Daily Archives: 04/08/2010

(Community Matters)

I’m told in the 70s, partly cloudy – hmm, I believe it’ll be quite sunny

(Community Matters) Catholic Relief Services’ Caroline Brennan (senior communications officer) just returned from Haiti and was in Austin meeting with donors today.  With our HelpHaiti grants committee chair Phil Siegel and Chris Earthman who chairs Catholic Charities, met earlier today with Ms. Brennan and Diana Orren.  Wonderful pictures and stories of courageous Haitians, life seems to be returning to these people, though a very very tough life living in tents and mud floors during the rainy season.  It’ll be hurricane season almost as soon as the rains top.  HelpHaiti made a $50k challenge grant, against which Catholic Charities raised $88k in Central Texas.  We feel good about CRS’s spend, though given their raise of $140mm to date, unlikely we’ll be sending more.  Our priorities are mostly among more botique npos with specific programs we deem most valuable and for which monies from our $1.3mm would be critical – especially if we can help them leverage it with additional funding through match grants or other strategic partnerships.

(Community Matters) Through Shobie Partos in our Entrepreneurs Foundation office, we helped Silicon Labs, Inc. host tonight’s fundraiser for the Literacy Coalition of Central Texas – a happy hour spelling bee at the Alamo Drafthouse South.  There are three feeder spelling bees leading up to the big kahuna on April 29 at the Austin Musica Hall.

Tonight, teams from Austin Ventures, Bazaarvoice, BMC Software (formerly Phurnace), Convio, Creditcards.com, Silicon Labs, Thinkwell and Troux Technologies competed.  Creditcards.com won the competition.  Everyone had a blast for a good cause.

(Community Matters) While chatting with a 23 yo over lunch today, I listened attentively, since so much of what many need today is simply to be heard (and to talk outloud, to have to reach conclusion in their thoughts).  Increasingly I don’t prioritize making nice or becoming friends with 20 year olds.  I’d much rather share truths as I’ve experienced them, or as I interpret them, with the hope of favorably counseling someone.

This young man (who’s a casual acquaintance but whom I’ve watched on facebook and in a business setting), has many gifts to recommend him.

After listening, inquiring and mostly affirming, I explained that there are many paths one can take, which while looking similar, sometimes even easier, lead to very different sorts of lives.  While I’ve thought about it before, I’m not sure I’ve articulated how blessed some lives can be (I don’t mean blessed in any religious sense) – certainly mine & Steven’s among those.  I don’t mean materially (though that too); I mean because of the people we are lucky to count among our closest friends – how most of us spend a lot of time, money and effort on others – sometimes ones’ children, grandchildren or community, politics, running a business & providing fair paying jobs supporting families. How within this cohort, you don’t really have to look over your shoulder because these friends have your back.

Even among us, we sometimes become too ego-centric.  This doesn’t serve us well.  When we start feeling sorry for ourselves, or obsessing about ourselves, perhaps it’s time to focus on others.

(Community Matters) Flint Sparks (a Buddhist priest) posted these comments about this video on his Facebook:

This is really interesting, and there are loads of people out there projecting their stuff onto this very ambiguous image. This may possibly the most “Buddhist” response I’ve seen in advertising. Tiger stands and faces the camera in ordinary black and white – he turns toward the witness not away, just as in meditation, nothing fancy. He offers nothing but himself and his father’s words, which encourage reflection rather than judgment. “Inquisitive” and”inviting discussion” – just like one might be with a good teacher – opening to curiosity and deep looking. “What were you thinking… what were you feeling?” Paying attention to the the ways we create suffering through the self-centered dream. “Did you learn anything?” Each moment, life as it is, is the real source of all learning, but only if we don’t turn a practice opportunity into an ordinary event. Only if we choose deep questioning and real attention over reactivity and easy judgment.

Vodpod videos no longer available.