December Gift Guide 2012

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Welcome to December!

This season can easily turn from the joy of giving to the sourness of lines, stressed wallets and resembling more the Grinch than Cindy Lou. To share some of what we, at The Authenticity Project, have on our wish list/plan to snag for our friends and family we will be featuring gift guides this month!

We also plan to expand on the theme of giving throughout December in hopes to inspire, encourage and push you to think about giving this holiday season.

To begin: I’m sharing some of my favorite things. From pampering with scrumptious Lavender Salt Scrub, to sipping my favorite hot tea – these are among my favorite things. I am also a fan of products that give back, raise awareness and strive to go beyond selling a product which is why I’ve included Apple & Bee’s stylish make-up bag – a proceed of the sales goes to their non-profit organization The Bee Foundation which is helping raise awareness and money for Colony Collapse Disorder affecting honeybees everywhere. Read more about their philosophy here. To keep with the bee theme, I also highlight the opportunity to gift a package of bees, the box & hive and beekeeping training for a family in need through Heifer International. Lastly, I love Liberty Bottleworks – fun designs, green and made entirely in the USA! They pledge 1% of sales and 1% of their working hours to “helping large, local and grass roots efforts”. You find out more here.  Happy Gifting!

1.  Trader Joe’s Lavender Salt Scrub :: $10.75 :: Trader Joe’s

Photo Credit

2.  Afternoon in the Park Tea :: $56.00 per pound :: The Teacup

3.  Compact Cosmetic Bag – Lovebirds in Red :: $34.95 :: Apple & Bee

4.  “Strive” Water Bottle :: $20 for 24oz :: Liberty Bottleworks

5.  Honeybees! :: $30 :: Heifer International

Photo Credit

**No one has asked us to feature any products - these are simply things we love and want to share!

-Jennifer Anderson is Content Director of The Authenticity Project, you can contact Jennifer at TheAuthenticityProject@gmail.com

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World AIDS Day

Tomorrow, December 1st, is World AIDS Day.

Listen to The Authenticity Project's Creative Director, Heidi, as she helps raise awareness, break down barriers and educate people on this devastating disease. 

"The word AIDS has become an affliction that some believe has been cured, or something only impacting the developing world." Let's change that. 

Uploaded by AuthenticityConnect on 2012-11-30.

Habits

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I don’t know about you, but I am a creature of habit. I love routine, I love everything in its place and I am a big fan of predictability. Which, life never seems to provide - at least not for long. Change is inevitable and ever-coming. It wrenches us from our safe steady steps and throws us into the unknown. How do we adjust? How do we keep afloat the rushing waves?

I’ve noticed that habits are a strong force to be reckoned with. The definition for habit lends a helpful hand in unpacking this full word. Habit: the prevailing disposition or character of a person’s thoughts and feelings: mental makeup; a behavior pattern acquired by frequent repetition or physiological exposure that shows itself in regularity and thus can morph into: an acquired mode of behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary[1]. From those definitions it seems we can tell a lot about a person by what they do on a regular basis. Though, there is possibility for positive or negative habits and, if you don’t pay attention, those little acts day after day can become completely ingrained in who you are and how you respond to everyday things.

For example, it can start with just a quick complaint about your soggy shoes because of the rainy day, and then you notice the coffee is cold and comment to a co-worker that you can never seem to get a hot cup of coffee around here! Which sparks you to remember why you had to buy the latte in the first place: there was no coffee at home because your spouse forgot to put it on the list…again. Through this behavior pattern of acknowledging and commenting on the small or large frustrations and inconveniences each moment brings, you are training yourself to acquire a pattern. A pattern of complaining. I know this because I speak from experience. It becomes easier and easier to make sarcastic remarks, focus on what’s wrong, what’s missing, what could be better until I don’t even realize I’m doing it. And when the bottom falls out – life throws its usual curve-ball - I am thrown into chaos and the only thing I have the energy to fall back on is what is ingrained…my habits, and in this example: my negative responses.

I received a chain email which I usually dump directly in the email trash bin – but this one caught my attention and made me think. Though it isn’t true for all people, it reflected what I’ve noticed in my small sphere of the world and I thought it worth sharing:

Paradox of Our Times

Today, we have bigger houses and smaller families

More conveniences, but less time

We have more degrees, but less common sense

More knowledge, but less judgment

We have more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness

We spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast

Get too angry too quickly, stay up too late, get up too tired

Read too little, watch TV too often, and pray too seldom

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values

We talk too much, love too little and lie too often

We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life

We’ve added years to life, not life to years

We have taller buildings, but shorter tempers…

…We spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less

We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor

We’ve conquered outer space, but not inner space

We’ve split the atom, but not our prejudice

We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait

We build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies, but have less communication

We are long on quantity, but short on quality

More leisure and less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition

Fancier houses, but broken homes; steep profits, but shallow relationships

This is the paradox of our times today.

That’s why I propose, that as of today, you do not keep anything for a special occasion, because every day that you live is a special occasion.

Search for knowledge, read more, sit on your front porch and admire the view without paying attention to your needs.

Spend more time with your family and friends, eat your favorite foods, and visit the places you love.

Life is a chain of moments of enjoyment, not only about survival.

Remove from your vocabulary phrases like “one of these days” and “someday”, let’s write that letter we thought of writing “one of these days”.

Let’s tell our families and friends how much we love them.

Do not delay anything that adds laughter and joy to your life.[2]

As I read through the list I realized much of those truths in my life are there because I let them become a habit. It’s my habit to come home and eat dinner while watching TV, it’s a habit to expect instant service and rush around, thus limiting my patience to wait. It’s a habit to want to always buy things (commercials, displays, coupons and deals make me feel like I am always in need of something!) But every coin has two sides, and in this case, the other side is shiny and new. What about those ingrained good habits? What about those habits that lift you up out of the mire when your world as you knew it collapses? I think one of the strongest habits we should all work on adopting – and has been our focus this month – is gratitude.

What if you started training the way you think, feel and respond to drip with gratitude? What if each moment you are hungry and seeking the next sight, experience, or gift of gratitude? I spoke about this in an earlier post and think it is worth mentioning again: those thoughts of gratitude tend to push the negative, frustrated thoughts right out the door. Why not start your new habit ahead of the New Year’s resolution rush – why not start to train you mind and heart to live thanksgiving? Grateful for a quiet moment or the exciting bustle of a city. Thankful for the sweetness of fresh fruit or the blessing of a special dinner out with friends. This concept is being studied more and more with beneficial findings: “A grateful response to life circumstance may be an adaptive psychological strategy and an important process by which people positively interpret everyday experiences.”[3] Other benefits that were found include making progress toward important personal goals and higher levels of determination and energy. So, what are you waiting for? Let’s re-write habits worth having.

-Jennifer Anderson is Content Director of The Authenticity Project, you can contact Jennifer at TheAuthenticityProject@gmail.com.

[1] Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online

[2] Powerpoint. Lau, Herbert K. “Paradox of Our Times” Edition 2010-10-31.

[3]Emmons, Robert A., and Michael E. McCullogh. “Counting Blessings Versus Burdens: An Experimental Investigation Of Gratitude And Subjective Well-Being In Daily Life.” Journal of Personality And Social Psychology 84.2 (2003): 377-389. PsycARTICLES. Web. 27 Nov. 2012.


Small Acts Transform the World

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As we celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday, lets all remember everyday of the year that, "It is not happy people who are thankful; It is thankful people who are happy!" We at The Authenticity Project are extremely thankful that as a country we do celebrate a day of intentionally giving thanks and thinking about all the things we are thankful for!!

What are you thankful for?! Share below!

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Today on Black Friday, let's carve a new path and remember all that we are thankful for. LET'S BE THE CHANGE WE WISH TO SEE.

As you begin holiday shopping, keep in mind that every dollar is a vote for the type of world we hope to see. Support companies and organizations that are socially responsible, humanitarian, sustainable, and life-giving!!

Keep a look out for The Authenticity Project's Holiday "Be the change we wish to see," Giving Guide!!!!


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Our small acts can transform the world!!!

Every little thing we do matters. Let's research and find those companies and organizations that hold up human dignity and are life-giving to everyone involved. Throughout the rest of November and into December, The Authenticity Project will be posting about companies and organizations that deserve our support.  Keep a look out!!!

Stephanie Zeller is the Community Director for The Authenticity Project, you can contact Steph at TheAuthenticityProject@gmail.com

Bathroom Reading

In my mid-twenties, I must admit that the list of books that I have read cover to cover is rather short, and the list of books that I wanted to read cover to cover is even shorter. Maybe it was the books that were forced upon me to read in high school and college that strayed me away from reading many books for leisure. Maybe it is that I rarely find a story that I think is worth my time. I have read all the “greats”; The Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby, etc., but I still find myself only reading one or two books for pleasure in a year’s time. So what I say next may come across as foolish.

The most interesting things that I have ever read have been on the walls above the urinals in any public restroom.

Ladies, let me explain. There are a few unwritten rules that men have while “doing their business”. Two of which are, never make eye contact and never speak to the guy next to you. However, writing on the wall that you are staring at is fair game. Perhaps it is because of the fact that you are an anonymous, inspired writer, but people spill their hearts out and have no fear in doing it. Believe it or not they are not all filled with dirty pictures and four-letter words like most expect. In fact, some might argue that those walls are more or less filled with dialogue that is more honest, creative, graphic, and inspirational than any book that you are forced to do a report on in your English 101 class.

What becomes the strongest part of all this is the community. Yes, I know the thought of having a communication and a connectedness with people who have relieved themselves in the exact same spot as you can make you cringe, but think about this for a minute.

A common theme on the walls is for people to add a little bit of their own creativity and insight to whatever is already up, like an everlasting collaboration. You do not know whom the people are that wrote the words in front of you. You do not know what they look like, nor do you know their personal morals or set of beliefs. None of that matters. What is amazing is that in a place that is meant for no direct communication there is more communication than a family supper.

A couple of years ago I was making a road trip, by myself, across the state of Pennsylvania to visit someone. A couple hours into the trip I had to stop for food and gas. Of course, while I stopped, I made a quick trip to the restroom. The building that I was in must have just recently been built because I could actually see my reflection on the wall in front of me and my shoes squeaked on the neatly polished floor as I walked. So I took it upon myself to become “that guy” and be the first to christen the wall with my thoughts. For some reason I had a pen on me at the time, which I never usually do, so I felt even more compelled to follow through on this.

I defiled the wall and wrote one sentence.

Four days later I made the journey back home. As fate would have it, I took another restroom break at the same place that I had previously “left my mark”. To be completely honest I had not even thought about what I had done to the bathroom wall four days prior until I entered the restroom and saw what had been in front of me…

The sentence that I had written was now an entire story. From what I could tell by the differences in hand writing, at least a dozen different people had contributed and communicated. There had been side notes, pictures, diagrams and even arrows pointing to a poem, which had relevance to the words that had now come together in a community of strangers.

Luckily, no one had entered the bathroom while I was there because I found myself just standing there reading everything that had been sparked off of one sentence that I had shared four days ago. The smallest idea can be turned into something that I never would have though of by myself, without communicating.



Ben Heydt is the Media Director for The Authenticity Project, you can contact Ben at TheAuthenticityProject@gmail.com

Come get your inspiration from...Sleeping At Last

Sleeping At Last album cover, Storyboards (It's only fitting to place this album among the beautiful outdoors.)

Sleeping At Last album cover, Storyboards (It's only fitting to place this album among the beautiful outdoors.)

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.”

-Plato

Plato’s quote comes alive in the music created by the band: Sleeping At Last. I have loved Sleeping At Last for so many years; the truth found in their hopeful lyrics strung beautifully through energizing melodies has left me clinging onto every word in every song. As a result, I need to share this priceless gem with you.

Sleeping At Last was birthed twelve years ago by singer/songwriter Ryan O’Neal and his fellow band members. They have four full-length albums - one of which is called Yearbook  containing 36 songs that cover a journey through a year in which they released three songs per month for a whole year.

As stated by a music critic on their website: “Sleeping At Last has long been a beacon shining brightly on behalf of independent artists. In the ever-changing climate of the music industry, the quest for a successful independent career seems evermore difficult to attain. O’Neal pursues this challenge relentlessly through his commitment to musical integrity in his songwriting, and in this way nurtures a unique and personal relationship with his listeners. He has remained true to the things that brought him to music in the first place: his love of melody and the power of words. His music and lyrics emerge from a place that is honest and raw, asking every question that occurs and promising no fast, sure answers, but somehow always offering hope as the consistent, overarching theme. “

I have found much inspiration and hope bursting from all of their songs. These songs contain honest ballads of their quest for beauty, truth, hope, and love through trials of pain and emptiness. What results is a layered, magical tapestry of words and sounds that take us to heavenly realms.

I would like to share with you some of the lyrics that deeply seep into my soul and resound loudly into all that is good in this world. There is much wisdom found in every verse that can only be shared through the lens of experience and the ability to see the world as it is meant to be.  

Now, let’s dive into some of the songs from their Storyboards album. I challenge you to read these life-giving lyrics and allow them to soak into your heart.

(Note: All the lyrics shown below are not the songs in their entirety; these are parts of the songs that I have chosen to highlight here. The full version of the lyrics, as well as their music can be found at: www.sleepingatlast.com )

Porcelain

“…everything I love
was made of porcelain,
ready to break.

but the bright, staggering light,
it anxiously waits inside.
like nesting dolls, the secret hides.
and like every birth,
it was a necessary pain…

I know, I know…
it’s all worth the wait, worth the weight.”

Naive

“religion is a breeding ground
where the devil’s work is deeply found,
with teeth as sharp as cathedral spires,
slowly sinking in….

…but in the end such tired words will rest.
the truth will reroute the narrow things they’ve said.
the marionette strings will lower and untie
and out of the ashes, love will be realized.

God knows I’ve been naïve

and a bit nearsighted to say the least.
it’s broken glass at children’s feet
that gets swept aside unexpectedly.”

Side by Side 

{This song truly makes the world come alive with each allegory, line by line} 

“…side by side,
every movement was memorized,
choreographed before
the schools of fish were born.
their patterns and plans align,
all in a glorious effort to survive.

there is no language for what we’ve seen,
only the sweetness that bends us to our knees,
and all of these fumbling words
to explain what it means,
but our hearts were buried deep in the sand.

The sea unlocks
like the lid of a music box
it shivers with foreign sound,
as long as the gears stay wound,
the whales will sing their song
all in a glorious effort to strong.  

There’s no need to be afraid,
overwhelming love cascades
the melody will rise and swell
as it finds its way inside the shell.

The mouth is a mirror,
we must watch what we say.

there is no language for what we’ve seen…” 

Slow and Steady

“…we’ve learned to brace for the worst
and to read the last pages first,
surrender feels safe.

maybe the soul is the soil that holds the fallen seed,
or the light pouring down in between the rain clouds,
daring life to reach...

…maybe the soul is a suitcase that holds the backup plan -
a collection of keys and the patience we need
to start again.

maybe it’s the thresholds that swallow us whole
as we learn to let go,
in spite of the dirt on our clothes.”

Clockwork

“…we’ll lift up the ground to see
the system of roots beneath.
gears turn, endlessly,
to bring the world back to life
like clockwork, when it dies.

the cadence of beating hearts,
the click of its moving parts
grows louder and louder
from this restless earth…

future gardens wait patiently below
and somehow we smell them blossom
through the snow.

still unsatisfied,
we chase what we’re denied.
as generations wait,
we can’t resist the taste of possibility.
gears turn, endlessly,
to bring us back to life again.
like clockwork, we begin.”

Unmade

{Plainly displays the importance of watching what we say and the weight of our words…}

“…in our trembling fear,
we put words inside God’s mouth.
we cover our tracks
and get so proud of ourselves,
we get so proud of ourselves,
we get so proud of ourselves
when we get away.

I believe that we’ve got it wrong, got it wrong.
we’ll realize when it’s said and done, said and done,
that in our words we’ve lost so much more
than we’ve ever won.”

Timelapse  

{This song speaks the creatures into life, makes one notice what they see.}

 “…when the northern lights were born,
the color poured into our eyes,
like tipping a glass with the ocean inside.

into the darkness,
we will send our symphonies -
a shorthand of existence,
a slowly turning key,
the voyager will leave us
with this modest memory of home.

when the sunlight wakes the earth
from its deep sleep,
all creatures bloom.
and through lifted lashes, all is new.

as a newborn recognizes
its mother’s voice from inside the womb,
may we remember the warmth of our youth.

the overture was written,
like the calm before a storm.
with hummingbird precision,
we must follow every chord…

….as the wrist of an artist
pulls the foreground into the frame,
we must learn to focus, all the same.”

Birdcage Religion

“so slowly i’m losing
who i’ve sworn to be.
a promise in pencil
that years have made so hard to read.
i’ve spent my life building walls
brick by brick and bruise by bruise…
a birdcage religion that whispered me to sleep.

but time is spinning silk
that coils ruthlessly;
with the devil’s patience,
it binds my hands so quietly
that soon it becomes a part of me.

so soften these edges and straighten out my tie.
and help me remember
the hope that i have compromised.

please be a broken record for me.”

Green Screens

“if only worry could make it change,
suddenly our world would take new shape;
on miles and miles of green screens
love hangs on invisible strings.

so roll up your sleeves,
this could take some time.
everything waits on assembly lines – but not here.
in the emergence of plan,
we’ll be surrounded by hands…”

All This to Say

“All this to say,
our future is a blank page
that we chose to pour ourselves into
when God pressed play.

and we’ll drag our pens
into these parallel lines
to record and to articulate
everything we find.

as decades unlace,
we’ll pause and carefully trace;
our shadows are puddles of ink
that our memory saves.

layer by layer, the framework was formed
on an epic of paper:
we breathe to explore.
fast-forward motion
will gracefully show
the flickering story
that all of our sketches unfold…”

Stephanie Zeller is the Community Director for The Authenticity Project, you can contact Stephanie at TheAuthenticityProject@gmail.com

The Most Important Response

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If you’re anything like me, words can play a major role in your day-to-day life. Some words can leave you in a state of ecstasy; walking on clouds wherever you go. Some can tear you down to a point where the clouds you once walked on now pour on you with a vindictive pleasure. The fact of the matter is: words are often inescapable for better or worse; however, far more important is how we choose to press forward whether uplifting or harmful words are spoken.

Often, I will pour over words again and again in my head: “What did he mean by that?”…”I can’t believe I just said that”…”Nailed it!!” All the time wondering whether those were the “right” words to say. Dale Carnegie has a quote that resonates: “You have it easily in your power to increase the sum total of this world’s happiness now. How? By giving a few words of sincere appreciation to someone who is lonely or discouraged. Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kind words you say today, but the recipient may cherish them over a lifetime.” In light of this quote, I hope to put forth a challenge to say that the “right” words are the ones that are truly sincere and kind no matter the circumstance! When we find ourselves searching for the words to tell-off our frustrating boss, or our unruly customer, or even our friends - maybe it’s time for us to share a kind word and hope that its impact will start a ripple effect to flow into others’ lives around us.

One question we can ask ourselves on a daily basis is “how can I be a blessing on other’s lives?” With a thankful heart we can be that blessing and use the power of words to speak into another’s life by sharing a kind word. Often times we don’t understand the impact that we can have on another human being so we choose to say nothing in response. So before you decide that your words don’t matter I will leave you with this quote in hopes that you will take it to heart:

“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” –Desmond TuTu

Nick Anderson is a Guest Writer & Support for The Authenticity Project, you can contact Nick at TheAuthenticityProject@gmail.com

And Now For Something Completely Different…

Well its over.

Or it has just begun…again.

However you choose to look at the political events of the last few days (weeks, months, years, lifetimes) at least for now the phone calls, dinner-time doorbell ringers, spam emails, and television commercials are over.

At least for a while.  

And now we exist in that somewhat vacuous state, like the day after Christmas, everyone has that faint zombie-like shuffle to their movements and its hard to look anyone in the eye.

So I just thought maybe, for one day, we could come together around this new post-modern tribal fire called the internet and warm ourselves to the soft electric glow of our combined computer screens and all list some of the things that we have in common. The universal truths, if you will, of life in this particular location on the planet Earth, because after the constant barrage of negativity and divisive language taking some time to build bridges of reconciliation maybe the only way we’re all gonna make it through these crazy days.

And so without further ado, here is my list of things we all have in common…

  1. Everyone needs a hug
  2. No one was really happy or satisfied with the ending of LOST.
  3. Our ideals are not as important as our relationships.
  4. On some level we know for a fact that we have no idea what the hell is going on and that truth scares us to death.
  5. We all have secrets.
  6.  No matter our age when we get a card in the mail, we’re disappointed when there’s no money in it.
  7. Although the levels may vary, we all are excited about change.
  8. Although the levels may vary, we all hate change.
  9. We all say we want to listen to others problems, but most of us just want to be heard.
  10. Paper cuts suck.
  11. We all want Bigfoot to be real.
  12. We judge others based on the fears we have of our own shortcomings.
  13. Everyone at least once in their life has held a banana to their head like a phone.
  14. Respect has to be earned, although it would be nice if it were freely given.
  15. We are usually way to hard on ourselves.
  16. We all want to be remembered for something.
  17. No one wants to be wrong.
  18. No one wants to look stupid.
  19. No one wants to be hurt.
  20. We all get it wrong.
  21. We all look stupid.
  22. We’ve all hurt someone.
  23. All attempts at profundity will immediately kill a conversation.
  24. Everyone thinks they look good in one particular pair of pants, and you don’t, you really don’t.
  25. We all poop.
  26. They highest compliment someone can give is that you made them think.
  27. Just because your conclusion was reached through deep thought and meditation, doesn’t make it deep.
  28. The less we know about something, the easier it is to hate it.
  29. Everyone deserves to be loved.
  30. You are everyone.

So what say you? What are some of your universal truths? What if we all made a commitment over the next four years to seek out those areas of commonality and connection with others instead of focusing on the things that make us different?

“This world of ours... must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be, instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect.”

-Dwight D. Eisenhower

Godspeed.

Erik Ewing is the Program Director for The Authenticity Project, you can contact Erik at TheAuthenticityProject@gmail.com

We vote daily...

We vote daily for the type of world we want to live in by how we live out our lives.

Here is an amazing quote by Shane Claibourne, "We have found a new dream—a new dream for America, and a new dream for the world. A new empire is breaking into this troubled world. It’s not just about who sits in an office, but how every moment, every action, even the super-small and non-governmental ones, makes redemptive love present. Every person is an actor on this stage. So, we may vote on November 6. But we will also vote today, and tomorrow, and the next day. We are convinced that change is not confined to one day every four years. Change happens every day. We vote with our lives. And we are convinced that voting for a new President may be little more than damage control. For Presidents and Caesars do not save the world."

Fulfillment is Found in Community

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As we close up a month of focusing on global awareness and go into a time of focusing on thankfulness and gratefulness, I would like to bring us back to our everyday lives and put the spotlight on the people around us. I wrote a Soul Coffee earlier in October about how becoming globally aware involves first investing in and getting to know people around you - specifically, your neighbors.

For this article, I dive into a couple broad topics that I know contain many different factors, which I hope to unpack more in the future, but for this article I would like to focus on the importance of building up communities. 

How often is it that people all over the United States and the developed world barely know their neighbors? It seems as though the structure and design of some of our neighborhoods make it so much harder to intersect and share lives with people right next to us. Many homes have garages attached to them that lead right into the house, which allows people to get from their car into their house with never taking a step outside. I’ve seen this played out again and again: the garage door opens, the car goes in, and the garage door closes, without even a glimpse of a person. As a result, we must be much more intentional than ever before.

I also question how cities and towns, specifically in the suburbs, are formed. The typical layout consists of an area for just houses, miles and miles of houses, with the nearest grocery store or restaurant being several miles away. What happened to the muliti-use areas that include some houses, stores, restaurants, and parks? Instead, these areas tend to lack creativity and uniqueness where only chain restaurants and stores are offered. What happened to the mom-and-pop store around the corner, and the local coffee shop where one could meet and talk with their neighbors? Within the suburb-type of structure there is often little to no safe pedestrian and bike routes offered. People nearly have to risk their lives to pick one of these modes of transportation.  Without this infrastructure in place, many come to the realization that cars are necessary and within these cars we create another barrier to actually interacting with other people.

I do not intend to go off on a rant, these are things that have become cultural norms that I have questioned and see how they affect our abilities to connect with people around us. I personally believe it is good to take a step back and question things that have become our cultural norms. Whenever I do, l am surprised by all the things that don’t make a lot of sense. I bet you will too.

So, back to our topic, why is it important to connect and share life with people around us, including our neighbors?

As Americans, we often live very independent lives that can become very lonely. I believe this is not how we were intended to live. We are meant to live in community and to live life right alongside other people through the good, the bad, and the ugly.

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This reminds me of the one thing I always hear from Americans who get to visit poor communities in many places around the world. These Americans are always astonished by the radiating joy they witness pouring out of the people in these poor communities. When asked about where this joy comes from, often times they explain that they are so thankful to be with their families and friends and to be able to experience life together. They continue to explain this sense of belonging they feel and how it is so satisfying. They don’t feel a need to compete with others, but feel a need to be with one another. They seem to see the beauty in each other that transcends their hardships.

Many Americans who come back from spending time in these communities are also amazed by the amount of laughing they experience and the contiguous fullness and joy they felt. It’s hard to believe that this comes from people who barely have enough food for one meal a day, who live in tiny huts that are packed full of people who are happy to make a couple dollars a day, and yet, these are the people who are known for radiating joy.

This brings me to question what we seem to be missing in our lives. I think as Americans we have much to learn. It is definitely an ironic paradox that we live in, where people who are considered the wealthiest in the world and have their every basic need met have this overwhelming feeling of loneliness and sadness. Until we realize that there is no amount of money, power, a ‘successful’ career, or any material possession including a bigger house or car that can make us any happier beyond short-term, then we are stuck chasing after things that will never satisfy.

The things  in life that will truly bring us joy and a sense of fulfillment are found within our communities, families, schools, church communities, and ultimately in our willingness to give up our personal selfish pursuit of self-promotion in exchange for the pursuit of making us all better as a whole. In order to do this we have to be willing to give up our fears that come with vulnerability. To know that the more honest and authentic I am, the more it gives other people permission to do the same. In this, I believe we will find much needed fulfillment to our wanting to belong that has often felt like a deep empty hole in our hearts.

So, what would it look like to intentionally reach out to people around us, specifically our neighbors?

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This question can only be answered by you. But I can share one of many great examples of how amazing things can be if a person steps out. One of my friend’s parents stepped out and invited all of their neighbors over for brunch one Saturday. To their pleasant surprise everyone from their neighborhood came and loved getting to know each other so much they decided to have brunch once a month rotating to each neighbor’s house. This has created such a wonderful, caring community within this neighborhood. If one family needs help, another family is right there ready to assist.

As November begins, think about ways that you can open up your life to others around you. Be creative and be ready to open your living rooms, your dining rooms, and ultimately your hearts to experience the true joy we long for that no amount of money can buy.

Stephanie Zeller is the Community Director for The Authenticity Project, you can contact Steph at TheAuthenticityProject@gmail.com