Monday Morning Rock Out!

Archive for the 'Monday Morning Rock Out!' Category Page 3 of 8

Published

on April 27, 2008

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It’s Monday - time to take a moment to prepare for the week ahead. And what a week it will be if you are creating the future of your community!

Before we can head out and kick butt this week, though, we need to take a deep breath and just stop. Stop and take notice. Stop and prepare. Stop and smell the flowers. Or perhaps just stop!

If ever you doubt the power we have individually and collectively, Improv Everywhere will remind you that we do indeed have such power.

And if there was ever a doubt that the arts are simply the expression of the human spirit, just watch the effect of seeing musical theater in a mall Food Court. Or the reaction to a public display in a store window. Or yes, watch as the entirety of Grand Central Station erupts in applause.

We humans need to express who we are, and we need to share that. That is what the arts are all about. The arts heal us. They make us whole.

Tell that to the next person who thinks funding for the arts is a “luxury!”

Thanks to Elizabeth Sadlon for sending this video, so we can all start the week with such fun. I hope you will all head out today and thank an artist for making life more livable.

Have a great Monday and a great week, all!

(If you are new to the Monday Morning Rock Out, you can find previous Rock Outs here - enjoy!)

Monday Morning Rock Out!

Published

Hildy

on March 2, 2008

in Changing the World, Monday Morning Rock Out! and My Inspiration

. 0 Comments

It’s Monday. And as we head out to create the future of our world, we all need a little inspiration! To those of you new to the blog, that is the purpose of the Monday Morning Rock Out - to put a little sanity and joie de vivre into work that takes all the collective “umph” we can muster!

This week’s Rock Out is dedicated to the voice of young people everywhere.

I know I talk a lot about engaging young people in our work. So instead of my rambling rants, I thought I would let a member of the younger generation speak for herself.

Yes, out of the mouths of babes.

But stop and think: When was the last time you were open to getting this much honesty and clarity from the young people in your own community? When was the last time you asked them about what they fear, what makes them happy, what they aspire to create in their communities?

Regardless of your mission, it is their future we are creating. We can create it FOR them (and look how well that’s worked so far…). Or we can create it WITH them. For my money, I’d bet on that latter option any time.

So that’s your challenge this week: How will you engage the honesty and energy and wisdom of the young people in your community? How will you start working WITH them, instead of FOR them?

(And then, when you have begun to finally integrate young people into the very fabric of your work, it’s time to aim at the other end of the spectrum. There is more honesty and energy and wisdom there than we give them credit for either.)

Have a great Monday and a great week, all!

(If you are new to the Monday Morning Rock Out, you can find previous Rock Outs here - enjoy!)