Memoir: Coaly

Contagious smile, organized laughter, narrow stature. Coaly's communication style adorns him. 

 He seamlessly transitions conversations with all persons, all backgrounds, both genders.

Coaly inhales the personalities, stories, and lives of those around him; social interactions bead his demeanor.


He exhales gratitude.
but for those who have hurt him, frustration attempts to pry open the shell which contains the red and disheveled flow of atrium and ventricle.

But he relies on strength from a muscle that is not his. Clamped together with unforeseen strength,

his pearl is safe.  
.

Forgiveness and Absorption: The lost art of confrontation

What a strange title.

However, with some explanation, we will begin unfold forgiveness and absorption.
This Sunday, Josh talked about how when we forgive, we absorb our pride and our shame, rather than retaliate.

Maybe I was wronged, and rather than retaliating, I absorb my shame. That seems beautiful in theory and practice. I am sure its actualization proves more difficult. Nonetheless, it is good.

Further thoughts:

I hope others do not manipulate emotional absorption to act as justification for avoiding conflict.

Confrontation is not necessarily a topic where individuals are prone to think, "wow, the beauty of life is contained in really honest encounters among friends and family."

I mean, really, that is WHAT confrontation is: honest encounters. It does not have to mean, "sitting down, yelling, and then standing up and leaving."

It is vital to bust the connotations of the word "confrontation" before many will find themselves comfortable practicing it.

When we hear the word, some of us want to puke. Others of us think of think of wild sports dads who yell obscenities at referees. Still others of us may just think about how we would yell back-and-forth with our parents when we were ten-years-old.

dictionary.com says
–noun

1.

an act of confronting.

2.

the state of being confronted.

3.

a meeting of persons face to face.

4.

an open conflict of opposing ideas, forces, etc.

5.

a bringing together of ideas, themes, etc., for comparison.

6.

Psychology. a technique used in group therapy, as in encounter groups, in which one is forced to recognize one's shortcomings and their possible consequences

I particularly like four. Five seems like a synonym for juxtaposition.

I think six is the definition we seek. An encounter-yes, I believe confrontation is an encounter.

Let's examine the healthiness of our relationships. But more importantly examine ourselves.

Do I care more about my friendship than my friend?

Do I rely more on the security of my friendship than I care about blessing my friend with the truth and wisdom in deep sincerity and love?

Memior: iave

Petite, but not dim witted by any means. Iave, a slightly young-looking-for-her-age brunette, is mild in manner. By no means does mild imply boring or deficient; rather, mysterious grace directs her responses. Contained in her thoughts are stories of beauty. Compassion illuminates her actions, and sincerity inhales deeply her glow. 


Iave's spirit pirouettes. She will become a dancer, and in time she will know and embrace it as her means of release. Her reason to step justice into darkness. 


Her golden curls intertwine and rest on her upper back. 


She has dignity. 

Memoir: Tobi

Tobi was a very educated man: quick in understanding, and focused! How he was focused.

It is said that motivated persons usually pursue knowledge. This, too, was true of Tobi, with one definite difference. Knowledge targeted Tobi. He and knowledge interacted,  composed of the atoms he embraced and taught. Mathematics happened to Tobi, and he responded in brilliance.

Tobi was, by nature, a teacher. His relationship with his interests disseminated more than information; abstraction in mathematics and space placated his restlessness. His head composed of facts, his mouth elucidating the beauty of cylinders, engines, mysterious sciences to  educated men and women.

Tobi's mind: intricate and forward.

A chance meeting with a deer in the forest reminds you of beauty. She stands unmoving-- neck stretched, her eyes sift the blank space ahead. The twig you snapped with your foot caused ripples in her security. About ten seconds pass, and and you watch her bushy tail cut the air as she escapes, hooves thrash the leaves aside.

You are not a hunter, at least you know that about yourself. You were escaping to the forest, though. Respite breathes deeply in between the trees, but usually during daytime; fear and uncertainty creep after dusk.

And maybe those two hours you spent exploring the forest are all you needed to make a decision or quench your need for adventure.

But one thing is sure: you leave the forest, somehow changed.

Faith and Reason

What troubles me is the notion of reason.
Individuals are able to "reason" whatever they choose.
Sometimes, I question my own narcissism when I try to reason certain things because I must not be the only thinking human being. Someone else must believe his or her idea is equally valid.
Reason can persuade or dissuade.
It can be perceived as truth. To some individuals, reason is enough to discredit faith.

Furthermore, reason and faith are often seen as antithetical concepts. Antithetical in the sense of "war" and "peace." To some, war and peace are opposites because they are within the same realm of explanation--or perhaps spectrum. A bit of a limited spectrum...nonetheless-- War appears to be the opposite of peace.  One straight line. War is one extreme. Peace is the other. People's perceptions of this are somewhere in between.

And this same argument is used regarding faith and reason.

Faith is one extreme. Reason is another.
But I have come to see reason as one line and faith as another.
I think the lines or spectrum are parallel.
Reason seems to be about the physical realities. I can reason about a science experiment. I can conduct scientific theory.

Faith, on the other hand, is not well reasoned because of its own definition.
If faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see, I am sure that people have faith in many different ideas or beliefs. But faith is not about the results of an experiment. Faith is about something that I cannot touch with my hands.

So, for this reason, I cannot see faith on the same "line" as reason.

Maybe the ideas are antithetical concepts, but their definitions and their realities are not.

Iowa State Coffee Sources

Dear Candace,

Good questions. Lots of people grow our beans—currently we carry coffees from 28 different origins—and as a specialty coffee roaster we do what we can to develop and maintain direct-trade relationships with the farmers who grow our coffees. This means that we will actually go to the country of origin, meet with the farmer and work out a deal for their coffee; and for most of our Central and South American coffees this is the case. It’s a pretty mutually-beneficial setup, too, as we get to see exactly where our beans are coming from and they get to take their money directly, without having to pay a middleman. For our African and Indonesian coffees we’re less able to do this due to trade restrictions in those areas, so we purchase those from a broker who still has to report to us how much they’re paying the farmer for the coffee.

There is an organization called TransFair USA that certifies goods as “Fair Trade,” and everything from our organic line is certified as such (ISU uses our organic Sumatran and Organic Espresso Blend currently, so you’ve maybe tried those). That said, there’s more to the certification process than just presenting what we pay and getting the stamp. All Fair Trade Certified coffees, for example, are required to come from Co-ops so we can’t certify any coffee we buy from one farmer. In any case, though, to buy a good specialty coffee in this day and age you have to be willing to pay above and beyond the fair trade minimum price—there’s just that much competition.

I hope that information helps. It’s a pretty complicated process, but that’s the basic rundown. If you ever have any other questions at all, though, please feel free to ask.

Thanks so much,

Amanda Butler * (aka “Screen Bean”)

Coroporate Responsibility and its Constituents

Aligning with Kenneth E. Goodpaster, social justice is typically about how costs and benefits are distributed. Are the decisions of a corporation imposing costs on people that they do not deserve, or that we judge to be unfair?

Furthermore, there is a human dignity that we must take into account. Human dignity: humans have value in themselves, they are not mere tools or instruments to further goals such as profits. We are capable of free choice, which requires full and accurate information.

This leads me to think about the corporations, nonprofits, and organizations from which I consume products. Sadly, I realize I am just a consumer, with little information about the products which I consume most frequently.

So- I am on a quest to know the origin of my purchases.

First: My purchase of coffee at Iowa State University.

FOUND: the Roasterie. http://www.theroasterie.com/

From where does the Roasterie purchase? I decided to email the company to ask about their procedures: Where do they buy? Who grows? Are the wages fair?

TBD.

One Step

http://humantrafficking.change.org/blog/view/take_action_to_end_slavery_in_corporate_supply_chains?me=nl

Ticket, please

A recent thought: what am I doing now? A strange question, with about fourty-seven answers, all of which are contingent upon the time of day, the persons around me, etc.

But: what am I doing? It seems a lot of people are in transition--life shifts of sorts. It seems easy to become anxious about what is happening now and how it will affect the future.

Yet: what am I doing? Perhaps what I am doing now will prepare me for what I will be doing in the future.

What I have done or who I have been has prepared me for now.

As it will continue in such a fashion; I suppose that is the way time works.

So I think the generic question should be re-phrased: Who am I becoming? Now that seems more relevant. Is what I am doing abetting who I want to become?