Do We All Need To Be Part Of Something?

Last week I was listening to Springsteen. Surprise, surprise-I listen to The Boss about every day.

Yeah, I'm an E Street Junkie, no doubt, but I also think Springsteen has some lyrics that are just undeniably true. I take those lyrics, apply them to my life and...voila! A new EE post!

This time, it was "Hungry Heart." In this famous tune, Bruce sings, "I don't care what anybody says, there ain't nobody who wants to be alone."

I know a couple of confirmed bachelors who would disagree with this...but I know a whole, WHOLE lot more folks who are represented by these words. The need for human relationships is one of our strongest desires. I think we all desire to have relationships with depth, meaning and truth.

So, a couple days later, I was at the Kappa Sigma Grand Conclave. Joining Kappa Sigma (which I did back in the summer of 1997) is still one of the best choices I've ever made. To speak at Conclave in front of 1000 of my brothers was truly awesome; personally AND professionally.

While at Conclave, it was cool to walk the lobby and halls with guys I'd never before met, yet those who've been through an identical experience. That common ground gives us an automatic relationship; as it does for every fraternity member.

Whether it's a deep interpersonal relationship like Bruce is singing about, or it's a wider net of brotherhood, we all have the need for human connection. If we can help others realize this desire, it helps put us one step closer to our own goals.

Columbia University

Wow, second year in a row to have an awesome event with Columbia University nursing students! Thanks to all who took part in the day's events and especially to those future nurses who've signed up to be Facebook friends!

A HUGE "Thank You!" to Dr. Norma Hannigan for believing my medical programs have enough info to warrant a second trip to Columbia! (And for being the kind of educator we are fortunate to have shaping the healthcare profession – she makes me want to go back to school)!

It’s hard to express the mindset the day put me into – somewhere between ecstatic, humbled I'm able to help and realization that this is why I do what I do. Thank you!

Sucking Up The Fear and Staying Relevant

After posting a bit about it last week, on Saturday, I took the plunge and bought an iPhone.

Now, I'm not a gadget guy. I AM a guy, so there's a certain amount of inherent love of electronics, but I've never been the person who has to have the latest and greatest electronic update to, well, everything.

Part of the reason I'm not geeky is due to the lag of getting accessible electronics. For years, the protocol has been that an electronic device/software program is released, then six months later, a company has created a way to make it accessible for blind folks. This always keeps the blind community at least six months behind.

Not the case with Apple...and that's why I bought the iPhone. Before ever leaving Best Buy, I had an accessible iPhone in hand. Right from the counter, out of the box, a couple seconds of the sales clerk turning on the Voice Over command and...presto! Yours truly has just simplified life!

Can I survive without an iPhone? Sure. Can I continue to function with electronics that get the job done, efficiently or not? Absolutely. Do I save a ton of time and aggravation by jumping on the nerd wagon and getting the latest and greatest (and only device made to work out of the box for blind folks?)...yep.

I don't want to spend my life using technology from a half dozen years ago. I don't want to wear clothes that were popular back at Y2K. I don't want to refuse to be up on items that make life simplier and faster-I want to stay relevant. And the Apple iPhone allows me to do just that...and to do it in a way that's never been as easy for blind folks.

Thanks, Apple, for your foresight and depth of knowledge in creating a product that'll be a huge addition to my life!

Is It Zen? Or Just Wimpy?

Just completed the autobiography of Grateful Dead bassist, Phil Lesh. “Searching For The Sound: My Life With The Grateful Dead” was one of those reads that took me back about 18 years to when thtere was nothing but Dead bootlegs playing on my stereo.

No, I never got to see/hear The Dead in concert. Had the opportunity to see one of their last ffive shows, but, alas, it’ll remain one of those coulda, shoulda, woulda things.

Anyway, being such a fan during my high school days, it was cool to re-read many of the experiences of the band from their 30 year history. Most interesting was their stories about the acid tests in the mid 60s in San Francisco, hanging out with the Merry Pranksters, Woodstock-just that whole hippie thing. Again, I think I was born about 30 years too late.

One thing the 60s hippie generation did really well was their “live and let live” attitude towards everyone. This isn’t to take away from all the things the hippies did wrong, but that Zen attitude of just letting others do their thang is cool. Instead of trying to control people and get them to do what YOU want, the notion of just letting others be free to live their lives the way they want is something of which I’m envious. Lesh’s book really highlighted this.

And that live and let live thing is cool…to a certain point.

See, there’s a fine line between being Zen and being a wimp. Lesh says as much in his autobio.

During the Dead’s career, they lost no less than half a dozen people directly to substance abuse. Pigpen drank himself to death, Janis Joplin ODed on heroin, Keith Godchaux officially died from head injuries received in a car crash (but we know how that works with someone who is a known abuser), Brent Mydland died from an overdose of booze and pills and, last but not least, Jerry Garcia’s use ultimately led to his demise in 1995. Throw in all the other hangers on and influences and it’s real, real obvious that the whole free love/thinking/mind expansion from drug use has a dark underbelly.

In one episode of the book, Lesh describes how the band had a meeting about one of their members. A bandmate was abusing drugs, probably addicted, and everyone was suffering. Still, no one in the band had the fortitude to step up to the plate, confront the abuser and draw the line in the sand. So, in typical cowardly fashion, they made their manager do it.

I love the idea of Zen. You cannot control the stream, you must simply learn to flow along with it. That stream is life. Great in theory, right?

What Zen fails to address is what happens when someone you love is going down the tubes. Live and let live can easily turn into a Beatles tune: Live and Let Die.

My theory is that by practicing being Zen, letting others have free reign to let their freak flag fly, the 60s attitude ultimately meant that some folks lost their lives. Those who were not addicted, abusing nor caught up in letting drugs control their lives saw the damage those drugs were doing…and no one helped.

Does this mean the hippies have blood on their hands? Kinda, yeah. By choosing to NOT take action when someone is in trouble isn’t Zen-it’s cowardly

Look around. Are there people you know who need help? Do you have the guts to state your concern? Addicts have great defense mechanisms built in…but they can’t even balk if no one has the courage to show their concern.

When you know someone who is hurting, abusing or needs help-don’t be a hippie. Zen can only take you so far. Step up to the plate, try to help…you may not succeed, but at least you didn’t let the world abuse your loved one without a fight.

STEP!

Due to the fact I was an "adult" when I lost my sight, I've never been real familiar with the programs designed to assist blind children/teens. I've done a bit of work with the Missouri School for the Blind, but that's about the extent of it.

That is, until last week...

My buddy, Kevin Hollinger, is an orientation and mobility specialist for a school district in the St. Louis area. He was the head honcho for a program this summer called STEP (Student Transitional Educational Program.) Designed for teens between 14 and 19 who are blind or visually impaired, STEP gives participants a three week campus experience. The participants learn a ton of adaptive daily living skills, but also get help with interviews, resumes, social skills and networking.

I was really proud to be their featured speaker on Thursday, April 25. Special thanks to Kevin and Angie York for being such great hosts, and to all the participants for taking a proactive stance for your future and your education. If there's anything I can do to help y'all in the future, just drop me an E mail. Good luck in your future pursuits!

Upward Talent Search!

Okay, so that's not really the title of anything...

Last week, I was honored to work with two elements of the TRIO program in Kansas. Educational Talent Search helps identify middle school students who are underprivledged and/or have a parent who didn't go to college in order to help these students see their education as a priority. Folks, these are good tax dollars at work, helping to educate, inspire and motivate young people to help take their life up another notch from whence they came.

Now, second part of the TRIO event was with high school students in the Upward Bound program. These teens have been identified as having some of the same criteria as the other TRIO students, but with gifts in math and sciences (seriously, even though some of my audience was only 14 or 15, I felt stupid around these kids!They're just that smart!)

A HUGE thanks goes to Michael Rose for being such a fantastic client, such an inspiration to his students and a walking example of turning your life up a notch.

Thanks to all the TRIO students who attended the event at Coffeyville, KS and for all the Facebook sign-ups!