Walking Before Wisdom: baby steps

      I am a licensed professional therapist.  The relative education and training I received has made me more aware of effective human communication patterns, and the lack thereof; but it didnt create wisdom. it merely created a part of the foundation upon which wisodm could be built. At the time I accepted the director position for Westwind, I had a limited private practice and was the school social worker in a large district school in Phoenix.
     While the education and training provided depth to my understanding of education, opportunity and justice, I became intrinsically entwined with the passion of social justice early in life.  I believe it had its roots in my early days in Georgia, to where I moved as a second grader.  When you are seven and someone plops you in the midst of a different culture, the adults tend to forget to tell you how the rules have changed.  And when you moved from the Midwest (Michigan) to the south (Atlanta) in 1964, you were definitely in for culture shock. I might as well have moved from the US to Mongolia. "But the language was the same," you might be thinking.  Think again.  Recall the delay experienced with a dial up connection and you will have an idea of  the time it took me to respond when asked a question right after moving to Atlanta.  "Fixin' to carry Teresa and Katy to the staoruh, do ya'll  wantta gao?" really meant, "I am going to drive Teresa and Katy to the store. do you and Marcia want to go with us?" Then there were the unspoken rules.  Like don't invite the black man for dinner. Not because we don't like the black man but because our neighbors don't like us or the black man. Us because we are from the North and the black man simply because he is black. And if we invite the black man for dinner we may not live to see the morning; and even if we do live to see the morning, it could be a very eventful night.
       My parents taught me to respect, acknowledge and obey adults no matter their color. So it made no sense to me when my friends would walk in a room where the maid was working and not say hello or thank you or "yes ma'am," which we were supposed to say to every other adult female, especially those who were cooking for us or doing our laundry.  In Michigan if you said "yes ma'am,  you would be slapped silly for being a smart allick. But things change south of the Mason Dixon Line,  as my dad used to say.  Then there was the Presidentisl election. My dad used to say that if the democrats ran a jackass for president, our friend Tex would vote for it just because it was a democrat. And that pretty much summed up the politics of  Georgia at that time. My mom said I was a true politician myself. Trying to navigate in a mine field, if someone asked who I was for for president, I would simply say, "well, who are you for?"  And whoever they were for, I was for. Stated with a smile. Perhaps it worked because it took my friends as long to understand what I said as it did for me to understand them....."loading..........." What does all this have to do with a timeline? ALOT. The walk to wisdom is a slow walk. I laughed hysterically watching the movie, "what About Bob?" But the truth of taking baby steps while carrying a goldfish in a jar was not lost on me. Be honest, how many of you have said to yourself on occasion, "baby steps, baby steps." And that's how it is with the walk to wisdom. As a young girl, I couldn't put the pieces together; but when I did, not only did it create passion, it provided wisdom that comes from being stretched beyond your comfort zone, even at the age of seven. I think that the roots of my passion for social justice were planted in the soil of the move in the early 60's. So, too, was my draw to people from other cultures and the richness culture brings to all of us, both the good and the bad aspects of it.

Wisdom & the Lack of "End in Mind Thinking"

A timeline is typically linear in nature. After all, it is a timeLINE. However, for those who know me well - or even barely know me for that matter- it won't come as a shock that my timeline could end up being rather circuitous. I am a digresser, a story teller at best. Story telling lends itself to circuitous timelines. Be tolerant. Stephen Covey talks about the importance of beginning with the end in mind. Really? I quote this as much as anyone; but in the lifelong arena, where is the end? Don't over think is. I simply mention it because it just isn't that simple - or complex. One day in 1997, close to the time that summer turned to fall, I stood in a grocery store in west Phoenix/east Peoria, gripping the handle of the cart, paralyzed with frustration. "End in a mind" thinking wasn't even released on the world then by Covey. Even if it had been, this girl wouldn't have been tracking in that direction. I cried out to God, "Why don't you at least let me try." And then pounding the handle in an 2-year-old tantrum sort of way that attracted the one other fool who went to the grocery store at 6 AM on Saturday morning, I continued,"give me a chance Lord. I want to lead." And if I would have been watching more closely, I probably would have been unnerved by what I sense in hindsight I would have seen: God standing with arms crossed, a slight smile on his face, pondering for a monument and then saying, "ok. If that's what you want." And the following Tuesday, the Westwind Children's Services board met. I told them I wanted the job of director of Westwind Academy. Chuck and I had served on the board of WCS for a few years. Members of the board were dedicated people, and several were educators. A tough group with a pure dedication to helping kids. We had trekked to Mexico together to investigate building group homes in Tijuana. We had wrapped Christmas presents together for foster kids. Now we would embark on an endeavor akin to starting a dairy farm: no days off, work goes on, kids and cows show up whether we are ready or not. Board members asked me tough questions that Tuesday night, and ultimately voted to offer me the position of Director of Westwind Prep. Let the fun begin....

Wisdom & Choice: The Implication of Intentional Action

    Wisdom is an interesting thing. It is defined as the ability to discern what is true, right and lasting.  Good judgment. The judicious application of knowledge. Who am I to talk about wisdom? Rather presumptuous, don't you think? Well, what do you know. I am old enough to understand that wisdom is not gained from the wave of a magic wand, the acquisition of advanced degrees or with a large check. Wisdom comes one step at a time. At 55, I have done a lot of walking - one step at a time.
    I am a wife, mom, friend, leader, follower, teacher, administrator, neighbor, sister, daughter and so much more. So why write now? It's January 30, 2013. I have a miserable cold - sniffles, snorts, sore throat, blah. And yet, this morning at 5 AM,  I vocalized to my husband, Chuck, the thoughts that had been hammering in my head since New Years Eve - it can't be just another year of the same. Jim Collins talks about being great by choice,. Choice infers intentional action. So what is going to be different?  He (Chuck) suggested starting with a timeline. What? Then, this afternoon I met with the pastor of our church, a man whose wisdom is deep, driven deeper through the pain and joy of life's experiences. He listened and then commented. What stood out was his charge for me to hear Chuck's voice more clearly, that the season now is for me to be the mentor as I have been so well mentored for so long; and finally to know wisdom. Know wisdom? KNOW WISDOM???? Does he not know how much I PRAY for wisdom? Wait, intentional action. Better hearing. And so I sit here, sniffles and all, and will begin the timeline. The recollections of a walk to wisdom, one step at a time.