Clare Consultation, LLC“I have had a lot of change lately”
In a few days, when 100 Voices: Americans Talk about Change hits book stores, Marjan Baradar’s voice will be #91. Back in 2009, Marjan spoke of her optimism alongside her fear of the polarities in the country – she mentioned specifically the violence that can come of that. She spoke of the power of civic engagement and indicated her sense of such participation as a responsibility, a natural expression of being an… Read More
Only a Person
Yesterday evening I walked into the little Whole Foods in my neighborhood. It was actually more like late afternoon on a typically chilly, misty and too-soon-dark December 1 in Oregon. But, I needed B vitamins and am always looking for a motive to get a bit of walking. I walked into the warmth of the store, headed toward the supplement area and turned a corner to see an older Tibetan man adorned… Read More
We are Different & We are the Same: Voting from Here
The United States is voting. Or at least that’s an option for the next four days. Because of the way my mind works…I’ve been thinking about that. Voting. In the past 48 hours or so I’ve been in more-than-passing conversations with people – all American citizens – who, in the history of our country would not have been eligible to vote. That means they were variously (or in some combination) immigrants, women,… Read More
“It says ‘Islam'”
I met Cheri Carter on February 11, 2009 in a coffee shop in Tucson, AZ. We were seated in the two cushiest chairs in the place, both hooked up to the shop’s wifi. She looked to me to be a white woman in her 60’s, carefully dressed, of slight build and great earrings. At one point, still a stranger, she leaned over to ask me something about my laptop. It was the… Read More
What’s in a Name?
“Know what that word, change, means. Know what this time means. Our getting together this morning to talk, what does it mean? Do you know what we are doing? What is in the journey? Where are we going?” Dr. Dapo Sobomehin This morning I had my annual dental appointment. You know, the one involving really sharp pointed hooks for scraping and poking, and the tiny rotary buffer dipped with clayish and vaguely peppermint tasting… Read More