"Being
there" for each other:
the power
of one, our future as one
24 January 2019
"I hope someday you'll
join us
And the world will be as
one."
~ John Lennon (1971)
"What can one do except
be one
Talking to two, touching three,
growing to four million
Each of us is one
All of us are one."
~ Carole King (2018 new
lyrics)
3-min music video -- from
1977 original song
It is time on Earth for each citizen to live with a large
global view, meet each another, live among our blessed community as one --
diverse, but family.
Being as one IS NOT predatory conquest for oneself, in-hospitality, or
withdrawing from relationships -- turning one's back, itself violent.
Being as one IS getting together, listening to learn everyone's
life stories, thus dignifying and humanizing all in the midst -- not someday,
but now.
- - - - -
We often hear from people in difficult situations: "I just needed to
hear your voice, see your face, hold your hand."
"Being there" for each other prevents hopelessness and despair,
even suicide and war.
Personal connection increases enthusiasm and imagining creative ways into our
future together.
Being together -- in touch -- is best face-to-face, eyes-to-eyes, hand-in-hand,
heart-to-heart.
Plus, fortunately today's communication technology and social media empower us
to connect -- across time zones, surprisingly deeply.
An early example is at http://traubman.igc.org/light2015.htm
TODAY:
1. "Being there" to help prevent desperate acts of
violence, even suicide
2. "Being there" for orphan children far away
3. "Being there" for each other between Massachusetts and
Kentucky coal country
4. "Being there" in The Holy Land with Arabs and Jews, both
5. Enrichment: Carl Rogers on Empathy and the power of listening
= = 1 = =
"Being there" to
help
prevent desperate acts
of violence, even suicide
Following violent
acts of desperation, even self-destruction, we commonly conclude: "He was
crazy. She was evil. They are inhuman, not civilized."
In recent history, there was a poverty of social science for reliable ways to
prevent suicide.
Yet unperceived by us, our local Dialogue supporter, psychiatrist Jerome Motto
(1921-2015), was insightfully, tenaciously pursuing clinical research.
Jerry was religiously "being there" for his suicide-prone patients
for years following their release from therapy.
What he learned instructs humankind today: be there for each other, stay
connected.
The Best Way To Save People From
Suicide
What if this is what we should be
doing? What if its that simple?
by Jason Cherkis
Huffington Post -- 16 November 2018
https://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/how-to-help-someone-who-is-suicidal/
As the U.S. continues suffering an endless epidemic rise of suicide -- with
violence of desperate people around Earth -- it is time to give power and
action to the surprisingly successful method of human support pioneered
in the 1960s by Dr. Jerry Motto.
Suicide, Veterans, and How a Simple Idea Is Trying to Combat
a Crisis
9-min video - 14 November 2018
https://www.retroreport.org/video/suicide-veterans-and-how-a-simple-idea-tried-to-combat-a-crisis/
= = 2 = =
"Being there" for
orphan children far away
Maggie Doyne travelled outside of her country, outside of herself
to find her best self.
She tells her story of meeting and helping orphans from war and disease.
The background music is "Fearless Motivation."
We can be like Maggie.
23-year-old Girl Raises 200 Orphans
5-min video -- October 2018
= = 3 = =
"Being there" for
each other
between Massachusetts and
Kentucky coal country
Hands Across the
Hills -- https://www.handsacrossthehills.org -- is diverse citizens transcending
human misunderstandings building bridges across political divides between
Letcher County, Kentucky, and Leverett, Massachusetts, after the 2016
presidential election.
During 2017-2018 they travelled to live and speak with one another,
first in Massachusetts, then in Kentucky.
The connection continues, with new projects underway and personal relationships
deepening.
Initiator Paul Green of the Karuna Center -- http://www.karunacenter.org -- received
e-mail at Paula@karunacenter.org
HEAR and WATCH them:
Hands Across the Hills
National Public Radi
(NPR) - 30 November 2018
11-min audio broadcast
http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2018/11/28/conservatives-kentucky-liberals-massachusetts-politics
and
https://dcs.megaphone.fm/BUR3337454133.mp3
I Could Cry a River
Dialogue among citizens of Leverett, MA
and Letcher County, KY
November 2018 documentary
13-min video
= = 4 = =
"Being there" in
The Holy Land
with Arabs and Jews, both
Phyllis Bernstein
insisted on traveling
outside of her safe circle -- from her comfortable New Jersey home to be in the
Middle East with not only her familiar Jewish people but especially with
"the others," Palestinians.
Back home she published: "American Jews are familiar with the
Israeli narrative.
But the country is home to two narratives, and until there is acknowledgement
of that (by both peoples), peace can be only a distant hope."
READ how "being there" expanded her view of people and
getting to our shared future.
Exploring outposts of the two narratives of Israel/Palestine
Phyllis Bernstein
New Jersey Jewish News -- November 21,
2018
https://njjewishnews.timesofisrael.com/exploring-outposts-of-the-two-narratives-of-israel-palestine/
= = 5 = =
Enrichment
Carl Rogers on Empathy
The surprising power of Listening
for what has Meaning to one another,
thus dignifying both listener and speaker
Carl Rogers (1902-1987) -- 14-1/2 min
1974 video
This
message is on the Web at https://traubman.igc.org/messages/716.htm
Hundreds of other success stories are preserved at https://traubman.igc.org/messages.htm