30 Reasons to Live--A personal list

A few months ago, I went on a wonderful 7 day cleanse that I learned a tremendous amount from and I’m gearing up soon for a shorter 3 day cleanse. It doesn’t involve fasting but rather the elimination of all sugar, soy, salt, alcohol, caffeine and anything with gluten from your diet. This stimulates your liver, kidneys, colon and the entire digestive track. It’s revitalizing and fun to do because it builds character by testing the limits of willpower, determination and focus.

Also during this time, I am always more thankful for life, the process and all the little things that bring a smile to my face and warmth to my heart which leads me to chronicle a few of my favorite things about being alive. After all, we Social Workers work hard to bring light to other people’s lives and to provide them the opportunity to have a better life that they can enjoy and thrive in. But we too, must take time to enjoy ours and appreciate the little things that we love. May you do something that inspires you to make YOUR list. J

30 Reasons to Live

A personal list

1. Lighting bugs in the summer

2. Finding driftwood on the beach

3. My backpack on my back

4. My passport in my pocket

5 5. Eating cheese made from the cows surrounding me in the Austrian Alps with bread baked in the afternoon and butter churned that same morning

6. Fall colors in the Northeast

7. Philadelphia

8. A raging campfire

9. Hearing my new favorite song for the 1^st time

10. The sound of my boyfriend’s voice (if I had one)

11. The unexpected

12. Lakes in the mountains

13. Year round in the Redwoods

14. Climbing volcanoes

15. Cattails in a pond

16. The sound of snow crunching under my feet

17. Skinny dipping

18. Floating on a river!

19. My dreams (the ones at night)

20. Making out with someone I love

21. A hot cup of tea

22. Jumping on a train

23. Getting off an airplane

24. Knowing that if I wrote this list tomorrow it would be different

25. Falling in love with San Francisco

26. Hiking to a waterfall anywhere

27. Compassion

28. Holding a baby

29. Making my friends laugh

30. Knowing I have a purpose

Colonialism and Cultural Genocide

We've been talking in class about colonialism of America, what happened to the Indigenous People of this country when the Europeans came and how the history books haven't been and still continue to be dishonest when recounting the events.

This led me to take a look at current colonialism with a global perspective. The people of Tibet and the oppression that they are experiencing is tragic. I found an article in the New York times recently that highlights the ongoing struggle of Tibet and China and how India is playing one of many roles. One being, the Dali Lama is protected while in exile in India but China seems to be on a mission to restrain India's power regarding Tibet.

The situation of tibet is a critical issue because it deals with basic human rights and the ethnic preservationof an entire population. The Tibetan culture is being raped of its cultural values. They have and continue to ask for sovereignty but to no avail.

Some Background on Tibet:

· China’s colonization of Tibet:

Ø They acquired through military force and suppress people who oppose

Ø Impose social and cultural values claimed to be more ‘civilized’

Ø Exploit natural resources

Ø Manipulate the demographics by moving the Chinese into Tibet

Tibet was independent at the time of China's invasion (1949): The country possessed all conditions of statehood under international law:

1) a defined territory 2) had a population 3) a functioning Government.

There was an unplanned uprising of Tibetans against Chinese rule that killed over 87,000 Tibetans from 1959-1960. The Dalai Lama fled the country under the protection of Tibetans on the same day his compound was attacked by the Chinese Army. Plus, thousands of Tibetans gathered around the palace to protect the Dali Lama were killed and tens of thousands were taken to concentration camps and died. Tibetan cultural and religious buildings were destroyed and the population was subjected to massive ‘re-education’ efforts.

Although there’s been 60 years of occupation, Tibet still considers itself an independent country under illegal occupation.

Issues:

· Human Rights

Ø 1.2 million Tibetans killed and 80,000 in exile

· Religion and National Identity

Ø Tibetan national identity is its religion =Buddhism

Ø Monasteries, temples, and cultural centers were robbed and destroyed

Ø Of the 6,259 monasteries and temples in 1959, only eight had escaped some form of Chinese destruction by 1976

Ø Admission to monasteries are controlled and the # of monks limited

Ø Tibetans identify with non-militarization yet China has placed dozens of nuclear warheads within Tibet and conducts nuclear testing, weapons production and uranium mining

Ø They honor the environment but forests and grasslands are now used for agriculture by Chinese settlers

· Population

Ø Tibetans are greatly outnumbered by Chinese settlers

Ø All political, econ, social and even cultural power is under Chinese rule

Ø Chinese gov’t offer incentive programs for Chinese to relocate to Tibet

Ø This presents the greatest threat to survival of the Tibetan people and their culture…a form ofcultural genocide

Article found in the NY Times 9/04/09:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/04/world/asia/04chinaindia.html

China and India Dispute Enclave on Edge of Tibet

By Edward Wong

· Area that’s disputed is on the edge of Tibet= Tawang (birthplace of VI Dali Lama)

Ø Current DL passed through this valley when he fled to exile in ‘59

Ø This region is part of India b/c in 1914 there was a treaty signed b/w Tibet and then British-ruled India

Ø However, China refuses to acknowledge the treaty

Ø China occupied this region in ’62 during a war w/ India which killed over 3,000 Indians

Ø Last year, the DL proclaimed Tawang as ‘part of India’

· The issue= Tawang falls b/w the 2 most populated countries in the world >India & China

· India asked for a huge loan from an Asian bank and China blocked it b/c India was going to use part of the $ to work on flood projects in the highland region of Tawang

· India has now proclaimed China as more of a national threat than Pakistan.

· India will add addition 50-60,000 troops over the next several years and immediately deployed 4 fighter jets to the region

This represents severe ethnic unrest for an entire region. Not to mention a major threat to the rest of the world due to huge aggressive actions taken by the two most populated countries in the world!

I know the American government has stood behind Tibet and has formally asked for their freedom from China. But, until the Unites States of America comes forward and formally apologizes for its heinous acts of terror on the original inhabitants of this country and changes the history books in the light of honesty, how can our word mean anything regarding sovereignty of another??

Health Care Reform from Obama to Congress and other thoughts…

After listening to Obama address Congress (and the Nation), I am still proud that he is our President. He is such an eloquent speaker that has the ability to evoke emotions on a deeper level than most political figures I’ve witnessed before me. However, I question how much positive ‘change’ he will make with regards to reforming our entire health care system. Granted, I have a slimmer understanding than I’d like to have concerning this political minefield. However, I do feel that we need a huge change not a mere modification of the existing system run by insurance companies and pharmaceutical corporations.

Why has it taken until Barak Obama to do something about health care for every American when it was proposed by Teddy Roosevelt over 100 years ago? Why… because Obama does represent change, enormous change. But will he take a giant leap or take a small step to maintain the status quo?

Health care IS our deficit problem; which is a crying shame. It soaks up money that could go to education, the environment, economic development and a million other programs that benefit society. Obama read a letter tonight written by Senator Ted Kennedy during the last month of his life but mailed to Obama after he passed per his wishes. The quote that summed-up much of Senator Kennedy’s view of the American Health Care system: “What we face is a moral issue. Not a detail of policy but rather an issue of social justice and the character of our country.”

Obama mentioned in his speech tonight that “even though Americans spend more than anyone else in the entire world on health care, we are no healthier for it”. This led me to research, who is considered the healthiest nation in the world? After all, health is what this should all be about, right? The answer= France. So, why not look at what they are doing, how their system is working and what we can adopt?

According to NPR, the WHO tried to do a statistical ranking of the world’s health care systems. They studied 191 countries. France came in first and America ranked 37^th. Some people questioned what factors they really studied. So, there was another study done that measured “amenable mortality --deaths that could have been prevented with good health care”. Looking at 19 industrialized nations, France was first again while the US was ‘dead’ last.

Suffice it to say, I may not be able to explain all the particulars of the French health care system regarding payroll taxes, medical unions, governmental regulations and a national insurance program but surely someone can crack that nut for our elected government.

Anyway, the stats show that the French live longer and generally have healthier lives. I believe that a healthy life that starts at birth. Here in the United States, mothers are lucky to get 6 weeks off for maternity leave if they can afford to do so. And, they can only receive public assistance if they are poor enough to qualify for it. While in France, mothers automatically qualify for months of paid leave from work after giving birth. They receive a child allowance and home visits from nurses along with subsidized day care. Not to mention, these guaranteed services provide jobs for the country’s citizens. I believe this kind of system nurtures the family unit, increases the bonds of attachment and remains proactive by offering supportive services rather than being reactive to desperate situations.

It is my hope that their will be real reform that meets the health needs of the less fortunate while supporting families, children, elderly and single adults. If it can be done somewhere else in the world, surely we can do it here!

The Big Picture

This week as I settled into my internship and organized all of my syllabi, I sat and gazed across the piles of paperwork that will dictate my time over the next 3 and half months. In my head, I’m thinking of time management and adding deadlines to my datebook in effort to stay organized and efficient. As I’m doing so, I start to think about the concept of success. What does success really mean? After all, it is highly subjective…to each, their own. How am I going to be successful beyond my mandatory projects, papers, and presentations? In the big picture at the end of road, how and what will make me feel accomplished? This leads me to share one of my favorite poems by Ralph Waldo Emerson…

Success

To laugh often and much

To win the respect

of intelligent people

And the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation

Of honest critics and endure

the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty,

To find the best in others;

To leave the world

A bit better, whether

By a healthy child,

A garden patch

Or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life

Has breathed easier

Because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson