I attended a very interesting forum at work this week, the panel was three Ashoka Fellows: Molly Barker (founder of Girls on the Run), Kristen Hayden (founder of One World Now!) and Vishal Talrega (founder of Dream a Dream).  Even though religion was not discussed openly I thought they were making incredible statements about what it means to be human, what is the ultimate purpose of life, and what is good.  I was particularly fascinated by some of the words they used to describe their own experiences as their word choice resonated deeply with what I believe but which I have come to understand from a religious lens.  A few examples:

One theme that quickly emerged on the panel was the distinction between what they do and who they are, or action and being.  All three of them are incredibly successful entrepreneurs and all working with children in the realm of empowerment and all constantly traveling and talking about “what they do.”  However all three of them seemed to be bursting with the desire to express that what their vision was and the purpose of their work was not…running races, learning languages or educating street kids…but what kind of people they were creating, what the children they worked with were becoming.  Their language paralleled that of modern apostle Dallin Oaks in his speech “The Challenge to Become“.  Listening to both parties articulate a similar message I was struck by how much the Fellows struggled to articulate it and find the right words, all the while being lauded as insightful, innovative and revered for their wisdom while the speech of Dallin Oaks is build from ancient texts thousands of years old yet largely unread though beautifully poetic and even more poignant because of an answer to the question of ‘where does that drive or desire come from’.  Either way I share this sentiment, I am interested in what I become as a person not necessarily what I do or achieve.

Another phrase that dominated the conversation was the word “nothingness.”  All three panels expressed a point in their life in which the came to a fundamental crossroads or crux of experience in which “their mind was blown” and they finally saw clearly what they needed to do or had the courage to take big risks in their lives as social entrepreneurs.  Ms. Barker described her experience as entering into a state of ‘nothingness’, a washing away of all the frameworks and paradigms she had been taught, a pureness of thought and recognition of self.  Her word choice immediately made me think of King Benjamin’s speech in the Book of Mormon in which he challenges his listeners to be “awakened to a sense of your nothingness” which leads to humility and a recognition of God’s goodness and gifts and powers which results in “being filled with the love of God” and growth in “knowledge of that which is just and true.”  Ms. Barker went on to explain that she has found that space again and again and was even in that state of mind as she spoke.  I also confirm that I felt a difference in the room, the collective mood of all the participants, something was resonating or striking a chord with the participants.  Again as she was describing her feelings it was an immediate parallel to language I would be accustomed to hearing in an LDS church or meeting.  Mormons would credit such a moment to the Holy Spirit, the feeling of peace, the clarity of mind, the sudden strokes of ideas.  It reminded me of the following description of revelation by Joseph Smith,

“A person may profit by noticing the first intimation of the spirit of revelation; for instance, when you feel pure intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas, so that by noticing it, you may find it fulfilled the same day or soon; . . . those things that were presented unto your minds by the Spirit of God, will come to pass; and thus by learning the Spirit of God and understanding it, you may grow into the principle of revelation, until you become perfect in Christ.”  (TPJS 151)

I would argue that there must be a somethingness behind that nothingness which Ms. Barker describes.  Particularly in regards to how she describes it as coming outside of herself, not being created or manipulated as a feeling, it simply came to her.  It is those experiences that causes me to believe in that somethingness which leads to light and understanding and desire to become.  I find it even more powerful that that something is a someone.

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In light of searching for that balance my thought for today is an introspection into the use of time and its connection to happiness. We all have the same amount of time in a day and it is our decisions about how to use that time that really defines who we are and what we become. I have experienced a profound shift in time culture over the last year or so.  It seems like only yesterday I was in Africa sitting in a store called “No Hurry in Life Enterprise”, a virtue in their community but an oxymoron in the culture I find myself part of on the East Coast. Everyone is very dedicated and in my particular workplace we are all working for a very noble cause which might justify it more but sometimes I question whether the long hours are really the legacy I want to build and have to show for my time on earth. There is always a time and place for long hours/intense work, they are a component of nearly every great achievement, but a culture of work that over the long run cuts out family, recreation, time for contemplation, etc. is, I think, detrimental to the individual and society as a whole.

Can I have it both ways or will I need need to move to Africa… only time will tell.

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Honestly it was one of the most introspective movie-viewing experiences I have had in a very very long time.  The movie is incredibly insightful into the coming of age experience and the beauty of the different stages of our lives.  It stirred such a mixed bags of emotions: a nostalgic sadness for the loss of innocence and unlimited potential of childhood, a desire to be more playful and appreciative of the gift of life in my current situation, and an appreciation for the maturity and depth of relationships created in adulthood.  It really was a fantastic experience.  

Some of my thoughts after this experience… will I ever experience the mentality of childhood again? (If not the preciousness of that time is mindboggling considering the length of eternity).  Was there an ‘adult’ consciousness that was present the entire time only withheld by biological mechanical limitations?   (Pure speculation but thought provoking).  Have I grown up into the person I wanted to be?  Have I grown up into something that is even more complex and meaningful than I could have even conceived as a young person?  Who will I become in twenty more years?

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As I listened to these discussions the expressions and language that I heard were, in essence, echoes of Zion.  These are elements that the Utopians have identified across the centuries.  The ways such a society are to be established have already been identified and successfully implemented for short periods of time.  Why short?  Because it is extremely hard work, it takes constant concentration, quick repentance, “prayer and fasting”, “meeting together oft” and the entire group must be fully committed.  But I say the more we can approach that ideal the better and it should be our endless goal, so I whole-heartedly endorse Ashoka’s vision of Everyone a Changemaker.  It is a matter of being and becoming. 

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2500 years ago a man named Jacob rebuked a gathering of men who had through their actions abused their wives and children.  He spoke in the name of the Lord saying “I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women and whoredoms are an abomination before me… I have seen the sorrow and heard the mourning of the daughters of my people [and can suffer it no longer’.”  In our modern day men continue to destroy these most precious and tender daughters of God.  Thanks be to God that He has raised up a woman named Betty Makoni to continue this battle for what is right and the only acceptable mode of behavior towards these most precious souls in the eyes of God.

In blogging fashion I will honor with her with links to her story–

Her official website

Her Ashoka Fellow profile

A speech she gave at the Global Philanthropy Forum

From the Global Fund for Women

From the United Nation’s Girls Education Initiative

From the BBC

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Such a moment inspires personal reflection and ponderous thought.  The questions are not academic: what’s it all for?  is that it?  does it have to be over so soon?  that person who loved and was loved, was she only a passing phenomenon?

As I listened to others reminisce and speak so beautifully about their friend I personally felt so restrained, I wanted to stand up and share the good news that I have found and sincerely believe, that death is not the end, that even in grief there is hope.

May her family be comforted in their loss and may I remember the thoughts I had that day.

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Today it is in vogue within Christianity to deny the reality of the resurrection.  However denying the actuality of the resurrection yet still wanting to hold on to some elements of Christ’s teachings has been a point of contention within Christianity from the first century, so this is not a new development nor a matter of an ‘enlightened’ modern mind.  The report of a man who was publicly killed coming back to life three days afterwards, being touched and interacting with multiple groups of people, is indeed foolishness to the logical mind.

I think it is nearly impossible to explain or describe the mystery and glory of the resurrection in conversation.  Such a topic is best handled by the poet, artist, and musician.  I provide two pieces to ponder:

Caravaggio’s Doubting Thomas 

From The Redeemer by Robert Cundick

(Listen to an excerpt) Text adopted from Moroni 7: 41, 48

“And what is it that we shall hope for? We have hope, hope, hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal…

We shall pray, pray, pray unto the Father unto the Father with all the energy of our hearts that we may be filled with His love, that we may be filled with His love which he hath bestowed on us who are true followers of our Lord Jesus Christ.  That we may become the sons and daughters of God.  That when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.”

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National Geographic Featured Article

If you were to dig a hole 300 feet straight down from the center of the charming French village of Crozet, you’d pop into a setting that calls to mind the subterranean lair of one of those James Bond villains. A garishly lit tunnel ten feet in diameter curves away into the distance, interrupted every few miles by lofty chambers crammed with heavy steel structures, cables, pipes, wires, magnets, tubes, shafts, catwalks, and enigmatic gizmos.

This technological netherworld is one very big scientific instrument, specifically, a particle accelerator-an atomic peashooter more powerful than any ever built. It’s called the Large Hadron Collider, and its purpose is simple but ambitious: to crack the code of the physical world; to figure out what the universe is made of; in other words, to get to the very bottom of things.

Read the full story 

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