Wednesday, April 21, 2010

One Good Thing . . .

Yes, when we do a small thing, take one tiny step, we never know where it will lead. That's why we must always be sure our actions are positive, and never be afraid to take them. Something that happened just this evening demonstrates that to me.

Late last year, I had a date to give my first speech in over a decade, my first ever on the subject of ending poverty in order to build a more peaceful society. I was delighted that I was going to discuss that uplifting subject at the December meeting of the Arizona Chapter of the Department of Peace Campaign in Scottsdale. A few days before the speech, my publicist, Babs Chandrasoma, emailed me to say a documentary filmmaker, Dafna Michaelson, wanted to interview me for her yearlong project, 50in52journey.com, when she came through Phoenix on December 2. What good fortune! That was the very day I was to go to the Phoenix area for my speech! God was certainly working overtime on my schedule!

But there was a small problem: Neither Dafna nor I had any idea where we could do the interview. It would have been too difficult for her to come all the way out to our home in Casa Grande, 60 miles south of the city, and since I rarely go to Phoenix, I didn't have a clue what was available there. So, I shot emails out to the people I know who know people, and I got two offers right away. One came from the man who serves as pastor of the nondenominational chapel at Sky Harbor Airport. Using a conference room in the chapel suite would certainly be convenient, since mine would be the first of several interviews Dafna had scheduled shortly after her plane landed. But the other offer from Caitlin Flaherty was even more intriguing.

As Executive Director of the AZDOP Campaign, Caitlin was the person who'd invited me to give the speech at their monthly meeting. Even better, her home is just a few minutes' drive from the airport, and she has a wonderfully peaceful backyard full of native desert plants. Caitlin generously offered the use of her backyard for my interview, so when you watch my interview, you're seeing Caitlin's garden behind me. But that's not the best part!

Just last evening, Caitlin sent me an email to show me the interview she did with Dafna via the internet! So, Caitlin's simple act of generosity led to one more chance for her to share the importance of making changes in ourselves in order to help make the world a better place. And don't forget, all this began with Caitlin's original offer for me to discuss my creative ideas for win-win-win solutions for the world's problems with the people in her group. Who knows what other wonderful developments will come from these small steps forward?!

One more good thing has come from Caitlin's generosity: I haven't posted anything on this blog since the middle of last year. That's because I spent so much of 2009 taking care of several unusual medical issues and focusing on my online column as Phoenix Progressive Examiner for Examiner.com. Now I'm past those medical details, but as an Examiner, I'm expected to concentrate on Arizona politics, which is such a negative topic these days. While I certainly have a lot to say about what's going on in the Grand Canyon State, I prefer to focus my energies on the positive aspects of looking for those aforementioned solutions, rather than just complaining about all the problems that seem to get worse every time the politicians get involved.

And one more thing I didn't do last year that I must take care of this year: I am determined to finish writing my second peace book, Keep on Imagining: Spreading the wings of peace. That's why I've decided to make this blog my primary focus from now on. It will help me to keep my spirits up, share my hope and ideas for building a better world, and publish that next book by the end of 2010.

So, come back often, and tell your friends about me! I'll be here often!

Love and peace to all,
Debbie Jordan

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