Inspired Solution to Frustration & Helplessness

I found myself feeling upset, frustrated and helpless twice this week, for two very different reasons.  First, due to the media coverage of the debt ceiling debate in Congress, because I’m left with the impression that nothing is going to change.  It would be easy to throw up my hands and check out of the process altogether, since my vote doesn’t appear to make a difference.  And yet, in this country where money has a voice, making mindful choices on how I spend/invest my money is how I make my vote count.

A few years ago, I set out on a mission to locate people and organizations using the inertia as incentive to get together in community to develop innovative solutions to long-standing problems.  First, I found Heifer International and Ojai Foundation, both of which have domestic and global initiatives.  That wasn’t enough. I wanted to find innovators located in my back yard focusing on the community in which I live.  The Social Justice Fund (SJF) fit that bill in more ways than I ever anticipated.  Every time I connect with this community, I leave feeling inspired, educated and deeply moved to be more involved. I feel like my eyes are open wider … on one hand, being able to more clearly see what’s not working in our society, but at the same time, fully engaged with people who are tackling those very-same issues in a way that inspires hope and confidence that it will be different.

This year, Kris and I felt compelled to become involved in a more strategic way by creating a matching gift campaign with The Social Justice Fund. You can read about our personal reasons here:

http://sojust.givezooks.com/campaigns/kelkar-grantmaking-challenge

While one person can make a difference, when people join together, that difference is amplified and energized exponentially.  That is the idea behind a matching gift campaign … together we can make a bigger difference.  Our intention is to inspire giving of any amount … please know that no amount is too small because our match will double it.  One hundred people donating $5 each is a more sustainable solution in the long run, than Kris and I making one large donation once a year.  Whether you decide to participate or not, please know that my primary intention is to introduce you to what is working, in the face of all of the news coverage of what isn’t.

Honestly, I hadn’t intended to post an appeal, but I spent this morning reviewing Social Justice Fund (SJF) grant requests, and noticed that I was feeling upset, frustrated and helpless again!  One request for funds is to expand a project created by teenagers, who themselves have been bullied, to stop bullying in schools.  Another request is for funds to expand a grass-roots program in elementary schools in economically disadvantaged communities that teaches students the value of eating healthy locally-grown food, while simultaneously empowering them to advocate for decisions on what foods are offered in their school cafeteria. Another request is for funds to help organize and empower a team of community leaders to raise their voice in governmental land-use decisions that will shape their community for decades.  My upset, frustration and helplessness stems from the fact that there are 20 equally worthy requests totaling $200,000 and Social Justice Fund is only able to give $55,000 this year. That means that some of these appeals will have to be turned down or projects scaled back.

All I know is that I want to increase the amount that Social Justice Fund is able to give out for next year’s campaign so that it can say “YES” to more such incredibly inspiring projects.  Our donation was a first step; making it into a matching gift campaign was a second step; my third step is to share this with you.  I’m hoping that your participation — either in the form of a donation or by sharing this email with others in your local circle – before August 31, 2011 will be a first step for you.  You can get more information about our matching gift and make a donation to our campaign by clicking:

http://sojust.givezooks.com/campaigns/kelkar-grantmaking-challenge

Sincerely,

 

PS. I debated a lot about whether to post this on my blog, since my blog is related to my business.  In the end, I realized two things:

1) What I’m passionate about always makes its way into what I teach through my business.  This type of out-of-the-box thinking, seeing clearly what connects us instead of what separates us, experiencing how we as humans are holistic beings that thrive in community are all side-benefits of the meditation (Mind to Body connection) and yoga therapy (Body to Mind Connection) that I teach in my Programs.  My participation itself is living validation of how I’ve been able to step out of my survival mode, triggered when I am stuck in Overworked Overwhelmed Overachiever, where all I could focus on was the next deadline.  So I’m posting this as an example of the vibrancy and interconnectedness that awakens through what I strive to embody and teach.

2) By making it a blog post rather than an email, this information will survive on the Internet in perpetuity, which means that you can always send people to this post, even after the matching gift campaign is complete.

 

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