Passports are in!

So now we have the means to be international...Should we go somewhere?  Let's give it some thought.

Matt D

She thinks my tractors sexy...

This is the first time I have mowed a lawn in at least 12 years. Mom, if you would have gotten us one of these we could have avoided so many arguments when we were younger ;)

Well, I suppose it is time for an update. Things are moving rapidly up here, so it has been hard to find some time to post. Right now for the most part I have been getting settled into my full time line of work which is managing the sales and marketing for our nasal irrigation and natural supplements division. There is so much to be done! Today alone I spent the entire day combing through one of the two web sites that are used to promote the products hat fall under my area of responsibility. Tomorrow will be dedicated to the other. Then Monday or Tuesday I will sit with the webmaster and begin the arduous process of untangling the web of issues. I have taken on a data entry assistant as of last Tuesday, so that is a big help. She is very enthusiastic to help, so it has been easy getting her committed tasks. Aside from that there has been so much personal research into the product line, different methods of distribution, existing accounts, and marketing strategies. This is going to be a lot of fun, and a tremendous amount of growth for me in the next 6 - 8 months. That is the current full time responsibility.

"So what about Africa?"

That is a part time thing right now. I have been to several formal and informal meetings about this subject. Things are progressing very quickly. Right now there are negotiations going on with 3 more African nations to develop sister projects to the one in Uganda, and the agricultural and geological teams will be heading to Uganda next month. Soon we will begin planting, and then there will be work to be done. Right now the business is serving the cause in the most practical way. Proceeds from all of the sales in my department benefit the oversea humanitarian projects directly, so right now sales and marketing is for a humanitarian purpose.

Briana is doing well in the bookstore. She is going to have that place revolutionalized rather soon. It is incredible to watch her grow into a management position. Either she has some hidden talent that she has been hiding, or watching me lose my hair these past 15 years has rubbed off on her. She would adamantly disagree with me, but she is way more poised in her first management role than I was. I was a mess!

Aside from cutting the grass, selling books and natural health products, and sowing the seeds of saving third world nations from hopelessness, there really is not a lot going on in our neck of the woods. Remember that the internet works both ways, and drop us a line sometime. Our addresses are not too terribly difficult to find on this blog.

until next time, take great care

So what does 30 feel like?

Well, to be honest it feels a lot like 29 did.

It has been a wonderful, quiet, lazy sort of day. We had a friend over for chai this morning and had great conversation with her. After breakfast I went into the woods in search of some more blackberries, and hit the jackpot. Later we will be making one of my favorite blackberry milkshakes…yum! After lunch Briana and I took a walk to the pond and found out that we have a canoe! So we went for a spin around the pond. It was a lot of fun, and it was Briana’s first canoe ride as well. I also got my bike up and running as well. Going for a spin down the hills was very fun, and for the first time ever I realized why those things have gears…to go up! In LA and TX we do not have anything but flat, so I am not sure if I ever really played around with the gears much at all.

I am not really sure what the rest of the day will be like, but I am sure that I will continue to take it easy today, and I hope to make it to bed early this evening. I have some next 30 year type of resolutions that I would like to put into place. Getting to bed early is sort of the mother of all of them.

To everyone who has called and sent a card, thank you so much. It was very much appreciated. Much love to you all.

AS far as this age thing is concerned I think that it is all in the head. Old is a frame of mind, a state of being. My friend has a quote in his book that says it best:

Perpetual Youth
By Swami Rama from “Love Whispers”

"A yogi does not measure his life by the years but by the breaths that he takes.
To say that he is old is an impossibility and a joke.
Old age is a mere reflection of the mind, and not of years.
Weakness and decrepitude creep in for lack of trust in truth, in justice, in oneself, or in ones kinsmen.

These are the signs of old age:
As soon as freshness and interest is gone out of ones life he is old.
When one talks about killing time, he is becoming old.
He who is interested in nothing is old.
He who is timid and afraid to undertake new enterprises is old.
One who has no self reliance is old.
One who repeatedly cries for help is old.
The habitual fault-finder and complainer is old.
One who values mundane wealth more than uplifting thoughts is old.
One who clings to life and does not let go is old.
He who does not enjoy humor and has lost his smile is old.
One who does not enjoy laughter is old.
One who does not enjoy the sound of birds or the beauty of a flower is old.
One who has no control over his limbs and is horrified of death is old.
One who does not enjoy stillness, quietness, and silence is old.
One whose mind is like a crowded bode full of strife and misery is old.
But one who remains in the garden of delight and smiles perpetually is young.
One whose heart is ever fresh, ever green, is ever young.
Even if he has lived for many years, he is better than anyone young.

But why contrast these two, young and old, for they are both childlike. The difference is that in old age the mind remains preoccupied with haunting memories of the past and is full of follies, while at a young age the mind remains preoccupied with curiosities and uncertainties. In old age the mind has had all the experiences. It still has desires that wander into the grooves of old habits, but the body does not follow. At a young age one lacks experience, and wild ambitions try to probe into the heights and depths of doubts and fears, wanting to gain new experiences. They give one zeal and hope, but, still inexperienced he stumbles many a time, hurting, being hurt, always unsatisfied. This hope of expectation keeps him seeking. The young person who lacks will, confidence, hope, and wisdom is not able to accomplish what he wants. In old age the charms have lost their allure, hopes are gone, the experiences are completed. There is nothing new to be relished.

The old man who keeps up his spirits and develops the art of admiring the beautiful is a beautiful old man. He is better than any young person. There are many young people who are like old people, and there are many old people who retain their perpetual youth and remain young.
Someone once said to his beloved, “old age is a matter of mind-if you don’t mind, it does not matter.” Oh old man, keep up your spirits, don’t be lonely. Don’t ever think that you are old, for thinking makes it so."

Blair, that passage was just what the Dr. ordered on a day like today. Thank you.

Attitude of gratitude

What an amazing week...

I started my full time assignment this week, and it has been wonderful to have a new challenge and opportunity to grow.

I have assumed the role of national sales manager for our herbal products line. The main focus will be on product selection, branding, positioning, and increasing distribution nationwide, and then ultimately on an international level. I am very glad to have an opportunity to develop my marketing and advertising skills with this role, as well as my knowledge of multi channel marketing and distribution.

This IS in fact strongly tied to the projects overseas in the fact that it will provide funding, operational support, and tangible product for distribution in the dispensaries overseas.

I am very excited about seeing this project mature as the forward vision is very well rooted. In the appropriate amount of time we will be moving forward with the Biofuel projects, but for now there is an enormous amount of work being done in the background.

Briana and I are packing our stuff for an overnight trip to New York to see some old friends of ours. It will be nice to get caught up.

I went for a hike this morning on one of the marked trails on campus. It was a real lesson in gratitude. I am so pleased to be here. I ran across a deer that was sitting under a tree. I was about 20 feet from her, and we both took the opportunity to observe one another. She looked very regal just enjoying the cool breeze of the forest. I was glad that she felt comfortable enough with me to not run away. I also stumbled upon a bunch of blackberries. They made for a great treat. As I was eating these blackberries I smiled because the only way for me to do that 7 weeks ago would have been to get in the car and drive to the grocery and pay $2.99 for something that apparently grows wild in the forests of the Pocono Mountains. I realize that where we are right now is not for anyone, but if I had the offer to live ANYWHERE other than here, I would gladly pass. This is the right place for right now…

New Word - Artemisia

Links:

Can a Chinese herb win the malaria war? - BBC

Artemisia in Africa

ICRAF discovers Wonder Plant for curing Malaria - News From Africa

Wormwood is the Basis for a Cancer-fighting Pill

New Word - Microcredit

I have been introduced to a bunch of new things this month, so I thought that it would be interesting to post high level sumaries of these items for the studious types out there.

Microcredit is the extension of very small loans to unemployed, poor entrepreneurs and others living in poverty who are not bankable. These individuals lack collateral, steady employment and a verifiable credit history and therefore cannot meet even the most minimum qualifications to gain access to traditional credit. Microcredit is a part of microfinance, which is the provision of financial services to the very poor; apart from loans, it includes savings, microinsurance and other financial innovations.

Micro credit is a scheme for low income especially for unemployed youth who do not have any source of income and want to generate their income.

Microcredit is a financial innovation which originated in developing countries where it has successfully enabled extremely impoverished people (mostly women) to engage in self-employment projects that allow them to generate an income and, in many cases, begin to build wealth and exit poverty. Due to the success of microcredit, many in the traditional banking industry have begun to realize that these microcredit borrowers should more correctly be categorized as pre-bankable; thus, microcredit is increasingly gaining credibility in the mainstream finance industry and many traditional large finance organizations are contemplating microcredit projects as a source of future growth. Although almost everyone in larger development organizations discounted the likelihood of success of microcredit when it was begun in its modern incarnation as pilot projects with ACCION and Muhammad Yunus in the mid-1970s, the United Nations declared 2005 the International Year of Microcredit.

Women have become the center focus of many microcredit institutions and agencies worldwide. The reasoning behind this is the observation that loans to women tend to more often benefit the whole family than loans to men do. It has also been observed that giving women the control and the responsibility of small loans raises their socio-economic status, which is seen as a positive change to many of the current relationships of gender and class. However, there is an ongoing debate about whether microcredit loans have the power to truly change established political and economic relationships.

According to the Microcredit Summit Campaign:

"1.2 billion people are living on less than a dollar a day. Women are often responsible for the upbringing of the world’s children and the poverty of the women generally results in the physical and social underdevelopment of their children. Experience shows that women are a good credit risk, and that women invest their income toward the well being of their families. At the same time, women themselves benefit from the higher social status they achieve within the home when they are able to provide income." [1]

Many microcredit organizations focus completely on women borrowers. Pro Mujer and NamasteDirect are two organizations that directly work with women, but the Grameen Foundation, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, and Hillary Rodham Clinton all emphasize women when they speak about microcredit.

wOw! 500 and counting!

We just hit 500 unique visitors to the blog! That is incredible to me. I do not know 500 people, so there must be people finding the site from web searches or something?

Anyway 500 is a great number, if only we had something for sale...

The plan is coming together.

Things are really beginning to shape up nicely in regards to my assignment. I have been in a few meetings to discuss possibilities and particulars, and it all sounds very wonderful.

It is amazing to see how much planning has to go into international affairs. This project is some time out from being fully functional. I am so glad to be around the near ground floors. I do not want to misrepresent what I will be doing, so I will wait until the entire plan has been revealed, but let’s just say that I will need to summon my marketing, sales, client rapport building, and general business skills back to the table if I am going to be successful in this venture. What I like about this opportunity is that it is larger than the imagination. Certainly what seems like fantasy now will be very insignificant in the future. This is very exciting.

We are moved in completely, and are getting more comfortable by the day. Briana is doing inventory in the bookstore right now, so she is learning where all of that grumpiness came from me in my 13 years of inventory experience. It is no fun no matter how you slice it.

We have a telephone number now. If you would like to have this number, please email me and I will send it to you.

More news to come next week…

Wax on...Wax off

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as EAGLES they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint" - Isaiah 40:31

Well there seems like there is a lot to be said about the simple things in life. For the last month I have lived a life quite a bit different than I had grown accustomed to in the past.

My workforce has gone from over 100 to just me. The revenue that I was responsible for generating has gone from over $10,000,000 to $0. My conference calls have been replaces with prepping vegetables for meals. The sales meetings of the past have been replaced with meetings about making beds. I do not sell vacuums any longer, but now I sure do use them. Some days I would leave my past job with a sore behind from sitting too much. That has been replaced with a sore everything from moving around too much…

The above sentiments could very easily be interpreted as whining, or unbearable for some, but not for me. I will learn from Daniel-Son’s mistakes of questioning why painting the fence or sanding the deck is training for the big fight. Why should one question results? I have learned more in 4 weeks of this work about myself than I have in the past 2 years! I was so caught up in the rat race that I did not take the proper amount of time to discover what my inner self really needed. The world is full of people that have expectations of what you should be doing, and they make enough noise to drown out your own inner voice of what you really need to be doing with your time. I really quite like this new pace. It isn’t slower or faster, more challenging or less challenging, it is just different. I like this different.

I can see that the future will hold many exciting things for us in the international arena, but for now it is time to get back to work.

Wax on, Wax off…

Moving in - Part 2

We are almost settled. It has been a looooooooooooong week of unpacking, arranging, repacking, and storing. This week has really showed me just how lazy I had become. I have also learned the value of getting back into shape. This place is not about sitting on your butt for a living. We work hard up yonda...

I will post photos of the finished product once Briana has her way with the decorating.

until then...

Moving in - Part 1

Our movers left a little while ago, and we are in the process of settling into our new apartment. It is much smaller than our previous place, but it is going to make for a wonderful home. We could not have moved into a larger extreme. From the mean streets of inner city Dallas to the rural Pocono mountains. We have deer in our yard at times! There is also a bunch of other stuff going on as well, but I have not the time, nor the energy to go into detail. More to come soon.

Starting Tomorrow!

I just received word that I will start training with the campus bookstore manager tomorrow. I'm soooooo excited! She is moving and needs to train a replacement quickly so it will probably be pretty intense training. I'm ready.

I promise to kick Matt of the computer long enough tomorrow to update everyone on the new adventure!

It is hot...

This heat is really draining. I am so tired. In case you did not know we do not have air conditioning. Right now it is 95 degrees outside, so it is AT LEAST 95 inside. =(

So if you have the blessing of central AC, please do not take it for granted. Relish every moment of that sweet cool breeze...

I am sure that this wave will pass and be replaced by a much more beautiful climate, but 95 degrees in the northeast? There must be something to this global warming stuff afterall...

We Went to see "An Inconvenient Truth." last night.

Travis, I know what a big Al Gore fan that you are, so I have decided to join the bandwagon ;).

Seriously, the film was well presented. Even for those who do not believe that we are hurting the environment by dumping tons of smog into the air every day should see this movie just so they hear both sides of the argument. I know that some will say that the atmosphere is so big that it can handle little ole me, but is this really the case? Is there really only "little ole me?"

I just had this thought come into my mind; it will make the biggest point to all of the swimmers out there. If you were in a pool, let's even say a nice size pool at the YMCA with the 15 meter diving board and all, would you be ok someone jumped in and urinated in the pool? I know that I don't like the idea, and urine is sterile so it won't REALLY hurt me! The pee in the pool thing is similar to the environmental issue. Twenty ounces of urine in a 35,000 gallon pool certainly won't hurt anyone right? It is probably right, but what if we were going for a swim and thousands of people jumped in the pool and relieved themselves? I bet the nature of the water would change in a way that the pool would still be there, and yes you could still go for a dip, but would you really want to?

The very same thing is going on with the environment. The air around our cities is VISIBLY tainted. Every day there are level orange smog warnings, and the last time I went to Colorado (1989) Denver could not be seen from the surrounding mountains due to the smog. That was 15 years ago; I wonder what Denver looks like from those mountain vistas now? The fact is simple, what is coming out of our cars, our factories, and our power plants is not good for our health, or the health of the planet. We cannot be so naive to believe that companies or our government (who is heavily lobbied by the aforementioned company representatives) to make the best decisions for the future of this planet.

To me it seems like we are peeing in our own pool, and even though it is necessary at times, we should do it consciously. There are ways that each of us can reduce our carbon footprint in this world, but we cannot lose sight of the fact that government is not beyond our reach. If one of us screams for help, government may not be able to hear (over the sound of the trucks, busses, and coal based power plants), but if we unite and scream together we can be heard. This is a serious issue, and it needs to be attended to now. Go to ClimateCrisis.net to learn how YOU can make a difference.

Please wait for the video to load, it is rather large.

About the video:
Al Gore, in his own words, "used to be the next President of the United States of America" but has since changed professions. This talk is a follow-up to his now-famous presentation, featured in the movie, "An Inconvenient Truth." In it, he outlines what we can do to avert a global climate crisis. [Recorded February, 2006 in Monterey, CA]

Howdy Y'all!

"O Lord, make me an instrument of Thy Peace! Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is discord, harmony; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light, and Where there is sorrow, joy. Oh Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive; It is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life."

Things are going very well. We are still doing our month long self transformation program, so it has been nice getting to know everyone. There are about 80 - 100 residents here so it has been a challenge to remember everyone's name, but I think that we are doing pretty well thus far. The yoga teachers training started this evening and will go on for the next 3 weeks so there will be plenty of new faces running about. These folks have a long 3 weeks ahead of them! The programming starts at 6:30 am and ends at 10:00 pm every day. FOR ALL 21 DAYS! No breaks, no days off. That is commitment. We should be moving out of the main building and into our apartment around the 19th or so, so it will be nice to get settled in to a more permanent situation, although living in the main building has some nice points.

Our movers have not made contact with us yet to set up a delivery time, and we are hoping that they take WAY longer than promised so we do not need to move 2 times. This will probably not happen however as the 15th was considered the latest for it to arrive.

Again, not a lot of huge stuff going on, but just a quick update. The prayer above is the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi. I love this prayer, I thought it would compliment the www.

Love, peace, and prosperity to all

Photos from this evening's stroll. We bumped into some deer friends.

Invisible Children

A dear friend did as he was asked by the cover of the DVD jacket and passed the video along to Briana and I. We are in a semi-speechless state. The trailer below does not really paint the appropriate picture of the whole story, and from what I gather these three great souls are back in Uganda right now filming a feature length version of this short documentary. My prayers and thoughts are with these incredible people. I am so proud for the impact that they are making in the lives that they touch overseas and at home in the states. These three men had no direction before they left for Africa and came back with such a pressing story. It reminds me of the question "If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" I feel that this story is proof that the sound is being made. I am so grateful that someone was around to hear it. These children are certainly not invisible...they are tangible. They are forgotten. They have been ignored. The morale of the story is certainly not to have everyone travel to some foreign land to offer aid. I feel that the morale of the story is that we can all help in our own unique way. Some can afford to give money, others their time, but it seems that the biggest way that most can help is to make sure that as many people as possible know this story and others like it. Not so that we all walk around depressed all of the time, but rather that we appreciate what blessings God has given us. The Lord has put us in a position to choose to help rather than need help. This is freedom of choice. My heart goes out to these people. Please watch the trailer. Please go to InvisibleChildren.com to learn more. Get a copy of the DVD sent to you. Please follow your heart in this life. All there is, is love.

Please be patient, Video takes some time to load:

Amazing day

This has been a great week. We are acclimating to our new environment quite nicely. There is a huge seminar going on this weekend, and there are so many interesting people here. I wonder if there are boring times to be had in this place.

Anyway true to form, in both institute and past business experience I am getting messages between the lines. I have learned a lot about myself this weekend. Not necessarily on the topic of the discussion, but rater the antithesis of the topic. Not many people get an opportunity in life to choose to start fresh. I think that I will saddle up this choice and ride it until the legs fall off of it.

Soon I will post photos from our evening walks. We have seen so many wonderful things here. Such a departure from concrete, a couple of pigeons, and a few stray dogs. ..

Much love,

Matt D

Still doing well

Yesterday was a nice R & R day for us. After the move and drive we were very tired. We got a lot of sleep Monday night and Tuesday.

Today we pitched in where we were needed and filled a shift in the kitchen. Briana and I had a lot of fun prepping all sorts of great veggies for our upcoming meals. It really helps keep things in perspective when we head to the dining hall 3 times a day that SOMEONE put a lot of effort into the meals.

Our fearless leader just got back from Uganda this afternoon, so we should be getting some insight into our future soon. A lot of feedback that I have received from this blog has been "So it does not really say what you will be doing..." The answer is quite simple, we are not really clear on that as of now. This coming week will shed a lot of light on the topic, so stay tuned for updates in the next 4 - 5 days.

That is all for now, it is dinner time!

Love you all!

We are home!

Not much time right now to type specifics, but since we have no cell reception with T-Mobile up here, I thought I would leave a quick note to conform that we arrived safely at around 5:30.

We are unloading our car load of stuff right now and getting settled into our room. It is almost time for bed!

Our love to everyone!