond Boulders’ participation in Blog Action Day, promoting discussion about this year’s theme, climate change, is very much in line with Albert Schweitzer’s environmental legacy. And across the U.S., Schweitzer Fellows across the U.S. are carrying on that legacy through service projects that address climate change and other urgent issues related to our planet’s health.

So throughout the day today, we’ll post interviews with six of those Fellows. Each of them will talk about the innovative work they’ve done to promote environmental health and awareness—and will share his/her unique perspective on what each of us can do to combat climate change.

Our first installment — with Bay Area Schweitzer Fellow Thomas Azwell — is up next.

Llegó un civil con bigotes.../ Entró en el Despacho Oval / ¡A la orden, mis presidentes.../pa lo que quieran mandar!...

Antes de ser un simple jubileta, Homper, cómo no, soñó lo suyo.

No sólo con varias amadas imposibles, sino algo tan comprensible en la edad de la inocencia como ser héroe, santo o artista universal. Algunas noches soñaba que se ennoviaba con Romy Scheider y se casaba con ella en el castillo ese de Francisco José que salía en las películas de Sissi. Otras, que curaba cuerpos y almas como Albert Schweitzer o el padre Damian de Molokai. En otros sueños más esforzados se adelantaba a Amundsen y era el primero en poner el pie en el Polo Sur. Luego vino la vida con el formón de los rebajes, y a la vista de que su carrera le cortaba alas se conformó con pequeños suspiros de la imaginación. Uno de los últimos es escribir una zarzuela moderna que parodie con guasa castiza la España actual.

-No quiero morirme con esa frustración, como Luis Aguilé –le comenta a su tía Clota..

-Pobre, no lo sabía…-se  lamenta la anciana sin levantar la vista del punto-¿Sabes que a mí me hacía gracia? Me daba la sensación de que hacía su propia caricatura…Pero si tú tienes ese mismo capricho, no te prives…Aprovecha la entrevista de Obama con ZP. Y haz el favor de incluír como número fuerte una actualización del Échale guindas al pavo de Morena Clara…¡No me digas que no tiene gracia que el Presidente de los Estados Unidos nos pida la ayuda de la Guardia Civil para acabar con la guerra de Afganistán!…

Y ella misma se pone a cantar como Imperio Argentina. Entró un civil con bigotes/ Ojú, qué miedo, chavó…/ Se echó un fusil a la cara/ Y de esta manera habló/ Echalé guindas al pavo…

Y Homper se ríe sinceramente. La pobre Guardia Civil, ese tricornio acharolado que es como la silueta del toro de Osborne de la España más negra. El benemérito Instituto, repartido por toda España en unas casas-cuarteles donde tienen que pedir vez para ir al cuarto de baño, y se asan de calor o se arricen de frío. El cuerpo armado que fundó el Duque de Ahumada, teñido de oprobio por la muerte de García Lorca, espanto de gitanos y de progres como los que nos gobiernan, dril verde y sueldo escasito, a mandar, que tanto obedecía a Azaña como a Franco o a  Zapatero. Y ahora, velay las cosas, objeto  de la negociación entre los dos líderes planetarios que arreglan el mundo desde la Casa Blanca. Ironías del destino. La misma Guardia Civil  de los cuadros de Gutiérrez Solana o de los Esperpentos de Valle-Inclán, tan pueblerina y leyenda negra, salvándole los muebles al buenismo universal que interpretan los dos  grandes pacificadores.

-Tomo nota-dice Homper-Y gracias por la idea…Ya veo un coro de picoletos irrumpiendo en el Despacho Oval bailando como la Imperio y Miguel Ligero…Echale guindas al pavo/ Echale guindas al pavo que yo le echaré a la pava…Echalé guindas al pavo…/Que nos mandan a la guerra/ Lo pide la Casa Blanca…

Y encima el mismo día que los de la Memoria Histórica pretenden cambiar el Todo por la Patria de los cuarteles por un Todo por la Democracia. Todo por la Patria, por la Democracia o, como ironizaba ayer Carlos Herrera, por la Paz tria. Pero, échale guindas al pavo: todo con el denostado, arcaico y luego dirán que casposo tricornio de la Guardia Civil.

Not just any student. The one who emails you to tell you he missed class because he had a seizure and felt rotten all day. That one. Is it fair to play favorites? Of course not. Is it fair to let a student know you understand? Why not? Is it fair to round up the football players in your classes and have a special class session during Fall Break to help them get caught up?

The SMU STUDENTS

They are not, surprise, unintelligent. They’ve been treated as classroom buffoons because they’re “only” athletes. They’ve never been challenged to think. They are not bad students. Teachers and schools have failed them. Most teachers hate them.

What’s education all about? Making a bunch of very young people masquerading as adults toe some imaginary line in order to teach them “responsibility” or some other “grown-up” virtue? What if they can’t be responsible yet? What if, under all that worldly Post-post-post-post-Modern sophistication, they are nineteen-and-twenty-year olds groping along, looking for a way to live in this complicated world?

“Do your work!” I keep telling them. “I’m not going to check all of your daily assignments. I’m not your Daddy.” As if that’s going to help them grow up or, even less likely, learn to think.  

Omigod. I’m about to launch into a “When I was your age..” When I was their age, the most complicated technology we knew was the new Xerox (yes, Xerox, not Cannon, not Dell, not you-name-it) machine

what will they think of next?

in the University’s new library. Imagine, a machine that would copy a page out of a book, a homework assignment, a musical score. What will they think of next?

I had a car, too. 1956 Ford, not Fairlane. Pale yellow. Ugly. Bought with a loan co-signed by my dad. So I could drive to my church organist job in San Bernardino. Dad should have known back then that I was in some kind of deep do-do that was keeping me from living in the real world. I couldn’t get the payments in on time. He knew. The bank told him. No one mentioned it to me until it was too late. I felt guilty all on my own. Was it TLEpilepsy or the drinking I was already doing or bipolar disorder or just plain cantankerousness?

The same questions I’m still asking–minus the booze for 23 years. I played the organ tolerably well. At least I have a bona fide Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance. I don’t know about that now. The pipe organ (Steuart Goodwin, Opus 1) in my living room is supposed to help me restart that engine. Play a recital. I know the program: Hindemith Sonata II, two of the big chorale preludes from the Bach Clavierubung III , the Bach Prelude and Fugue in B Minor, a couple of Brahms chorale preludes, and the Mendelssohn Sonata III. In that order. Heavy stuff. All of which I’ve played (most of it from memory) at one time or another. 

My playing is too idiosyncratic, ponderous, personal to perform Bach the way it’s “supposed” to be. I take the Albert Schweitzer approach: there’s a tempo at which you can play this piece of music after twenty years in Lambaréné in West Africa healing the sick and practicing Ehrfurcht vor dem Leben (“being in awe of life”–the first great ecologist); find that tempo and play it. I used to have an autographed photo of Albert Schweitzer that Dr. Leslie P. Spelman gave as a graduation present after he rejected me as a student in my junior year because I was too undisciplined. Then he became my mentor and (dare I say it?) friend. He was a Quaker. He helped me understand the evils of war in time for anti-Viet Nam War activities. I don’t know what happened to that photo. It’s long gone. I do, however, have the volume of the complete works of Orlando Gibbons with Dr. Spelman’s signature in it that he bought to study composition with Nadia Boulanger when he was an organ student of Joseph Bonnet in Paris.

 That’s what education is all about. Isn’t it? I’ve always had some pride in the movie “Good Will Hunting” because it was filmed at Bunker Hill Community College where I taught from 1986-1994. Music. The movie is too sentimental, but I have some fond memories of those students. One of them found me on Facebook and wrote me a glowing tribute. The reason I teach–not the tribute, but knowing that I was a positive influence in a student’s life.

 Through all of this I was struggling (except I didn’t know what it was until it was almost too late to salvage a life) with Temporal Lobe Epilepsy. And Bipolar disorder perhaps–although I think the jury is still out on that regardless of what Drs. Bennett, Montgomery, and Bret think. The designer disease of the decade. I AM pretty much a mess. My therapist cringes every time I say that. But my being a mess is like the room I’m in right now (see the picture in my posting of October 12). It’s a mess, but it’s functional (I’m writing, am I not?), and it is full of strange and wonderful stuff, most of which is not useful and whose purpose I have long since forgotten. But it’s INTERESTING stuff. Which is more than I can say for the kinds of rooms cutie Nate Berkus designs.

Who wants to be spare? orderly? Who wants not to have demons? Who wants to fit some pattern? Who wants someone else to design his living room or his life?

Imagine this pale yellow

My late ex-Mother-in-Law wrote to her daughter and me in about 1970, from the mental hospital where she had received shock treatments for her “manic depression.” The card said simply, “We needed one person in charge of another, and here we have one person in charge of another.”

I don’t want one person in charge of another in my life. That happens in mental hospitals (I know from experience). But I do cherish, because the best parts of my thinking were formed by them, a few remarkable people who taught me most of what I know that’s of any value. If I’m muddling through my life always trying to break through the fog of TLE (and BP disorder, maybe), it’s because of those people (others besides my “teachers,” too).

So I tell an epileptic student that I’m epileptic, too, not to give him special treatment, but in hopes that being a real person, not a fixture in the institution, will give him some of the strength he will need to get on with his life in spite of (or perhaps because of) the great obstacle the universe has chosen for him to overcome.