No one would have followed Martin Luther King if he had said “I have a nightmare”, as mentioned by energy secretary Ed Miliband.

We have to be careful that we don’t scare off would be joiners with too much hyperbole.  Admittedly, I am an extreme advocate of climate change.  We need to unite in being good to this earth.  It has been so good to all of us.  I am  hopeful that the decision makers representing the world in Copenhagen are uniting in the dream — and not denying the nightmare.

Side note and a bit of irony –> more than 1200 limos are being called in from all over Europe to meet the delegates, officials and presidential demands of the Copenhagen climate summit.  Too cold to ride bikes I guess.  The “economic growth” advocates ie: Republicans for continued pollution, will be represented by US Senator, Jim Inhofe

We all know the nightmare –> So many pictures of people riding bikes in China through polluted air with face masks.  Stories of asthmatic children in the Bronx breathing diesel fumes.  Photos of decapitated mountains in West Virginia and the subsequent coal muck escaping in to small towns.  Growth was so big and so fast that sewage spilled in to drinking water in Florida.  Many fists pound many tables when you suggest that things need to change.

Polluters love muddling the facts, and making fun of the nightmarish scenarios.  Some scientists  actually feed the machine that is profiting currently.  The collaborative machine of industry, shipping, air flights, hospitals, manufacturers, and on and on are horrified by the idea of changing energy production and usage. We have evolved to need stuff, rather than just water, food, shelter and coffee.

Many of them don’t think of themselves as polluters but as providers of jobs.  Many of them simply don’t care as long as stock holder profits are improving.  No such thing as a sustainable status quo in the stock market.   We just need to make change less horrifying and point out the advantages to health and stocks.

So lets describe the dream… Andrew Gilligan wrote an article for the telegraph.co.uk…” Copenhagen is a city filled entirely with bicycles, stuffed with retrofitted, energy-efficient old buildings, and seems to embody the civilized pleasures of low-carbon living without any of the puritanism”.

Costa Rica produces 99% of its energy from renewable sources, reversed deforestation and is aiming to become a carbon-neutral country by 2021 by combining its ministries of energy and environment, and abolishing its army.  Ok abolishing armies will probably never happen world wide, there will always be bad guys to fight.  We can dream though.  Other small island nations such as the Dominican Republic and Jamaica are also fairing well in levels of health and a very low footprint.

Nana Ruth taught me to write letters.  Many years ago she encouraged me to write to companies after enjoying a product or a stay or an encounter;  more so than when I was disenchanted.  It makes you look for good, inquire of names,  and jot things down.  When your looking for good you find it.  I’ve enjoyed this lesson and have received free loaves of bread, smiles, and plain ole good karma.  I’m so glad she taught me to write letters.

We stayed at the Ritz Carlton in Naples Florida  for my birthday last year.  I felt like everyone who worked there was only interested in me enjoying my birthday.  I made a point of remembering the names of staff members who wished me a happy birthday greeting as we passed in the halls, or as we played ping pong provided more coffee, or brought us another towel by the pool.  They knew my name?!    I felt like a celebrity.

There was a beastly woman with an older man by the pool. She was loud and rude to the pool attendant, who continued to accommodate her until she finally quieted down and settled into a spot that suited her.   I would have snatched the towel out from under her repugnant self and wrapped it around her neck, but, he remained kind and accommodating.  I wrote a letter and included his name and the names of other exceptional staff members, and received a printed response with a little hand written personal note stating that a copy of my letter had been given to each named staff member personally.

The Ritz made it very easy for me to do this.  In our room there was a stamped envelope with their address on it.  During my drive home I wrote the letter and filled out their form and mailed it back.  Of course there is an online version as well, but, I like the handwritten option.

Congressman Boozeman always writes me back a personal note in his own writing with a blue pen at the bottom of a pre-scripted printed page.  I don’t always agree with him, and that is usually what I am telling him, but I am impressed that he includes a personal note explaining his thinking. I bring it to work and share it so others can see his handwritten note and that it does make a difference to “write your congressman”.  Senators Lincoln and Pryor respond via e-mail — sometimes.

Dan and Chip Heath wrote… In America alone, there are about 2.7 million call-center employees who are standing by ready to soothe you. That’s roughly the population of Kansas. But what if you’ve got joy in your heart? Good luck finding someone who cares.

That’s a tragedy on multiple levels, first for the employees who never receive your warm fuzzies. Pick any non-customer-service employee at random from your company. When was the last time that person received positive feedback directly from a customer? If the answer is “never,” that’s as cruel as an unwatered plant.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/129/made-to-stick-i-love-you-now-what.html

I have worked as a travel nurse in various hospitals for several years.  One hospital in Boca Raton Florida stands out in my mind because patients wrote letters to the hospital telling them how wonderful we were.  Sometimes my name was included with the names of others and we each received a personal copy.  I saved them.  I was only there for six months, but, collected more letters of appreciation than all the other places combined.  I don’t think I was a better nurse there.   What is it about Boca Hospital that makes people write letters of appreciation?  Did the hospital make it easier for the patients to write compliments?  Were they given a stamped envelope?

Companies should pave the way to praise.  Maybe you appreciate the extra-deep cup holder in your Toyota, which holds your venti latte snugly. Where do you send the thank-you note?

One last little story.  Seth was working at an airline counter at Miami International Airport.  I had just arrived from Dallas after missing my flight to Ft Myers due to weather.  It was very important for me to be in Ft Myers that night because my son had been in a motorcycle accident and was on life support with multiple injuries including brain injury.  It was the worst 22 hours of my life just trying to get to him in a February snow storm.

Airline personnel just fell into a category of cold and uncaring that night, the more I cried, the more they didn’t care.  I’m sure they have listened to many sob stories and they weren’t moved by mine–> then I met Seth.  He was in their ranks until I quietly explained my situation without tears.   Seth arranged for a van to drive me to Ft Myers since no flights were leaving until the next morning.  During the ride over I wrote the airlines and told them what a Godsend Seth had been.  I don’t remember, now, what airline Seth worked for, they never responded; but,  I will always remember Seth.

Harmonic Convergence

http://www.zenmoments.org/on-the-toss-of-a-coin/

I read Steve Jobs commencement speech to Stanford University that was delivered on June 12, 2005.  Wow!  If you haven’t read it, please do so.  There is no bias to his words, just sincerity and emotional intelligence.  Here is the link and a few of my favorite parts.

http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.htm

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it.  Death is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by Dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”

We all know this, but, do we really do this?  I grew up with advice such as “stick to your own guns”,  “paddle your own canoe” and “find your passion”.  Those words  just didn’t put a fire under me.   “A job worth doing is worth doing well” and I do believe that; but,  my job is not my life. My job is how I pay for my life.

I chose a noble profession, I am an RN.  When my children were born I didn’t want to be a bartender anymore so I worked in a doctors office.  The doctor convinced me I should be a nurse so I went to nursing school and now I work in an Intensive Care Unit.  There was no destiny or passion or calling or anything like that.  I was like dust rolling around and collecting into what I am now.  I’m not sure any dots were connected and yet, I am surely enjoying this life.

I am very lucky and I savor the smart people I get to be around.  My patients affect and inspire me.  Not all, but most.  I met a 747 pilot.   A cruise ship captain told me he wouldn’t want to live any other life.    Many doctors would rather earn their living as a tennis player or a golfer. Would that take the fun out of it?  If it became your job?   Retired people don’t often talk about how they made their living.  They just want to live a bit longer to attend a wedding or witness the birth of a grandchild. A hospital gown has a way of making everyone equal.

Hospitals can be humbling.  I lost a 34 year old patient last week to cervical cancer.  No pain, no nausea, just quietly and quickly slipped away.  Someone borrowed $60 from the patient so the patient’s sister could get out of jail to be with her before she died.  Her sister made it.  Did they choose this life?  Was it a carefree life that somehow became tragic and left behind an orphan son?

Steve Jobs said, that he dropped out of school in order to take the courses that he wanted to take rather than the ones he was required to take.  I felt that way while I was in nursing school learning craziness like the Pythagorean Theorem.  I was studying to work in the hospital not build the damn thing.  I’m not as smart as Steve Jobs.  Without a degree in something I would flounder.  I wasn’t able to feed my children because of  anything I made in my garage. So I persevered and sat with tutors in the library and made it through.

I watched a great movie called Sherman’s Way.  It seems to fit in here somehow.  I have neighbors very similar to Palmer and DJ.  They live a carefree life and they share their fish with us sometimes.  Living a carefree life can be great as long as it isn’t irresponsible.  Then again living a structured life can be great too as long as there is  gentleness and spontaneity thrown in.   Kathy, whom I referred to in What is inside,  is like Sherman with her notes and her organized self. I enjoyed finding what was inside.

I guess it is just about living a life you enjoy and surrounding yourself with people you love.  If you’re anything like me and there are no dots to connect and no passions to persue than just live a life worth living and don’t cheat, don’t lie, don’t steal and don’t hurt anyone.