Concerned Consumers

Something I have learned in Peace Corps, and had reinforced during many conversations with my family and close friends back in America, is that we have a huge impact as consumers. Beyond anything we could imagine. Action expresses priorities; purchases express priorities. Whether you buy from this store or that store, this brand or that brand, you are telling an organization that you support what they do - paying workers 10 cents an hour, paying executives 10 million a year, raising animals humanely or inhumanely, respecting or destroying the earth.

In my opinion one of the best things we can do to change our world is be informed and make wise decisions which express our priorities. Whether it’s by watching documentaries like The Corporation, Capitalism: A Love Story or Food, Inc. (all of which I highly recommend) or asking hard questions and searching for the answers, it has never been easier or more important to be a concerned consumer. Especially in America, where we hold a huge percent of the world’s wealth, we have a tremendous opportunity to make a difference every day.

Humbling Gifts

One very fascinating thing about the Mongolian people is their gift-giving. When someone gets an award, or wins a trophy, or gets married, or has a funeral in their family, they give presents. They, the people who received an award, or won, or got married, or are arranging the funeral, give presents.

In one way it’s as if they are saying, “I am glad you are here, sharing this with me,” while also saying, “I have been very fortunate in this life and would like to give back something to say ‘thank you’ to you, my friends and family.” I think it is a beautiful gesture and I have been surprised by it again and again. When I left for America in May I was treated like everyone else when they go on a long trip - everyone chipped in together, dozens of people in my department, and gave me presents and money to wish me a safe journey.

It is very much like the old woman in the bible story who gives even though she doesn’t have much. It’s been a very humbling experience for me, coming from a place where people have a great deal and still feel like they would like to have more. Here people have little, but still give it away.

Kind o'r Smart

Today we, Alex, LP and I, were talking about values with our friends who are local Mongolian English teachers and one my favorite teachers Enebish said, “I would like to teach my students that they don’t have to be the smartest student, but they can all be kind. I think this is the most important value.” Other teachers went on to say that they wanted students to be more confident, to speak up more in class, to be more talented in the English language and so on. One teacher said one of her students who barely spoke English before has gotten much more confident in the language and is now winning bigger awards year by year. We are happy for this girl, but I couldn’t help but wonder about the rest of the students.

I think it is better to be kind than smart. For certain one is much more in our control than the other. I recognize that we give awards to Valedictorians and not to the nicest kid in class, but I wish we did. Take Forrest Gump as an example: my favorite thing about him is how much he did with what he had. He was not the smartest person in the movie (“Are you stupid or something?” he’s often asked), but he was by far the wisest character (“Stupid is as stupid does,” he always responded). He was simple, gentle, loyal, generous, brave, honest and maybe more than anything else he was kind.

I think Forrest represents the best in us so well not in spite of his aptitude but because aptitude is not what makes us valuable. There is goodness in all of us. We can choose to live wisely. We can choose to be kind. That makes us immensely valuable and special. Like Enebish said, I think that’s what we need to encourage in our children and in our schools.

Greatness

I have been told that my tragic downfall will be my desire to be great. I could see that. If I wanted to be special so much so that I forgot how special everyone else is, then I would not be great. If I wanted to be successful so much so that I forgot that we should all help one another succeed together, then I would not be great. If I wanted to be respected so much so that I forgot to love and understand the people around me, then I would not be great.

However if I live every day and treat everyone that I meet special just like I like to be treated, if I spend my time helping other people become successful so we can all accomplish our hopes and dreams, and if I always stay mindful of my commitment to loving and understanding my family, friends and neighbors, then I think greatness will find me.

If you want to be important—wonderful. If you want to be recognized—wonderful. If you want to be great—wonderful. But, recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That's a new definition of greatness. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The Girl I've Been Looking For

I think I found the girl I’ve been looking for. She’s beautiful, hilarious, kind to everyone, gentle, tons of fun and up for doing anything. She laughs at all my jokes, is well known in the community, and loves my host family who loves her right back. She enjoys dressing in traditional Mongolian clothing when she wants to look nice and also enjoys wearing outfits that can get dirty when we play volleyball or frisbee outside. On top of all that, she is also one of the most patient and generous people I have met in Mongolia. She corrects my language with a sweet smile, teaches me new words all the time and never gives up when she is sharing something new with me. Also, she wants to be a doctor and I think she’ll make a great one.

When she comes over to my house, my plans change. Outings with my Peace Corps friends are postponed, homework is forgotten about and we laugh, play games and talk until the sun goes down. Sometimes she stays over and talks with my little sister late into the night, long after I have gone to sleep. She doesn’t come over often, which is a shame, but she makes it over as often as she can.

I say she is the girl I’ve been looking for because every moment she is around she shows me what kindness looks like, what fun laughter can be and what goodness there is in all of us. She reminds me of who I want to be and the kind of impact I make on others as a role model and as a friend. She is a very special girl and I am very lucky to know her.

I also say she is the girl I’ve been looking for because I am always looking for people like her in the world - people who give us hope, challenge us to be better people, and show us how to be responsible and caring human beings. Guys and girls like her, all throughout the world, are the friends I am glad I have, the people I am proud to say I know and the inspirations that encourage me to do what I know is right everyday.

Today, before heading home for the night, she put her hand to the top of her head and moved it toward me to compare her height to mine. Looking up she laughed and said she was much smaller. I picked her up and lifted her high above my head before giving her a hug. She can call me her big brother all she wants, but my eight years old cousin Mohnchimeg definitely isn’t smaller than I am. As I put her down, I smiled at her. “You’re much bigger than you think,” I said, “much bigger.”

Golden Lama

Today I would like to send out a very special Travis Hellstrom Inner Peace Award to the Dalai Lama of Tibet for being of my favorite people ever and for being an inspiration to hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world. Truth be told the Dalai Lama is my inspiration for the Inner Peace Award and every time I have given it, I have thought of him.

What has inspired me to give him the award on my birthday this year is that I just found out the Dalai Lama received the Congressional Gold Medal, our nation's highest civilian honor. It was commissioned by the Congress in late 2006, then designed and struck by the U.S. Mint in early 2007 and awarded to the Dalai Lama in late 2007.

I am very excited for the Dalai Lama and proud that our nation has publicly recognized and shown appreciation for his continuing efforts for world peace. In fact, I think I might just have to order some bronze copies of this medal myself. Let me know if you want one too!

Leprosy

Did you know leprosy still exists? After watching The Fog with my family and being reminded of the disease, I researched it further and found out that it is still estimated to cause the disability of between two to three million people on this planet. Leprosy (or Hansen's disease) is the result of a bacterial infection that, if left untreated, can lead to lesions and deterioration of the skin. The good news is that the World Health Organization (the medical branch of the United Nations) has very effective multi-drug therapies which are currently curing tens of thousands of patients in highly affected countries like India, Brazil and Burma. The disease being taboo, as it happens, poses more of a problem than it being infectious. It is normal for healthcare providers and those in close contact with infected individuals to contract the disease. In fact, varying studies indicate that only 5 to 55 people who come in contact with infected persons contract the disease in every 1000 cases. Like many unsightly things in life, however, most people would rather just avoid the disease and those infected than to seek to understand them and help them. Hopefully by reading this and thinking about it a little more on your own, you too will seek to understand the disease and those infected rather than just be fearful. Gandhi said, after looking at the bacteria itself in the picture above, "Leprosy work is not merely medical relief; it is transforming frustration of life into joy of dedication, personal ambition into selfless service."

Mac Family

I am pleased to announce that I have purchased and will be receiving tomorrow a new MacBook. This is my second computer (this one I'm on right now will be going to my sister) and I couldn't be more excited. I thought about it all this school year, talked with dozens of people (including Peace Corps Volunteers), saved up quite a bit of money and finally called Apple last week to order a MacBook and free iPod. It did take time to decide on a MacBook, including choosing black or white, but I am lucky to have had quite a lot of help along the way.* I knew I wanted something that I could take with me to Peace Corps: something light, fun, simple, wireless, and great on battery life, and MacBook was it...a white one to be precise.

In the coming weeks I know I will have a lot to say about Macs, including what it is like to switch from a PC to a Mac, but for now I would just like to say I am very grateful to those of you who have helped me get this MacBook and I am very excited to open it up tomorrow.

* I have a pretty long list of people to thank for all of this since the advice and the money I've received for this purchase didn't only come from my own research or hard work. Each time I open up my new computer or turn on my iPod, I will think of you. Thank you Chris Disher, Ashley Mushnick, Shawn Pendergrass, Heather Davis, David Rengifo, Michael Sellers, Toni-Lyn Keller, Chris Hewitt, Jimi Rainier and Jonathan Huffman for all of your encouragement, advice and answers to my questions regarding Macs. You really helped me choose a great company and the great products it offers. Thank you also Papa Leslie, Aunt Debbie, Big Nanny, Papa Jack, Aunt Charlotte, Uncle Arthur, Aunt Mary, Uncle Ronnie, Uncle Randy, Aunt Suzy, Omega, Paolo, Jessica and Shayla Donisi, Christy, Mark, Alexis and Brody Boyer, Cassandra McPherson, Grandma Louise, Papa Ward, Leighanna, Elias, Mom and Dad for helping me to buy this MacBook and iPod. I saved up a bit on my own through working at Campbell this year (thank you Campbell students for your tuition money), but your graduation gifts and kindness made up a huge sum of this purchase. I really appreciate all of your support. Thank you very much.

Causes

Causes on Facebook is a huge up-and-coming application which is going to explode in the coming weeks. It allows Facebook users to create causes, invite friends to join causes and most importantly donate to causes like Save Darfur, the Humane Society, Teach for America, Greenpeace, UNICEF and 1.5 million other nonprofits from all over America. In the last two weeks Causes has grown to 934,160 users and I expect it will pass 1,000,000 users within days.

Initially, I was very excited about the application. This was a way for Facebook's 25 million users (according to Wikipedia) to easily donate to charities through a website they used regularly and to even make it cool to do so. However, after a little while I started to wonder what percentage of each donation goes directly to charity. The answer, which the creators of Causes outlined in their details section, was 95.5%. How can they take 4.5% of each donation away? Well, everyone does. As one of the program founders said, the next cheapest program on the internet right now is the Network for Good which charges 4.75% for each donation. Causes only charges 4.5%, with 3% of each donation going to Justgive.org which processes the donation and 1.5% go to Project Agape which runs Causes. There is a lot of discussion about whether the Causes program is making an unfair profit from the donation transactions, but overall I think the program is very honorable and right-minded.

If you like the program and have Facebook, add it as one of your applications and then join your own cause. I think it is a wonderful way to give back and share your priorities with others. For starters I have started my own cause: Advance Humanity- named after and fundraising for the organization which gave me the motto to begin with: UNICEF. If you are interested in joining the cause, please feel free. I'd love to see you there and see just how much we can donate together!

Deer in the Headlights

Tonight the car in front of mine hit a deer on a stretch of 45 mph highway. I suppose the event in and of itself isn't that unusual, but I have never seen that happen right in front of me. In fact I have never been more than ten feet close to a deer, much less touched one, in my whole life. At the time, both the car in front of me and my car were probably traveling at least 45 miles per hour, so the impact put the deer on its back and its legs in the air almost immediately. By the time my car arrived at the point of impact, the deer was near the double yellow lines and flailing its legs in every direction. With my sister encouraging me we, my sister and my brother and I, pulled off the side off to the side of the road and put on our hazard lights before stepping out of the car and walking back along the side of the road to the deer's side. It was dangerous and I made a point of watching out for my sister more than the deer when cars were coming, but as soon as they saw us and the deer most cars slowed down quite a lot and a few even stopped to ask what happened and if everything was okay. We told them the car in front of us hit the deer and we were just trying to see what we could do for it. Impressively in only a few minutes the deer moved itself on its side by pushing its legs and body up and down until it slid off the road past the solid white line. Far enough away from traffic, and able to walk a bit, we helped the deer move off into the grass on the side. By this time another driver, a country boy who said his mother had taken care of quite a few deer, stopped like us and helped us check the deer for any injuries. Finding none he and my sister helped it to stand and calm it down some. It was a young buck with small stumps where his antlers will be in a few years and probably still pretty close to his family even though he had run out of the forest a ways. The shock of the hit, the constant light of car headlights, and the unusual behavior, scent and touch of all of us kept it standing still for quite a while, but it was becoming apparent that this deer wasn't hurt too badly from the car it hit just a few moments earlier. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for the car.

After maybe ten minutes, the black car that hit the deer came back and pulled up on the other side of the road. The young girl driving and her mother came to where we were and told us that their hearts were still beating loudly from the surprise that had come right out of the woods and hit the driver's side of their car. The police had been called and would later file a report for the huge dent on the left side of her front fender, but all and all everything was fine and they were glad to see the deer was alright. We were too. After a few more minutes, I was reaching to pick him up and take him to the forest but it bounded away across the field in front of us. Looking back one last time, it paused and then made several large jumps that put it far away at the forest's edge. It not only looked fine physically, but appeared to have all of its wits about it as it left. "That's my gift to the world," my sister said as we got back into our car, "I love being there for animals."

I know there is a lot of suffering in the world and that I have spent a lot of time and writing on a topic which might seem small in comparison to dozens of human tragedies, but I think the challenges we are mostly faced with on a day-to-day basis are small ones. The question of what we will do when we hit something, or see something hit, on the side of the road is a valid one that we will all have to answer. I think we made the right decision tonight and I'm glad that my brother and sister were there to encourage me to do that.

Love

Isn't it interesting how some of the most important things in life are the hardest to figure out? Like...love, for instance. It's hard for me to get my mind around. How unselfish is it? How universally compassionate is it? How enjoyable is it? In the universal sense, I get the feeling that true love should be expressed towards all people, not just one's family. But at the same time, I think one of the places we learn most about love is in our families. In the unselfish sense, I think love thinks about others more quickly than it thinks about oneself, that it takes into consideration the thoughts, feelings, wants and needs of others before it satisfies its own needs. However, if we were to only care about what others think and feel, want and need, than would we ever feel satisfied. How enjoyable would that be? It's hard to know what the right answer is, but I think love and compassion weigh very heavily the thoughts and feelings of others before it dives into its own wants and needs. Love, I think, sees all of the suffering in the world (including the suffering that we personally create) and it tries to eliminate that suffering as best it can. I think it is great that we can enjoy things in this world, such as a beautiful sunset, or a nice song on an mp3 player, or a great episode of Lost, but I really think far more important than that are the people around us whose lives we can improve by serving them and helping them to be happy. We become happy when we make our wants few, I have heard. I think I agree.

Stopper

A long time ago I heard a commercial on the radio in which a faucet was running and two people were talking about it. "I wonder who left this faucet on?" one person asked the other. "I don't know but somebody should turn it off," she responded. "What nerve! Who would do this kind of thing," he barked, "What is the world coming to these days with people who are so insensitive?"

I don't think life is about figuring out who made the biggest mess or pointing fingers at people who need to clean things up. I think life is about helping each other out and cleaning up the messes that we find. Throwing stones and waxing apocalyptic about the world around us is pretty useless.

In the end of the commercial, the faucet stops and the two conversationalists get quiet. Then one pipes up, "Hey...why did you turn the faucet off?" one asks, referring now to a third person. "Somebody needed to do it rather than just sit around and talk about it," she said.

Amber Alerts

A while back I read an article in the Gainesville Sun discussing the Amber Alert system and the recent cases of missing children in America. The article had some advice which I think was very helpful, and I would like to share it.

First, education is one of the best defenses against child kidnappings. Parents should teach their kids about safety skills; how to use pay phones, how to find help, how to refuse offers, and how to say "No" to any unwelcomed touching or actions by leaving the situation and kicking and screaming if necessary. The article suggested going through “what if” scenarios where parents practice with their children to give them experience, asking them what they would do if they were separated in the mall, or if an adult man approached while they were playing games in an arcade. “Make it non-threatening,” the article said, “don’t make the child afraid. If any of us are afraid, you can’t think clearly.” The child may need to ask help from a stranger, the article mentioned, like another mother, or a sales clerk. In fact, the old adage, don’t talk to strangers isn’t quite so helpful. Most children are taken by friends of the family or people they wouldn’t consider strangers.

As far as what to do as a concerned citizen, the article also mentioned a new system being employed through www.wirelessamberalerts.com which notifies cellphone carriers about Amber Alerts in their area free of charge. They hope to create “wireless good samaritans” which I think is a great idea. If you have younger brothers or sisters, consider walking them through some "what if" scenarios and giving them helpful advice. Also, if you have a cellphone, sign up for the free Amber Alerts. You never know when a small act by you could be a huge help to someone else.

Virginia Tech

We are sad. We are sad because of what has happened at Virginia Tech. We are sad because we know violence and murder are possible and we are sad because we know we are all vulnerable to tremendous suffering. I do not have commentary comparable to the incredible stories being told right now by all of the students and faculty affected at Virginia Tech, but I do have some things I would like to share. If you are interested in helping Virginia Tech, in the weeks and months to come, please start by watching their school's convocation from this afternoon. Right now I think the spirit of many of the students throughout our nation is to help. We are inspired and we have the noble and kind desire to do everything we can to assist those in need. Whether that desire leads you to write on their memorial website, give to their memorial fund, or share your thoughts with your friends and family, whenever that desire might lead you, I would urge you to follow it. As Nikki Giovanni said so powerfully today to close the Convocation:

"We are better than we think and not quite what we want to be. We are alive to the imagination and the possibility, we will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears, through all this sadness. We are the Hokies! We will prevail, we will prevail, we are, Virginia Tech."

We are with you.

Hunting Dogs

This morning I saw a dog walking outside the house while making a phone call by the window. That isn’t too unusual I suppose, as there are dogs on campus sometimes, but my reaction this morning was unusual. I went outside and found it very close to the backdoor, holding its rear leg up and staring into my eyes. She was old, hungry, scared, tired and injured. I don’t know when she was injured, but I don’t suppose I ever will. A few minutes after petting her, I was calling her owner and directing him to our house. He was a few miles north of campus and said he would be right over. Garrett pet her a little while I waited on the lawn for him to arrive. Reba, as he called her when he got out of the truck, hobbled over to him ready to jump in the large back cage of the truck. He apologized for the inconvenience, but it really was my pleasure. I love dogs, miss our dogs from home and haven’t petted a dog like that for quite a while. As she drank from the water bowl in the back of the truck and he drove away, I thought of what I had said to Garrett when we were sitting together. I don’t usually think to come out for a dog, even if it has a collar on, but maybe I should. Regardless of whether I know the owner, every animal deserves humane treatment including as painless a death as possible. To ignore my place in that treatment is decided indifference and I don’t believe that is acceptable. I hope I will respond in kind next time, whether I see a collar or not, to do what I can.

Bananas

Like most things in life, I think lessons are not recognized until significant time has passed. Tonight it was an hour before I realized I had received a gift, a lesson from an old man in the Kiwanis club I visited. He is talkative and was thirty-five minutes talkative tonight. He told me about many things, including the bananas he gets from the grocery store at reduced prices, bananas he gives to nursing homes for free on a regular basis like he has done for over three years. He told me about how he started with the bananas when his doctor told him to feed his dying wife two bananas a die to help her regain the thirty pounds she had lost as she grew close to the end of her life. He did, he fed her two bananas a day. He told me that she regained all of her weight back because of the bananas. He didn’t tell me how or when she died, but I think he didn’t forget. He wanted to tell me about things that were important to him, he told me that giving the bananas away made him feel important and helped him to feel like he was doing something that mattered, something that made a difference. Later talk about legal battles with ex-barbershop co-workers and current business partners and rent have lost detail in my mind. They are obscured by this single thought in my mind now: I could, in sooner years than I could predict, be like this man whom I spoke with tonight. I would like to think I would be confident, cool, quiet and reserved in self-respect and dignity as I grow older. I have a vision of my ability to feel important inside to such a degree that I never am seen outwardly chasing after appreciation or worth. I also realize I am vulnerable, fragile and so often a product of my environment. I am a creature molded gently by the caring people around me who have told me I am unique, important and worth immeasurable treasures. I bet Gerald had that too. I bet his wife told him those things, through words and touches. There were probably other people that did too, friends and family in every direction for years. Gerald is old. Many of his closest friends are gone, his family dead or distant and his wife gone now too. I am not so different from Gerald in my potential. I think his gift to me, at least the one I have realized after the last hour, is a gift of illumination. He has shown me where his potential lies in me. I’m not sure I will ever tell him, but I feel like he has shown me his importance and he didn’t even have to give me a banana.