Ripples of life

Martha: November 07, 2009

Peggy and group – I’m here too. Although I’ve not written for awhile, I’ve been encouraged and enjoyed reading your reflections, it keeps me going and gives me more passion for the work I do. This time has been difficult for me from being sick with flu and moving to another house, but the study group is a project I took seriously and enthusiastically.

I much appreciate your efforts, Peggy, and the other members of the group for making this study group work and for spreading the word to more people. I really love talking with friends about this group. Some have shown interest and curiosity, others have promised me they will join soon. It is curious for me when I talk about the ideas from narrative therapy to people in mental health. It is like talking in Chinese, so it has convinced me that we need to spread the word more and more.

In working with a Latino population, most of which speak Spanish, it has been helpful to understand the tremendous generational / cultural gap between parents’ and children. Recently, I was invited to share some ideas for parents’ in a school. I took the opportunity to introduce this idea and to work on filling that gap. I started with my own story that I shared with you all, and spoke of the struggles in my acculturation process. My principal focus was how I integrated with the new culture without loosing who I am and all my protected factors that we have as Latino families. In thinking about what to say to that group of people, my first thought was to speak in a way that would resonate with them, and not repeat what books say, so I shared my story and my hopes that brought me to this country. In this way we could share a sense of community and a feeling of being in casa.

Somewhere in my reading while I was finishing my thesis in the MFT program I came upon an illustration about dropping a small rock in a lake and watching the ripples it makes spread outward in all directions, which expresses what I hope is the heart of this group. No matter what culture we’re from, we have all heard this illustration at some point in time, and understand the image as reflecting how our individual actions and words affect an ever-widening circle. We are connected through those ripples or through our shared purposes in life. We are linked through shared common values, interests and dreams.

I believe our common stories bring us together in ways that make us stronger people and more effective therapists. The rock may be small, but when it’s tossed in the water it creates ripples just as a seemingly small idea or story can have dramatic effects. The small ripple created when the rock hits the water can be a wave by the time it reaches the shore. Our personal stories can be traced back to a few small ripples as well.

After the meeting I received a letter from the woman who organized it saying thank you for sharing your journey with us because it was so valuable to many people and parents’ from the school, and they were moved to start working on fulfilling the hopes that brought them to this country.

I share this story with you all because this is what brought me to the decision to be a part of this group. I believe it was in looking for connections and the sense of belonging and a membership with people that have common propose in life, where we can give & take in a way that contributes to our personal and spiritual growth. We are always looking for associations with others who validate us to be who we are. This is what I expressed in my introduction about Peggy having a Latino heart.

Saludos, Martha

Regina: November 08, 2009

Gracias Marta

Nice hearing from you. I can feel the connections growing for me in the group. You can be sure the waves produced by your “stone” words are reverberating as far as here in Rio de Janeiro, BR.

saludos

Regina Jardim

Peggy: November 08, 2009

Martha – Regina has conveyed so well in just a few words my response to reading your post on ripples of life. I too can feel the connections growing within this study group….and you can be sure the waves produced by your “stone” words are reverberating as far as here in Vermont, USA!

I am sorry to hear you have been sick with the flu over the past month. Was it H1/N1? And have you now moved into your new home?

In your story, Martha, you express very well what can also happen in this study group: for people from different cultures to integreate with the new culture without loosing who you are and all your protected factors as Latino (or French, Israeli, Iranian, South African, Canadian, etc…) families.

I love our shared understanding of the heart of this group (yes!) as akin to the image of dropping a small rock in a lake and watching the ripples spread outward in all directions.

No matter what culture we’re from, we have all heard this illustration at some point in time, and understand the image as reflecting how our individual actions and words affect an ever-widening circle. We are connected through those ripples or through our shared purposes in life. We are linked through shared common values, interests and dreams.

I am quite certain your efforts in your community – in all of our communities – creates ripples with many effects. And we can now lean into our affinity with each other to strengthen these efforts, and to keep those ripples moving, and perhaps even turning into waves – the kind that are fun to play in…and maybe even a few that are dangerous to the status quo…

I am reminded of another metaphor – in addition to the ripples in the water: It is something someone told me when I was in the midst of writing my dissertation and felt a bit overwhelmed by the enormity of the task. I wondered when and how it would all come together. A friend told me she thought it was just like making chocolate pudding (what?…).

You mix the ingredients together in the pan and turn on the heat.

You have to keep stirring and keep the heat on.

For the longest time, the mixture seems like chocolate milk.

Until…presto: the mixture gels and…You have chocolate pudding.

Do you think this study group is beginning to jell like chocolate pudding? I think we have needed the Latino spice to really bring it together.

And again, I am so honored to be recognized as having a Latino heart. I can see that you do too!~

Peggy

Martha: July 08, 2010

I want to share this amazing project I discovered today, which brought tears to my eyes thinking how the effort of only one person can make ripples of change in others and even in one country. I shared before about the dangerous of a single story and I posted a video about how Colombia, my country, has been stereotyped for many years as the country of drugs and violence. I want to share the work of this amazing non-profit organization Ayoka, whose mission is giving voice to the voiceless by giving those who need it, access to a public library, and allows them to develop hopes and dreams and to face the challenges of life in more creative and sustainable ways. They believe that a small group of committed citizens can indeed change the world, starting one community at a time.

Luis Soriano is the teacher in the small town of La Gloria, Colombia, and has been following the same ritual for over 10 years. Every week-end, he gets on his donkey in front of his house, straps on the “Biblioburro” pouches to its back, and loads them with a selection of books from the eclectic collection he has acquired over the years. Can you believe this? This is his mobile library! He travels into the hills and through the fields to the villages beyond where the village children are waiting for his visits impatiently. He firmly believes that bringing books to people who don’t have access to them can improve the country and open up possibilities for the future generation of Colombians.

He has also been working with his wife Diana to build La Gloria’s first public library, where he will finally be able to display his collection of books properly.

Here is the video link: