Month: November 2022

When I think of philanthropy, I think of people who give huge sums of money such as Andrew Carnegie or Bill and Melinda Gates. I never thought of myself as a philanthropist in its broadest sense until recently.

Although the definition of philanthropy generally connotes monetary donations, it encompasses much more. Philanthropy is the desire to promote the welfare of others through gifts or acts. Martin Luther King, Jr admonished, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?'”

I grew up in a culture of philanthropy relative to good acts, although those words were never used as I recall. Small communities often have this ethic of care. Some people may not have a lot of money to donate, but most people donate their time. Time is money.

Volunteering, whether it is formally in a designated position or helping a neighbor next door, is a foundation of successful communities. Donations for direct services or to support staff who facilitate opportunities for giving is the basis of many nonprofit organizations.

In early November, sans the pandemic year, the Estes Park Nonprofit Resource Center (EPNRC) sets aside a day to honor philanthropy in our community. The EPNRC provides tools that support, connect, and inspire community nonprofits to create a “Culture of Philanthropy” in the Estes Valley.

The quixotic concern of people is either the lack of time or lack of money to enjoy aspects of life. I am privileged in my retirement to have both enough time and money. Therefore, I can volunteer my time for opportunities I support that influence the welfare of others including people and animals. In addition, I can allot moderate amounts of money to causes that are important. I am not a philanthropist at the level of multi-millionaires but as a citizen I am privileged to share with others.

My philanthropic priorities extend year around as a volunteer and as a donor. The end of the year, however, is a prime time for financial giving. Giving Tuesday is a national promotion to remind people about charitable giving as is Colorado Gives Day next week. My contributions of time and money, along with that of many other folks, indicates the greater intrinsic rewards of doing for others.

If Halloween is my least favorite holiday, Thanksgiving is my favorite. As the years go by, Thanksgiving becomes more important. I believe that giving thanks is an ongoing daily practice, and I also like the idea of pausing one special day and remembering the abundance I have.

I wasn’t so enamored with Thanksgiving growing up because no gifts or candy was associated even though it was a two-day holiday from school. I love to eat so all the food was fun. My mom’s orange-cranberry sauce was a special treat on that day. Otherwise, it was not that exciting.

Unlike other holidays, I had few rituals associated with my family and Thanksgiving. Since I have not lived in Iowa since early adulthood, going “home” for Thanksgiving was not something I did when Christmas took priority for travel. Most Thanksgivings have been with my chosen families (Friendsgiving) rather than my family of origin.

I am thankful for all the “families” I have. My most memorable Thanksgiving was in 2020 when my Estes Park friends designed a way to enjoy tasty food and fellowship without sitting inside in an environment that might spread COVID. We all brought a contribution to the meal, stayed outside to socialize and give thanks, and then each household took platefuls of food home for small gatherings.

That Covid-era Thanksgiving two years ago reminded me of Oprah Winfrey’s statement: “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.”

Thanksgiving Day in the US is surrounded by myths and different perceptions. For example, since 1970 Native Americans have gathered at noon in Plymouth, Massachusetts to commemorate a National Day of Mourning on the Thanksgiving holiday. The day of remembrance and spiritual connection is also a protest of the racism and oppression that Native Americans experienced after that first Thanksgiving. The Thanksgiving celebration does not have the same meaning for everyone.

In addition on Thanksgiving Day, I will feel sadness as I remember friends who were alive last November but will leave empty seats at their families’ meals this year. Gratitude, however, involves a conscious choice made even during sorrow.

I look forward to Thanksgiving Day and to all the emotions it generates. I am grateful to write this blog. I am grateful for you, my readers, who follow me regularly and/or just occasionally. Happy Thanksgiving!

“Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone?
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot.”

Joni Mitchell’s famous lines from Big Yellow Taxi are more important today than they were in 1969.

Fortunately, I live in a community where public land abounds. Nevertheless, private holdings remain under threat for future development. If all private land was developed adjacent to these public lands, huge homes and multi-family tourist developments would be visible everywhere equivalent to paving paradise.

I am proud to be on the Board of Directors of the Estes Valley Land Trust (EVLT). Our mission is to conserve land throughout the Estes Valley and surrounding areas for current and future generations. Conservation is defined as the prevention of wasteful use of a resource. Conservation is planned management to prevent exploitation, destruction, or neglect of a natural area.

When I think about conserving land, I dream of beautiful landscapes as well as abundant habitat for wildlife. I believe EVLT speaks for the one-legged trees as well as for the furred, finned, and feathered wildlife in our community.

Our local Land Trust is one of 948 such organizations across the United States. A land trust is an organization that works to protect both public and private lands through conservation easements.  A landowner can voluntarily enter into a legal agreement with the Estes Valley Land Trust that permanently restricts land use to protect the nature-based values of a property.

A conservation easement assures conservation into the future. If a property is sold, the easement remains with it. The property owner can be eligible for certain state and federal income tax benefits. Aside from the tangible benefits, an easement demonstrates the environmental consciousness of landowners who want to maintain the natural beauty and plentiful wildlife in an area such as ours.

In the daunting era of rapid climate change, the conservation of land is a positive action to take. Whether it is one acre or a thousand acres, the EVLT attempts to keep our community as natural as possible. I am grateful that the adjacent area south of downtown is in a permanent easement that enables wildlife to freely roam the area. Just this week, EVLT trust approved two property easements adjacent to Rocky Mountain National Park and US Forest Service Land that will be kept in their most natural state into perpetuity.

I am thankful that people in my community appreciate what we’ve got!

Wordle is a fun distraction every day. I am not particularly good at it, but I usually get over 90% of the words figured out in the third to sixth try. The game is fun, and I don’t get obsessed with it since there is only one word a day. The game epitomizes my interest in words.

Words consist of meanings and sound. Without words, my thoughts cannot become my reality.

Words are the foundation of communication. I love learning new words. If I hear/read a word that I do not know, I often look it up. I am certainly not a word scholar, but I love to find words that express something in a way that is accurate and compelling for me.

New words come into social vernacular all the time. I read last week that “permacrisis” is the word of the year indicating that society seems to be in “an extended period of instability and insecurity permanent crisis.”

Before computers, I had a Thesaurus sitting at my desk that I used in writing to avoid overusing some words. For example, something could be described as “pretty,” but it might be more meaningful to use a word like attractive, cute, appealing, picturesque, comely, exquisite, lovely, or handsome.

I find the sound of words interesting. One of my favorite words is “serendipity.” I first heard it related to a folk group called the Serendipity Singers in the 1960’s. The “the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way” is a word I love to use.

Non-English words are fun and handy. A word I have enjoyed is “laissez-faire” –an attitude of letting things take their own course. Another French phrase that I relish is “joie de vivre” used to express a cheerful enjoyment of life.

A BIG word I learned as a child was “harbinger.” In Iowa at that time, and I am not so sure it is still true today, seeing a robin in early March was a harbinger of spring. I loved seeing that harbinger.

I don’t need to use obtuse words but sometimes the right word is necessary to convey the meanings I want to share. Concomitantly, I am learning the necessity of “economy of expressions.” Rather than using lots of words to convey a meaning, sometimes using just the right word is best. I abhor the use of superlatives like “very” that are not as descriptive as the right word. Hyperbole can be avoided by clear descriptions.

Finding the right word, whether it is winning at Wordle or nailing a description is invigorating for me. I cannot imagine a world without interesting words that enable my expression. Words have power.

In a 2000 book entitled Bowling Alone, Richard Putnam describes how the US has been experiencing a declining social capital. A community’s level of social capital is determined by the strength of the relationships forged within social networks. Simply, Putnam suggested that people would rather bowl alone rather than make a commitment to a league.

I cannot relate to the bowling metaphor, but I am realizing that if people fail to meaningfully connect with one another with a commitment to the common good, we cannot reap the benefits of trust, reciprocity, and cooperation.

I feel fortunate to have grown up in a rural community where people helping each other was a common practice. People knew they needed others to be successful. The old traditions of barn raisings or quilting bees are romantic examples, but that sense existed when I was growing up.

I purposely chose to live in a small town upon retirement because I wanted to try to re-build my social capital. I did not have a sense of community living in the medium sized cities most of my adult life. However, having friends and relationships through work, community band, running club, and recreational teams was different than knowing people who know many of the same people I know.

As I age, I recognize that groups come and go in my life. Some stay for a long time. When I lived in Wisconsin, a group of women got together monthly to do various shared activities. That group has remained connected over the years, and we have had several reunions. As we age, we realize that we should get together more often.

My greatest source of social capital these days is the volunteers with whom I work at Rocky Mountain National Park. I love this park and want to volunteer to give back. I had no idea that dozens of other people felt the same way. We share a common bond in our commitment to the park and to one another. Those volunteer comrades are the heart and soul of my retired life.

I am indebted to North Carolina State University for the opportunities in the last ten years of my professional career. The nickname for NCSU athletics is the Wolfpack. A Rudyard Kipling quote associated with a wolfpack is, “The Strength of the Pack is the Wolf… The Strength of the Wolf is the Pack!” That describes for me what social capital and community is about. The strengths of any community are the individuals—the strength of individuals is their commitment to their communities.