Out of contact for a while

Busy, busy... big birthday last week, moving house this week, then no phone service until end of December. So if anyone visits here trying to track me down, apologies - 01604 889152 will resume service hopefully on 28/12 and email a few days after this.

Films about inhumanity

Having visited the US Holocaust Memorial Museum on the International Day of Peace, during my last visit to DC, this visit I brought 2 films along which I have been meaning to watch for so long.

I settled down to watch The Passion on Monday - what an amazing film. For all that I knew the story, I was stunned by the feelings it invoked actually watching the events re-enacted. Powerful and thought-provoking in terms of man's inhumanity towards fellow man 2000 years ago - and how little has changed in many ways since then.

Then yesterday I followed this with The Pianist. Stunning in its straight-forward style, it tells the true story of a Jewish pianist who somehow survives Warsaw between 1939 and 1945 (living then until 2000 when he died age 88).

Both films are harrowing but they both also feature moments of hope - the basic truth that there are some really good people who bravely go against the current tide and stand up for what they believe to be right.

English Al Jazeera

I am delighted to see the launch of the new English Al Jazeera. This can only help people to understand others better. I so believe - attempting to understand each other... to see things from others' perspectives, is the key to building peace amongst the different people of the world. It gets off to an interesting start - David Frost interviewing Tony Blair this Friday.

Mega-milestones

Oops - no blog postings for ages. It has been a busy few weeks - planning to move house is taking spare energy and time.

I have just posted my November newsletter at http://www.ambitioncoach.com/62652/89229.html. Here, I focused on how much a big milestone can help if you have something you wish to achieve, especially a long-held dream which has seen little action so far!

I think it is fair for me to refer to turning 50 as a mega-milestone! Almost there...

Focus and compromise

I have just released my October newsletter. We are 3/4 through the year and I wrote of the importance of focus, for achieving goals. If you have been putting something off, there is also a place for compromise, in order to make a start. See http://www.ambitioncoach.com/62652/89229.html for more on this.

One more posting from the USA

Spotted in a newspaper advert: "The President of the United States has claimed, on more than one occasion, to be in dialogue with God. If he said he was talking to God through his hairdryer, this would precipitate a national emergency. I fail to see how the addition of a hairdryer makes the claim any more ludicrous or offensive." - Sam Harris, author of Letter to a Christian Nation.

This really amused me. Some people in the UK think that Americans are all similar, but a short visit there provides plenty of evidence of an enormous range of thought and opinion - so refreshing!

Holocaust memories on UN International Day of Peace

As I am again in Washington DC outskirts, I felt it appropriate to visit the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. What a day... four hours passed in a moment, and then I was outside in the air and sun again. For four hours, I didn't think about eating, or even drinking - nothing is allowed there, so my normal water-bottle companion was left behind. Once inside, my thoughts were entirely absorbed by the exhibits.

It is a monumental display and I was moved to tears many times, despite a grim determination to stay calm. Film footage of the British going into Bergen-Belsen, and the 10,000 unburied bodies they had to quickly deal with was harrowing. All naked and SO thin - being dragged to huge burial pits by their former SS guards, in order to reduce the outbreak of disease.

Odd how small things hit you hard - I watched a lady who survived describing liberation day. An American soldier asked what he could do for her. She requested sugar and long socks, as she was so cold, despite the warm May weather. When he returned, she poured the sugar into her mouth and then cried as she put the socks on and discovered they could not stay up - she had no calf muscles left, just skin over her bones. He then held the door open for her, and this gesture of normality had a huge impact - she had forgotten this was how human beings could behave.

A profoundly thought-provoking experience... There is an exhibit devoted to Darfur and how it is all happening again. Why is man-kind so un-kind?

More from the USA

I discovered an amusing quote this morning, written in 1920; a statement which is now interpreted by many as predicting the Bush presidency:

"When a candidate for public office faces the voters he does not face men of sense; he faces a mob of men whose chief distinguishing mark is the fact that they are quite incapable of weighing ideas, or even of comprehending any save the most elemental — men whose whole thinking is done in terms of emotion, and whose dominant emotion is dread of what they cannot understand. So confronted, the candidate must either bark with the pack or be lost... All the odds are on the man who is, intrinsically, the most devious and mediocre — the man who can most adeptly disperse the notion that his mind is a virtual vacuum. The Presidency tends, year by year, to go to such men. As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."

This was written by Henry Louis Mencken (1880–1956), an American journalist and social critic.

Back in Washington DC

I'm back in DC for a week - time to switch off normal life and take time out to read and write - it feels like 'renewal' time. I've had much to provoke thought in recent days:

- a coaching workshop where Sir John Whitmore described one of the roles of coaching - essentially to inject conscience into business - it was fascinating to hear him dismiss capitalism as failed and certainly not a 'final' economic system
- at the same workshop, Carol Wilson described the excitement of working for Sir Richard Branson some years back - a culture of empowerment, taking risks, encouraging mistakes as part of progress etc.

- then a 'Christopher Howard' weekend which inspired a room of 1200 people to overcome limiting beliefs; to believe they can succeed at their dreams. Some beautiful and powerful music accompanied key moments,including a favourite of mine from http://www.theinterviewwithgod.com/.

And now, in DC, I am being inspired by books I am reading and intrigued by newspapers I glance at. People around the world hold all Americans accountable for what they see as a huge mess, but in minutes, it is clear that many disagree profoundly with the actions of their government. An example, from today's USA Today: a full page advert for a campaign to drive out the Bush regime... protests across the country on 5 October, organised by http://www.worldcantwait.org/. At this website, I am fascinated to learn about the Bush Crimes Commission which is calling for public events to expose and denounce the Bush administration's war crimes and crimes against humanity. Strong words, and comforting - regardless of my views on Bush, it is good to recognise that people here can, and do, dissent and that they have the time, inclination and energy to campaign for things they believe in.

This is a good time for me...

UN International Day of Peace - 21 September

Having recently visited Washington DC, I felt inspired to write a lengthy September newsletter, all about peace - to coincide with the UN International Day of Peace on 21 September. See http://www.ambitioncoach.com/62652/89229.html. Whilst researching this, I came across some wonderful people and organisations, such as http://nswas.org/rubrique22.html - a village in Israel, consisting of Jewish and Arab families living together in peace, teaching their children to grow up in peace.

South Downs Way bike ride

What a wonderful way to spend a weekend... 3 days cycling the South Downs Way, between Winchester and Eastbourne.

I cycled Friday-Sunday (11-13/8) in aid of Fairfield School – a special school providing education, therapies and specialist facilities for pupils with severe or profound learning difficulties and/or physical, medical, multi-sensory and communication difficulties. See http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/fairfields/ for details.

The South Downs Way is a 100-mile, mainly off-road route, with approx. 10,000 feet of vertical climb. I lost count of the hills, but we must have climbed close to 15-20 of them over the 2.5 days riding - each one about 500ft of climb followed by a ride along the ridge at the top with gale force winds gusting much of the time, some rain, amazing views and then some scary descents.

My legs were exhausted, along with my shoulders from carrying water in a back-pack for 3 days and my thumb joints from using the brakes so much on some of the descents… not to mention the messed up leg from a fall!

It was a big stretch for me and I was glad when it was over, but I must admit I now see the attraction of off-road cycling... the few short stretches of road at either end were dangerous - some drivers are really unaware of cyclists. They seemed rather worse than in Northants/Leics where bikes are more common on the roads.

A mad world

How are we to make sense of the news each day - the inhumanity of some individuals around the world?

The disruption today is immense - so many lives affected... The people trying to get to weddings this weekend, the people planning to go on holiday/honeymoon etc, the people flying to see elderly and sick loved ones, possibly for a final visit? The grief being played out globally, because a handful of people wish to blow up airplanes, is unquantifiable.

I dream each day of a world in which we all value each other for our differences, instead of the hatred felt by some, towards those they disagree with. The only way to move towards this world is in tiny steps - for every single person to honestly evaluate their own behaviour towards those around them. Most people are not extremists, but they still harbour bad feelings towards people they don't understand. I am working hard to be kinder and more loving towards everyone, everywhere. If we all did this, think what could be achieved. If we spoke out everytime we heard any level of prejudice, could we change public opiniion, just as opinions about drink-driving were gradually reversed?

Thoughts

This week marks a milestone for me in a number of ways. Today is 6 months since my mother died - a long, tough time. This week was also marked by me crying for a reason other than her loss... watching the news from the Lebanon is so awful. I listen to quotes about what is going on and wonder at the nonsense of it all. Regardless of who is right or wrong, there is only one way forward - to talk, to negotiate, to look for some measure of win-win. At the moment it is all lose-lose. Where is the common sense, the humanity?

Newsletter for August

My August newsletter is about the value of relaxing - see http://www.ambitioncoach.com/62652/89229.html.

Return to contact lenses

After wearing contact lenses for 30 years, I was defeated 2 years ago and moved to varifocal glasses, as I could no longer see to read with contact lenses. I am now the proud wearer of a new type of multifocal silicone-hydrogel contact lens, as fitted by Brian Tompkins - they are really excellent. See http://www.tks-optometrists.co.uk/types4.htm for details of where he can be found.

Lessons from Lochnagar

My July newsletter is now available at http://www.ambitioncoach.com/62652/89229.html. Here I write about how much easier it is to work towards a goal if you know how wonderful the outcome will be. Strategies to help: don't get into analysis paralysis and make sure you have a support team!

Cycling update

I did it again! 100 miles in a day, starting at 4am as the sun rose last Saturday. The first few hours of milky sunshine were glorious, then it got hotter through the day until I stopped at 15:00. Second time was easier, knowing that I could do it, yet harder in the heat. No real pain afterwards... I think this tells me that Lands End-John O'Groats is a distinct possibility!

Back to blogging...

Amazing - 6 months have passed since I put my blog on hold. In that time, my life has changed for ever, as my mother sadly died. While she was ill, I put my work on hold. Now life is returning to a 'new sort of normal'. After nearly 50 years of her in my life, it will never feel quite the same again.

However, I am learning much and I have a renewed sense of commitment. I have finally made a long-overdue update to my website, adding 2006 newsletters. See January - June at http://www.ambitioncoach.com/62652/89229.html.

As I adjust to this 'new life', without the unconditional fan-club that was my mother, I am delaying things less. I finally started piano lessons, which had been a goal for several years. I have done a couple of courses I had long fancied. I am back to regular cycling and planning to do Lands End-John O'Groats in summer 2007.