Adventurous Life Newsletter - Inviting You to Find Inspiration in Odd Corners (March/April 2005)

The town near where I live has a relatively large immigrant population made up of groups from several different parts of the world. A few months ago, I attended a panel discussion put on by a local nonprofit organization, featuring representatives from our local Bosnian community. One of the main reasons for the panel was to share -- and therefore create a better understanding of -- cultural expectations and differences that might otherwise get in the way of providing this and other groups with good health care, appropriate community supports, and effective outreach and education. (For an extreme -- and extremely well-written -- example of this issue, read The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman.)

Four panelists representing three different generations, both genders, and various occupations and amounts of time in the U.S. spoke about their lives and answered questions from the audience. When asked what about their new home had struck them as most odd, all four had lively answers (including an appalled "You keep your garbage in your home for a week before you set it out at the curb!"), but the one that struck me as most personally inspiring was that of a middle-aged gentleman who said, "You don't know your neighbors."

He went on to explain that in Bosnia, neighbors were of the utmost most importance. "Family might live in another city or halfway around the world," he said. "Your neighbors are the ones you will turn to for help in an emergency. Your neighbors are the ones you must live with." He gave an example: a couple of years after moving to the U.S., he and his wife had held a graduation party for their son and invited their entire block. Everyone came for the celebration, and -- he told us with a marvelous laugh -- no one wanted to leave. "Yet many of them -- even though they'd lived on our block for fifteen years or more -- had never met one another."

It struck me as he told his tale how easy it is not to bother getting to know the people around us. How easy it is to let opportunities for backyard barbeques or block parties slip away without action. How easy it is to forget to raise a hand in greeting or to be too distracted to lift a smile to our faces as we pass someone.

His story made me recall an event that had occurred shortly after moving into our new neighborhood. We'd begun extensive renovations mere weeks after moving in, so spent a good deal of our spare time in plain view of curious passersby. We took the opportunity to wave, smile, and exchange greetings with everyone who walked by. Sometimes it was inconvenient, occasionally it slowed our work for the day, but always it made life seem more friendly.

One evening when I was out for a run, I was passing a house at the far end of the block and noticed that the young couple who lived there had just come out into their driveway to go somewhere. I hadn't had the opportunity to meet them yet, and (although I was concerned about seeming strange or intrusive) instead of running past as I'd been about to do, I stopped and said a sweaty-but-heartfelt hello. They were headed our for a walk of their own, so we chatted as they accompanied me home and then continued on their way. I went inside and bubbled to my partner about how nice they'd seemed.

A short while later, a knock on our door announced a visitor. It was the young couple I'd just met. They held out a bowl of hand-picked organic raspberries. "Thank you for being so friendly," they said.

This month, make the effort to meet a neighbor you haven't interacted with before -- or get to know one better whom you've already met. Spread flyers announcing that you've started a neighborhood play date -- things like an outing together once a month, or a backyard party, or (as one person I recently shared this idea with determined) a neighborhood game of hide-n-seek, just like when you were kids.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the average executive loses six weeks per year searching for misplaced information from messy desks and files. According to Organizing Resources, professional organizing is one of the fastest growing industries for servicing residential customers, corporations, and home-based businesses.

This phenomenon made me wonder what people whose work involves helping people “get organized” have to say about it. Is it possible to view “getting organized” as anything other than a sporadic and self-abnegating part of life? Is it possible to view it as an adventure, perhaps?

Most definitely, say the experts I consulted. The trick is...

Reinventing the Wheelchair

Anyone who's traveled outside of what is traditionally called "First World" countries has glimpsed the truth of world poverty.

Statistics -- those dry purveyors of "truth" -- tell us that 90% of the world's wealth is controlled by developed countries, which also use 70 percent of the world's energy, 75 percent of processed metals and 85 percent of the world's timber. The U.N. tells us that only 15% of the world's people -- those of us in its richest countries -- account for 56% of total consumption.

Taking a moment to stretch our imaginations, we then begin to grasp -- theoretically -- that regardless of where we fall on a scale relative to our neighbors inside our own countries, we are still among the richest and most privileged people in the world. Strange as it may seem, even the poorest people in our nations are among the wealthiest on the planet.

But statistics can't bring home the truth of poverty like the sight of someone with no legs dragging himself through the filthy streets of a city because there are no public programs, no resources to provide him any other means of transportation. In developed countries, it may be difficult, the system may be imperfect, there may be far too much red tape and hassle involved, but such resources do exist. The programs are out there. People can, generally speaking, get wheelchairs who need them.

This is simply not true in many places around the world. With the establishment of the Free Wheelchair Mission in 1999, founder Don Schoendorfer set out to change that.

He took his mechanical engineering education and turned it to the task of developing a rugged, lightweight, inexpensive, and easy-to-build wheelchair that could be transported anywhere on earth and assembled using basic tools. The design he came up with costs an average of $41.17 to manufacture, ship, and distribute, and has been delivered through a fast-growing international network of volunteers to over 55,000 people in 37 countries.

His goal for 2004? To raise enough money to distibute 75,000 more chairs this year. For more information on how to support Free Wheelchair Mission's efforts, visit www.freewheelchairmission.org. And hey, if you're traveling, offer to make a delivery.


	Welcome to this month's edition of Adventurous Life!
I welcome your thoughts, feedback & suggestions for stories. Please don't hesitate to contact me or swing by www.judywolf.com to see what's new. Pass this newsletter along to a friend!			In this issue: The Simple Secret to Creating a True Neighborhood Top 5 Ideas to Inspire You This Month The Adventure of Getting Organized (Seriously!) Reinventing the Wheelchair Everyday Adventures

The Simple Secret to Creating a True Neighborhood The town near where I live has a relatively large immigrant population made up of groups from several different parts of the world. A few months ago, I attended a panel discussion put on by a local nonprofit organization, featuring representatives from our local Bosnian community. One of the main reasons for the panel was to share -- and therefore create a better understanding of -- cultural expectations and differences that might otherwise get in the way of providing this and other groups with good health care, appropriate community supports, and effective outreach and education. (For an extreme -- and extremely well-written -- example of this issue, read The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman.) Four panelists representing three different generations, both genders, and various occupations and amounts of time in the U.S. spoke about their lives and answered questions from the audience. When asked what about their new home had struck them as most odd, all four had lively answers (including an appalled "You keep your garbage in your home for a week before you set it out at the curb!"), but the one that struck me as most personally inspiring was that of a middle-aged gentleman who said, "You don't know your neighbors." He went on to explain that in Bosnia, neighbors were of the utmost most importance. "Family might live in another city or halfway around the world," he said. "Your neighbors are the ones you will turn to for help in an emergency. Your neighbors are the ones you must live with." He gave an example: a couple of years after moving to the U.S., he and his wife had held a graduation party for their son and invited their entire block. Everyone came for the celebration, and -- he told us with a marvelous laugh -- no one wanted to leave. "Yet many of them -- even though they'd lived on our block for fifteen years or more -- had never met one another." It struck me as he told his tale how easy it is not to bother getting to know the people around us. How easy it is to let opportunities for backyard barbeques or block parties slip away without action. How easy it is to forget to raise a hand in greeting or to be too distracted to lift a smile to our faces as we pass someone. His story made me recall an event that had occurred shortly after moving into our new neighborhood. We'd begun extensive renovations mere weeks after moving in, so spent a good deal of our spare time in plain view of curious passersby. We took the opportunity to wave, smile, and exchange greetings with everyone who walked by. Sometimes it was inconvenient, occasionally it slowed our work for the day, but always it made life seem more friendly. One evening when I was out for a run, I was passing a house at the far end of the block and noticed that the young couple who lived there had just come out into their driveway to go somewhere. I hadn't had the opportunity to meet them yet, and (although I was concerned about seeming strange or intrusive) instead of running past as I'd been about to do, I stopped and said a sweaty-but-heartfelt hello. They were headed our for a walk of their own, so we chatted as they accompanied me home and then continued on their way. I went inside and bubbled to my partner about how nice they'd seemed. A short while later, a knock on our door announced a visitor. It was the young couple I'd just met. They held out a bowl of hand-picked organic raspberries. "Thank you for being so friendly," they said. This month, make the effort to meet a neighbor you haven't interacted with before -- or get to know one better whom you've already met. Spread flyers announcing that you've started a neighborhood play date -- things like an outing together once a month, or a backyard party, or (as one person I recently shared this idea with determined) a neighborhood game of hide-n-seek, just like when you were kids. The Adventure of Getting Organized (Seriously!) The Wall Street Journal reports that the average executive loses six weeks per year searching for misplaced information from messy desks and files. According to Organizing Resources, professional organizing is one of the fastest growing industries for servicing residential customers, corporations, and home-based businesses. This phenomenon made me wonder what people whose work involves helping people “get organized” have to say about it. Is it possible to view “getting organized” as anything other than a sporadic and self-abnegating part of life? Is it possible to view it as an adventure, perhaps? Most definitely, say the experts I consulted. The trick is... Read the complete article on my web site. Reinventing the Wheelchair Anyone who's traveled outside of what is traditionally called "First World" countries has glimpsed the truth of world poverty. Statistics -- those dry purveyors of "truth" -- tell us that 90% of the world's wealth is controlled by developed countries, which also use 70 percent of the world's energy, 75 percent of processed metals and 85 percent of the world's timber. The U.N. tells us that only 15% of the world's people -- those of us in its richest countries -- account for 56% of total consumption. Taking a moment to stretch our imaginations, we then begin to grasp -- theoretically -- that regardless of where we fall on a scale relative to our neighbors inside our own countries, we are still among the richest and most privileged people in the world. Strange as it may seem, even the poorest people in our nations are among the wealthiest on the planet. But statistics can't bring home the truth of poverty like the sight of someone with no legs dragging himself through the filthy streets of a city because there are no public programs, no resources to provide him any other means of transportation. In developed countries, it may be difficult, the system may be imperfect, there may be far too much red tape and hassle involved, but such resources do exist. The programs are out there. People can, generally speaking, get wheelchairs who need them. This is simply not true in many places around the world. With the establishment of the Free Wheelchair Mission in 1999, founder Don Schoendorfer set out to change that. He took his mechanical engineering education and turned it to the task of developing a rugged, lightweight, inexpensive, and easy-to-build wheelchair that could be transported anywhere on earth and assembled using basic tools. The design he came up with costs an average of $41.17 to manufacture, ship, and distribute, and has been delivered through a fast-growing international network of volunteers to over 55,000 people in 37 countries. His goal for 2004? To raise enough money to distibute 75,000 more chairs this year. For more information on how to support Free Wheelchair Mission's efforts, visit www.freewheelchairmission.org. And hey, if you're traveling, offer to make a delivery.				"The notion that any one person is the single cause of any significant social change -- that Abraham Lincoln alone freed the slaves -- is a devastating stereotype which robs individuals of responsibility and credit, and actually inhibits social change. You can be a revolution of one. In your living room, in your family, in your community. *- Justin Dart*

				Top 5 Ideas to Inspire You This Month Bake a fruit tart (they're shockingly easy) and give it to the folks who pick up your garbage Start holding regular salons (as in discussion groups on particular topics) with your friends Learn another language -- then go to a country that speaks it! Flirt outrageously with someone you would normally find intimidating Spend an hour online looking for an organization whose work you love (OxFam, Amnesty International, Sierra Club, Planned Parenthood) and join their online action center
				"I Dwell in Possibility." *- Emily Dickinson*
				Everyday Adventures #68 Make the outside of your car unique. No two Toyotas or Hondas have to be the same. Affix bumper stickers that express your point of view, paint zebra stripes, and give your car steer horns or paper-mache wings. At the very least, get a license -plate frame that says something about your adventurous spirit. This everyday adventure is from "A New Adventure Every Day: 541 Simple Ways to Live with Pizzazz" by David Silberkleit, excerpted with the author's permission.


		About the author: Judy Wolf is a world traveler, freelance writer, speaker, and whitewater kayak instructor. She's taken many long solo journeys around the world, traveling by foot, bus, jeep, camel, truck, boat, train, plane, elephant, and bicycle to over 30 countries on five continents. Her work has appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies, including Far From Home: Father Daughter Travel Adventures and A Woman's Europe. She's currently working on a book about her most recent adventures…that is, when she's not plunging off waterfalls or entertaining the dog. Learn more at www.judywolf.com.

Please feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone you feel might find it of interest. If you cut and paste content, please make sure you include all attribution, copyright, and contact information. Thanks! To subscribe to or unsubscribe from Adventurous Life, go to www.judywolf.com/newsletter To contact Judy Wolf: http://www.judywolf.com or e-mail now (or snail mail to 3786 Dawes Ave, Clinton NY 13323). Copyright © 2005 Judy Wolf