Earthquakes and Resilience
This article is about earthquake preparedness, but it has some great lines on survival as well. Like this: “Resilience, it seems, isn’t just about what happens after a crisis: It’s about what happens in the months, and years, before it. Eighty percent of a city recovers quickly after a disaster. Twenty percent suffers long term. We don’t just fall down, we—like sinkholes—dry out from within.
How This Bird Stays in Flight
Speaking of resilience, and in the “That Will Preach” Department,” the frigate can stay in the air for 56 days by riding natural updrafts. As long as we are talking about birds and how talents are bestowed across the natural order, did you know terminal velocity (the highest velocity attainable by an object as it falls through air) of a skydiver in a belly-to-earth, free-fall position is about 122 mph, but the terminal velocity of a peregrine falcon in a dive can approach 240 mph? We have a lot to learn and observe from the natural world; the one outside our walls and away from the computer screen.
Why we need to find a cure for ‘social death’
The value of a church or organization could be determined by several qualities. I can’t think of anything more important than being a people and place organically and practically inviting and welcoming. Any healing agency must be addressing the issue of alleviating the pain and exclusion of social death. A sign on an old rescue mission said, “You may not have a friend in the world, but you have one here.” The Message is a kind one, and the invitation is for everyone.
The Power of Collective Memory
We are individually and corporately working within and helping create collective memory. Here is a fascinating piece on how important, yet inaccurate that memory can be. The stories we tell, the rituals we re-experience, are key to making and maintaining memory and shared meaning.
Company Renames Itself from ‘Vrse’ to ‘Within’
Did you hear about the VR Company that got $12.56M in financing and a new name? The new name is ‘Within.’ Why does that matter? Because the worlds of gaming and virtual reality are creating mass experiences that keep people indoors, online, living and experiencing much of their free time within their minds. An interesting trend to note.
Two angles on the story:
I Am Gay but I Wasn’t Born This Way
Gender and sexuality and the terms that describe them are undergoing rapid change culturally. How do leaders navigate these waters with a commitment to solid teaching, sound science, and compassion? One way is to listen more, develop wide relationships, and stay humble. This article is worth a read because it provides a perspective outside the cultural norm.
Gender Video (Must!)
Speaking of gender terminology, this video shows how complicated the situation has become: