Talking Circle At INay
May 19, 2018 | permalink
iNay means mother in Filipino. That's what Ana named the beautiful 5-story building at Assumption College, whose mission now is to "encourage circles." It has a gorgeous yoga studio, various halls, a state of the art theater, a zen room, and a whole lot more. It feels like our Banyan Grove for the Philippines. :)
After the commencement today, few of us were going to hold a "Talking Circle." Given the festivities with the commencement, it was meant to be a low-key affair. Ten minutes before the circle, though, a slightly frazzled Ana pulled me aside and said, "Can you give a presentation?" Some big leaders from the school, the school principal, school president, three nuns, a trustee and such had unexpectedly joined our intimate circle. "If they really understand ServiceSpace values, it can really have huge ripples," Ana said.
Okay. So I whip up some slides, and start with some sharing from the heart. And then some core shifts of a "many to many" context, Gandhi 3.0-esque "laddership" style. You could sense that it was like a small earthquake. :) One of the nuns was full of smiles. Another, who ran the K-12 school, had very concrete questions on taking this forward. The best response was from a woman, who said, "I'm disturbed. Very disturbed, actually. But in a good way. I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight. This upends everything we had all just discussed." :)
Dr. Carmen "Pinky" Valdes is the 70+ year-old president of the college. She's really a rebel, an innovator, who has now totally caught the kindness bug. Once she's clear, she goes ahead full steam -- and so it was here. She wants to visit the Saionjis in Japan for peace prayers; she wants to host an Asia-wide Awakin Talks style event in their theater; she wants to join the next Gandhi 3.0 retreat in India and send her staff for service-learning trips to the Gandhi Ashram, both her and Ana want to stay at Banyan Grove, and she wants to host a retreat in Manila next February for Asia-wide leaders and ladders.
Vinoba spoke about Jai Jagat -- "Hail to the World". It sure feels like Jai Jagat these days -- with so many people, communities and organizations from so many different corners of the world coming together in service.
Commencement Address In Philippines
May 18, 2018 | permalink
Today, I spoke to the graduating class of 2018 at Assumption College. After my commencement, the students received their diplomas. They had to walk up to the "x" on the stage, bow and then receive the diploma. The only thing was that I was right in front -- so they all had to look in my direction to bow. For about 90 minutes, I just sat there and had the opportunity to look each graduate in the eye and offer a little prayer of goodwill. It was quite special. Much like my wedding day, my cheeks hurt from all the smiling. :)
Here's the transcript of my talk: Embrace the Grace, Celebrate the Infinite
Teenagers At Assumption School
May 17, 2018 | permalink
I spoke to a 10th grade assembly, and then a 12th grade one, at Assumption School today.
To the 10th graders, I asked if they felt that human beings were fundamentally selfish with a few moments of kindness, or fundamentally kind with a few moments of selfishness. It produced some very spirited responses -- from "blank slate" to "kind". In particular, I was quite touched by one fellow who spoke candidly and concluded, "I've been bullied a lot, so I have good reason to believe that people are mean. But I don't want to believe that. I think we can always be kind." And another girl who asked, "How can we make sure we don't turn into the monster that we hate?"
With the 12th graders (below, doing a minute of silence), I spoke about four years of compassion college -- and they, too, had a lot to share. What is the line between self care and selflessness? What if our kindness is taken advantage of? When I asked them about a 21-day challenge, turns out they had already done one! To celebrate the birthday of the school founder, Mary Eugenie, they all took the day off and just did acts of kindness!
I had to save some of my Smile Card stock for Vietnam, but all gone. :)
Asian Institute Of Management
May 17, 2018 | permalink
This morning, I had to speak to some students at Asian Institute of Management -- one of the top rated business schools in the Philippines. Ricky, the former Dean, and now a long-time professor, warned me that these students are super competitive and love to be argumentative. :)
The thing is, though, that generosity tames everyone. :)
Following just a few stories, the ambiance turned up a couple notches. Students were very engaged and asked great questions. By the end of the hour, we were all hugs. Couple of professors heard about the talk, and came by for brunch to explore synergies -- including a former labor minister turned professor, who felt it was pre-destined we met, to "brew a more perfect storm". :) Ricky himself was quite taken. He wants to host a "Startup Service" style retreat for b-schoolers in early 2019.
First Day In Philippines
May 16, 2018 | permalink
I arrived in Philippines today, for the first time. It's a developing country in many ways, with 450 thousand call center workers in Manila alone. Colonized by Spanish, it's a largely Catholic country, whose current president is a vocal proponent of violence as a means to solve problems. Yet there are many bright lights, as I was to discover.
Ana had come to India earlier this year for our Gandhi 3.0 retreat, and "it changed everything". When she returned back to Assumption College, where she runs the METTA theater program with 17 staff, she initiated dozens of experiments. The school president, a former Christian nun, found a new mission for their elite, 3000+ student school and college: a culture of kindness. Ana repeatedly jokes, "I've been damaged for life. I can't go back to another way of living, giving or serving." To give you an idea of her commitment, she signed up for a recent Laddership Circle thinking that it was a residential program -- "I've finally convinced my boss to give me six weeks of leave." Fortunately, it was a virtual circle. :)
I was walking into a field that was ripe for so much. Below is one of the first Awakin Circles they hosted -- where Nimo and I both overlapped for an evening. They intend to host Awakin Circles regularly now.
There Is No Off Button
May 15, 2018 | permalink
What is perhaps not mentioned enough is how much versatility it takes to engage with communities in this ServiceSpace-y way of emergence. So much happened in the last 12 hours in Taiwan, and yet emergence is directly proportional to my embrace of the unexpected.
That is to say that we just have to be constantly on. Below is a Q&A with youngsters at the community center, in between a "break" ...
And then, we have to make lemonade out of whatever lemons are offered in the moment.
This evening, I had to give a talk to student leaders at Asia University. Dean of Student Affairs, Fred Chang, was translating for me. However, three people showed up. Conference style chair seating looked awkwardly empty. But without skipping a beat, we created a mini circle, and by the end, we were about a dozen of us. I spoke just as I would in front of a thousand people, but because of the intimate setting, we could engage in a much deeper and interactive way. The Dean himself later wrote saying, "Our conversation is going to change how we do all our volunteer programs at Asia University." Professor Shu copied everyone in an email thread saying, "You have changed my life." One of the student leaders hugged me and said in his broken English, "Thank you. I have discovered love today. I will pay it forward." The space in our circle really had gotten very deep.
You just never know what leads to what. My job is simply to bring my A-game, in as many moments as my untiring mind allows, without seeking any particular outcome. That's really ancient wisdom, but I'm seeing the power of that day-in and day-out.
Karma Kitchen, In Mandarin!
May 15, 2018 | permalink
Given that Asia University is keen to start Karma Kitchen, they had prepared this super cute step-by-step guide in Mandarin:
Right as I left, I asked Sylvia to autograph her artwork, which made her day. Before I could reach my hotel, she had sent a late night email: "After you leave I feel lots of love in my heart. I hope next time you come, we can show you how love and generosity has spread in our local communities."
Inaugurating A Community Center In Wufeng
May 15, 2018 | permalink
Today, many local folks converged to inaugurate a new community center, host a meal together, and I was told that I needed to give a talk. :) Not many spoke English, but everyone knew about Karma Kitchen.
It's amazing how the far ripples of ServiceSpace travel. On the right side of the room, there was a poster with a question: what does serving with what you have mean to you?
In the crowded room, as all of us were soaking in the hot and humid weather, two young girls from Asia University introduced me. They had been practicing delivering my intro (in English) for the whole month! So, so cute. One of them, Hannah, later wrote to me, "You are a very great kindness presenter. Touched my heart instantly. May joy be with you hourly. I am a Christian, and I will pray that God is always beside you. Also, I will deliver ServiceSpace idea for my classmates to let them know about the sharing joy."
After I shared Karma Kitchen stories, we all went to plant a tree -- they selected an Indian tree, which they referred to as "Smiling Tree".
Bunch of local farmer projects were on display. Local firemen had come to attend, alongside Asia University's leadership, and political leadership, too. Despite the language barrier, I had insightful conversations with many youth as well. All throughout, I felt like I had several cameras pointing at me at all times, to make sure that every silly joke I made was captured in the annals of someone's FB page somewhere, LOL. :)
Who would've thought, that I'd be hanging out with farmers in rural Taiwan on a 1-day layover, talking about compassion and kindness?
Squares And Circles In WuFeng
May 15, 2018 | permalink
I landed in Taiwan at 7AM, cleaned up in the public restrooms, headed to my morning events, and now it was time for the afternoon programs that Professor Shu and her superstar TA (Sylvia) had diligently organized in the Wufeng area. I debated if the cartoon on the poster was me, but lo and behold, it was. :)
It started with a local architect and permaculture farmer showing a few of us around town. I learned about the significance of shapes in Chinese architecture -- circles are inclusive and forgiving, but they are always coupled with squares which are strict and disciplined. "Be like a circle with others, and square with yourself," he said. Triangles were never used.
Professors With Smile Cards
May 15, 2018 | permalink
The Dean of Social Sciences school at NCCU, one of the well-known and older colleges in Taiwan, hosted a beautiful dialogue on "development" today. Very sweetly, he organized a group of inspired professors and department heads to dive deeper into ServiceSpace. It was quite energizing, and has generated various future invitations. In particular, many are keen to explore the idea of multiple forms of capital in their social development work and teaching. It strikes me that we ought to prepare a case study or module, for educational institutions to implement lots of these ideas, from 21-day challenges, to service learning projects, circles and much more.
Here's a few of us at the end, holding our Smile Cards:
Before we even started, Dean Min-Hsiu Chiang spoke in a very un-Dean-like way :) and told me that he felt we had met in a past life. And after the talk, he repeated that sentiment. :)