Author: Rick Bellingham
Superiority and Innocence
In our little town in Northern Michigan, a neighbor put up a sign that read “NO WOKE ZONE” (code for “I hate liberal, establishment elites’). At first, I thought it said “NO WORK ZONE,” but the message is the same in either case – “I am willfully ignorant and refuse to do the work to find the truth.” Yes, being woke can go too far, but to me, it simply means “I’m open to uncomfortable Read More
Power and Persuasion
In this post, I’m going to address the question of how to persuade someone with power to make a sacrifice for the common good. It seems to me that this is one of the most intractable problems in history. For thousands of years, people with power have been more likely to impose their will on others than to shift positions through persuasion. Let’s start with some provocative voices on power and persuasion. “When the whole Read More
Running for Cover
I know about running for cover. When I heard bullets whistling over my head on guard duty in Vietnam, my instincts kicked in. I ducked down into my sandbag bunker for safety and protection. To be clear, I was defending an apartment building with high walls in Saigon – not hacking through the dense jungle exposed to sniper attacks, venomous snakes and nasty traps. Still, I experienced the natural instinct to shrink down and protect Read More
Our Existential Moments
“Change your life today. Don’t gamble on the future, act now, without delay.” Simone de Beauvoir “Convictions are more dangerous foes of truth than lies.” Nietzsche “Man is nothing else but what he makes of himself.” Sartre I recently listened to one of the best speeches I have ever heard, by Bryan Stevenson, a MacArthur genius fellow and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative. He opened his speech by sharing his experience as a nine Read More
Reeling, Kneeling, and Healing
I’m reeling from violence I’m kneeling in silence I’m healing my damaged soul I’ve been reeling from a sense of loss I’ve seen kneeling for the Southern cross So many are healing from a toxic boss I’ve been thrown off balance from low blows I’ve seen submission before turned up noses We all need healing from hate and hoses I’ve staggered badly from drunken days I’ve seen kneeling to maleficent ways I’ve known healing from Read More
The Asian Issue
In 1984, my wife, my first daughter, and I drove to JFK Airport to pick up our second daughter – Jang Hee JInn – fresh off a flight from Seoul Korea. She was a 3 month old bundle of wonder. I dropped the camera in my eagerness to welcome this new child from the Korean caretaker who had nurtured her lovingly for the long flight. We named her Emily Jane. I’m writing this post to Read More
13 Interdependent Possibilities for Community Development
Our little, rural town of Elk Rapids, Michigan is embarking on a big, bold journey of transformation. Challenged by an ageing population, a declining school enrollment, and a seasonal economy, a small Coalition of the Possible (Yes, you heard that right – more later) considered seeking an outside consultant to speak to us about ways rural communities can overcome their sometimes self-defeating ways to build a healthy community where people love to live. This notion Read More
Letter to my Grandchildren
Dear Annie and Ezra, I would like to share some thoughts and feelings with you that have helped me on my journey. You will have to find your own path, but these insights may help you find your way. In some ways it is a primer on how to build a soul. You probably won’t read much about that possibility in your educational pursuits. As you go through life, you are going to encounter many Read More
Pretending
Our dog, Henri, is a big, brown Labradoodle with a loud, deep, fear-inducing bark that would give anyone pause to intrude uninvited. When we take him on a walk he prances loud and proud pretending he is the master of the universe. The truth is that he is a compliant wimp who wouldn’t hurt a flea.
Hubris and Hyperbole
“Hyperbole is not easily dealt with. Usually, it collapses under its own weight.” —Gwen Ifill “Hubris is one of the great renewable resources.” —P.J. O’Rourke “Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities” —Voltaire My little town in Northern Michigan is conducting a capital campaign to raise 5 million dollars for a library expansion. The current library is situated on a beautiful island in a pristine community on lovely Lake Michigan. Read More
Organizational Sepsis
My granddaughter, Annie, was born at 26 weeks, weighed one and a half pounds, and had sepsis. The best Doctors in the world took a wild (but educated) guess on a broad spectrum antibiotic that might cure the infections, the best nurses in the world gave her 24/7 loving care to keep alive any speck of life they could find, and her family held her in their hearts constantly. Annie fought for her life and Read More
Righteous and Wrong
One of my grandson’s favorite expressions when he gets angry is, “What The!” At nine years old, he probably knows how to complete the exclamation, but he’s not crass enough or bold enough to do it. So let me do it for him. WHAT THE FUCK!!! Last week, I wrote about how Dumbledore’s Army, led by Harry Potter, fought Voldemort’s forces of evil. (https://rickbellingham.com/2021/01/05/harry-potter-the-enneagram-and-2020/). Yesterday, the world witnessed Trump’s Army assaulting the Capitol in an Read More
Harry Potter, the Enneagram, and 2020
“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, but lose his soul?” Mark 8:36 One of the highlights of 2020 for me was reading all of the Harry Potter books to my twin grandkids. The seven books contain a total of 198 chapters, over 6,000 pages and over 1 million words. Essentially, I read four chapters a week for the entire year. I am proud to say that Annie Read More
Spiritual Leadership
After searching for great leaders around the world, I stumbled across some of the best I have ever found in Traverse City, Michigan—a humble community bordering one of the Great Lakes. Really, I’m not exaggerating. I’ve worked with leaders in Asia, Europe, Africa, Latin America, and North America and, just when I was about to retire in this pristine Northern Michigan community, I accidentally encountered the most inspiring leaders I have ever met. Who knew? Read More
Grounded AND Unbounded
I’ve always admired people who could capture baffling complexities with elegant simplicity. As I have mentioned in several posts, George Gurdjieff has been one of those people in my life. Since he died in 1949, I never had a chance to meet him, but I spent many hours reading his books and books about him. Gurdjieff described humans as three-brained beings reproducing on the planet earth who engage in reciprocal destruction.
Courage and Confidence
“If you are lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it.” John Irving “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” Anais Nin “The secret to happiness is freedom . . . . . and the secret to freedom is courage.” Thucydides “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” T.S. Read More
Shared Reality
“Perception is real even when it is not reality.” Edward DeBono “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there”… George Harrison https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8fFdc-karA Every Monday for the past two months I have stood next to the highway in my tiny village of Elk Rapids, Michigan with my fellow democrats waving Biden signs to passersby. Therefore, I’m taking some infinitesimally small piece of credit for our victory on November 3rd. More importantly, Read More
Intuitive Individualism
“The limits of my language means the limits of my world.” Ludwig Wittgenstein My 8 year old grandkids have limits to their language, but when asked profound questions they come up with surprisingly expansive views of the world. In response to the question, What does God mean to you?” my granddaughter said “it’s like a peacock – a majestic being that spreads beauty in the world.” My grandson replied, “it’s a muggle-made myth.” If you Read More
Fission or Fusion
I’ve always believed we have a lot to learn from physics, biology and math. Our individual and organizational behaviors often mimic the natural sciences. Humans have only been around for a couple of hundred thousand of years, but the laws of physics have been operating for 14 billion years. Perhaps we should learn from the natural laws that brought us to this place. Fusion and fission are a good place to start. Fusion occurs when Read More
Requirements for Redemption and Renewal: The 5Rs
“I teach that when it rains the pavement gets wet.” —George Gurdjieff Oh the blessings of ignorance and fantasy. Life is so much easier when we don’t make the effort to dig for truth, or when we delight in the delusions of who we are. Ignorance enables us to avoid work. Fantasy enables us to avoid reality. Some people are able to live their lives without suffering the consequences of ignorance or shattering the illusions Read More
Crass or Criminal?
I’m still struggling with the question of why white evangelical Christians continue to support Trump. I can understand a debate over whether his behavior is crass or criminal, but there is no way it could be described as consistent with Christian values such as decency, humility, and compassion. Regarding the crass or criminal question: Is his blatant disregard for prohibitions against using the White House as a political prop crass or criminal? Check out the Read More
Civility
“So let us begin anew—remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate. Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.” —John F. Kennedy “The whole country wants civility. Why don’t we have it? It doesn’t cost anything. No federal funding, no legislation Read More
Attribution of Variance
One of my favorite courses in graduate school was research evaluation which involved the analysis of study designs.
It was fascinating to me to figure out how to determine the impact of independent variables on dependent variables and how to factor out how each potential cause created a specific effect.
Xenophobia
“Whether it is tribalism, racism, xenophobia, or anti-Muslim backlash we’re talking about, we spend so much time and energy fighting ways to divide ourselves from others.” —Loretta Lynch I recently learned that my great grandfather, William, was a large landowner in Michigan and took part in the Gold Rush in the 19th century. William originally came from England in 1835 with 50 cents in his pocket. He somehow managed to make his way to California Read More