Patience. More than anything I wish I could be more patient....with my children, with my husband, with my spiritual practice, with my work, with myself.

What is ONE?

ONE is a new effort by Americans to rally Americans – ONE by ONE – to fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty. ONE is students and ministers, punk rockers and NASCAR moms, Americans of all beliefs and every walk of life, united as ONE to help make poverty history. ONE believes that allocating an additional ONE percent of the U.S. budget toward providing basic needs like health, education, clean water and food would transform the futures and hopes of an entire generation in the world's poorest countries. ONE also calls for debt cancellation, trade reform and anti–corruption measures in a comprehensive package to help Africa and the poorest nations beat AIDS and extreme poverty.

What does ONE aim to do/change?

ONE aims to help Americans raise their voice as ONE against the emergency of AIDS and extreme poverty, so that decision makers will do more to save millions of lives in the poorest countries.

Who supports ONE?

ONE is a broad movement of Americans from every state and walk of life–more than 2 million people have lent their voices to ONE by visiting ONE.ORG and signing the ONE Declaration. More than three million Americans are also wearing white bands as a show of support for ending extreme poverty and global AIDS. ONE is Americans spreading the word in churches, coffee shops, on television, college campuses and the Internet.

Learn how you can make a difference in fighting poverty and AIDS by visiting The ONE Campain.

This is so lovely. A knock at the door...go ahead and open it.

I love this quote. 

"We don't accomplish anything in this world alone ... and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one's life and all the weavings of individual threads from one to another that creates something."

When I was pregnant with my first child, my mom bought me a really cool book, "The Family Virtues Guide," by Linda Kavelin Popov. Basically, the book is a simple tutorial on building your family's moral foundation through discussing and practicing the virtues found throughout the world's cultures and religions.

Fast forward several years later, throw in a geographic, some rehab, and a total restructuring of my psyche, and viola! Out comes the book of virtues at the perfect place in time. Yesterday, we had our first Family Virtues Meeting. We kept it brief and chose "Loving" as this week's virtue. Throughout the week we will look for ways to illustrate the concept. Hopefully, it will begin to build a framework for understanding the different values we try to throw at our kids. I'll let you know how it goes.

For more information on the Virtues Project see their website.

I'm thinking that perhaps I'm not cool enough or smart enough for Zaadz. Thus far, I am supremely impressed with the membership and discussions growing here. But I'm not sure if this the kind of community that will foster and encourage these enlightened ideas in a general public that is searching for a better world, but doesn't have the time, money, knowledge to pursue them in their every day lives.

I spent a lifetime trying to be different and then woke up one morning wondering why I didn't fit in anywhere. A decade in the rat race and suburbia left me emotionally empty, spiritually bankrupt, physically a wreck, and financially depleted. Rehab and recovery helped me throw away the template I thought I was supposed to adhere to and taught me to continue forging my own path, but in a healthier way. Now, I strive for simplicity and for balance.

I very much want to be a part of this community because I absolutey adore and support the idea of conscious capitalism, but I'm not sure I have the intellectual capacity or online social skills or time to articulate in the manner in which the bar here has been set.

Is it possible to change the world, keep it simple, raise healthy children, live with integrity, enjoy Metallica, stay sober, dye your hair pink at 37, still be in love with your husband after 15 years, read and understand Ken Wilber, integrate passion with work, be a feminist and a girlie girl, digest every issue of Ode, and develop real relationships with like-minded people online?

I guess we'll have to see.

I wrote this post for my personal blog originally, but I thought others here at Zaadz might find it interesting, if not a little helpful:

As with a lot of people in recovery, the keystone of my sobriety is my relationship with a higher power. I literally had to start from scratch "formulating" the idea of god, let alone trying to develop a relationship with it/him/her. Frankly, I was completely and totally spiritually bankrupt. On my journey I have read and learned heaps and heaps of good stuff while slowly coming to terms with what I believe in and what my higher power's will meant to me.

There's an amazing library of resources out there for people in recovery  in need of  spirituality, but not comfortable with the generic concept of God. One of the spiritual/philosophical practices that really appeals to me is that of Buddhism (Taoism, as well..."The Tao of Sobriety" is a great little book).  By far the most compelling and valuable book I've read to date is Kevin Griffin's One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps. I just love how cleanly (and simply) he ties the two schools of thought together and makes them easy to understand and practice. The next book I plan to read along this same topic is Noah Levine's Dharma Punx which also looks very good. Someday, when I get some spare time, I'll write up reviews on both of these and some of the others I've read.

Although, I have no interest in rewriting the 12 steps of AA (they seem to be working just fine for a lot of people just the way they are), I did find an interesting interpretation of them on the website for the Lion's Roar Dharma Center Recovery Group.

The 12 Steps of Liberation

1. The truth of suffering. We experienced the truth of our addictions – our lives were unmanageable suffering.
2. The truth of the origin of suffering. We admit that we craved for and grasped onto addictions as our refuge.
3. The truth of the end of suffering. We came to see that complete cessation of craving and clinging at addictions is necessary.
4. The truth of the path. We made a decision to follow the way of liberation and to take refuge in our wakefulness, our truth, and our fellowship.
5. Right view. We made a searching and fearless review of our life. We are willing to acknowledge and proclaim our truth to ourselves, another human being and the community.
6. Right thought. We are mindful that we create the causes for suffering and liberation. Our goodness is indestructible.
7. Right speech. We purify, confess and ask for forgiveness straightforwardly and without judgment. We are willing to forgive others.
8. Right action. We make a list of all persons we harm and are willing and able to actively make amends to them all, unless to do so would be harmful.
9. Right livelihood. We simplify our lives, realizing we are all interconnected. We select a vocation that supports our recovery.
10. Right effort. We realize that continuing to follow this path, no matter what, is joyful effort.
11. Right mindfulness. Through prayer, meditation and action we will follow the path of kindness, being mindful moment by moment.
12. Right concentration. Open to the spirit of awakening as a result of these steps, we will carry this message to all people suffering with addictions.

If you’re interested in Buddhism and how it can help you in your recovery, you can also check out these sites:

• http://www.buddhistrecovery.com
  
• http://www.dharmapunx.com
• http://www.kevingriffin.com
  
• http://open-mind.org/News/SH/23.htm
• http://www.geocities.com/bodhi_01au
• http://www.viacorp.com/addiction.html
• http://www.flatmajic.com/spirituality/Buddhism/buddhismandrecovery.htm