Seeds of Change

I am a bit disheartened that I am having such a difficult time finding an agency or organization that is involved with my area of interest in Humboldt or southern Oregon. There is a woman named Catherine Steed in San Francisco who is a social worker working with prison inmates and parolees helping them work in gardens and learn new job skills and develop a connection with the land. I wholeheartedly believe in the healing power of digging one's hands in the earth and creating life and food from the earth and believe this model can work for inmates, troubled youth, domestic and sexual abuse survivors, those suffering from PTSD, and the list goes on. Another organization in Sebastopol is doing something similar in their community while also growing into a seed bank that can create jobs and income that can make the program self-sustaining and not completely reliant on government funding, donations, and grants.

The organizations I have contacted so far in Hum County and southern Oregon do not seem particularly interested in hosting a social work intern with such ambitions, nor are they doing anything similar at the moment. It is possible I may have to spear head a project like this myself, but then who would be the one to "supervise" me under the direction of an internship for this? Still hoping for another idea or direction so I do not have to take an internship that does not interest me as much or stoke my fire for the sake of finishing a degree.

History is written by who is writing the tales

I was struck by the construction of historical perspectives that are based on the accounts of the dominant race and classes of people and have rarely included the stories of women, minorities, the poor, and other groups of oppressed people. When we look back at the writings of history we have to decipher and configure what the non-dominant groups must have viewed the world at that time. The identities and personal histories of these people are based around the identities of the dominant group who were recorded history through their own voices.

Of course in much of history the dominant groups were the only ones who had the education and resources to read and write and were the only ones able to document history in this way. This is an inescapable truth about the history of the world, particularly in the Western world. The part that bothers me most about the continuation of history is that the dominant world view is still largely taught in history books throughout much of the nation, particularly in children's school curriculum. The accounts of history and contemporary perspectives can only be whole if they view issues from the accounts of everyone affected. 

Week 3 and blogging practice

The article we read this week talks about blogging as social workers as a form of public journaling, marketing, and communication between other social workers. It is true that social media and the internet have added a new dimension to the possibilities of sharing new ideas to larger groups of people. Information of any kind is accessible to everyone in an instant and an audience in any part of the world (where they have access to the internet) is possible. It is a connection with others who you may not be able to speak to face to face or even over the phone.

I think there is also a great responsibility to represent your opinions as exactly what they are: opinions. There is also a greater need for us all to be more discriminating in what we read on the internet to decipher between fact, fiction, and plain old opinion. But I think the internet and blogging has created a new environment for others to share ideas, philosophies, and be exposed to ways of thinking or viewpoints that may not have been possible before the internet. And there is certainly no turning back to life before the web.

How we communicate is how we see the world

The article and topic from this week concerned patterns of thinking and communicating in mainstream Western culture. What about patterns in thinking and communicating in indigenous non-Western cultures? How does this differ and what benefit could we gain in our culture from adopting new ways of communicating that differ from the mainstream? Clearly this would differ from each individual culture, but there is a lot we can learn from paying attention to how other people communicate.

I think you use a communication style that is most appropriate to your audience. In another class this semester we evaluated how research methodologies differ with indigenous cultures. The worldview leans more towards being contextual and relational rather than viewing individual's, societies, and nations as separate. I think the Western world would greatly benefit from adopting some of this style into their communication since we are now living in a highly connected world where the web of networks keeps intertwining.

In my own communication style and thought processes, I tend to lean towards a more holistic and relational worldview. I see and speak about the links between all people, creatures, and mama earth since we are all connected. I speak in a flowing manner and tend to ask more questions than give answers. I want people to think of answers for themselves. I think this worldview may challenge some people who only want to think in a linear fashion, but they will be challenged in a good way. Challenge is what pushes us out of our comfort zone and to the next level of our capabilities.

I have always thought of myself as being a right-hemisphere dominant person and doing this exercise reinforced that belief. Besides the obvious distinctions we tend to make about people who work most strongly from the right hemisphere of the brain (more intuitive and feeling based, artistic, visual), I also tend to be more visionary than down to earth with my ideas. I excel at dreaming ideas, but don't always follow through on the step by step process to create them into reality. I am exceedingly optimistic, but not always realistic.

Though I would like to cultivate within myself some of the abilities that seem to come so easily to people who work most easily from the left hemisphere of the brain, I find a lot of beauty in collaborating with others who have this strength inherently and wish to gain a little more right brain perspective. Some of the most creative and fruitful partnerships on projects have been with other people who think in more structured ways and can think up the methods to put something into action.

One of the many, many reasons I love communities and working together. Everyone has strengths and assets they can offer.

When I think about my future goals and I do not see the steps to getting to those goals I receive an image in my mind of my future destination suspended in air away from me with no road leading towards it. This image represents my frustration at times when what I want seems out of reach and I can not clearly see the ways to achieve my goals.

This is understandable when I think about my natural tendencies. I have always been able to visualize the big picture and think in terms of abstract concepts. I can see, smell, hear, and feel the land I would like to have in the future and what it can produce in terms of food, comfort, community, and the legacy for future generations. I do not do as well with figuring out the details to reach that goal.

I've never been a materialistic person and have lived a very fulfilled life with very little at times, but I have been working to visualize creative opportunities for more money in my life lately. I have no desire for money in and of itself, but for the ability to purchase land and the materials to build a personal home and a community center.

I once lived with a woman in a community who told me that the best way to achieve a goal is to visualize yourself already having achieved it and then to work in backwards steps from that goal. In other words, see yourself already having what you want and then think about the last thing you do to get it, the next to last thing, and work backwards to the first step you would take. She has since gone on to starting a community in Baja Mexico, so it obviously worked for her!

Right now I am firmly using the principles of creative visualization and picturing already completing my degree, already working in a capacity of community service, and already having the land and then I will start to visualize building the road to get to those goals.

And I will learn to also take it all one day at a time. . .

Help for those who want more green and less noise

One of the themes that kept reoccurring in the classes this week were the challenges that people living in rural communities faced when trying to access social services and assistance, finding employment, or dealing with transportation issues. Many rural communities do not have public transportation so a vehicle is almost always necessary if someone is trying to find work outside the community. Also, my understanding is that certain social assistance programs, such as food stamps, require someone to be willing or able to work at least twenty hours a week at a job. I know in my community of less than 2500 (per census) most people here earn their wages by working several odd jobs since this is the most reliable source of income for most people in town and a typical work load can vary from week to week or by season. Some people also choose to work to barter for housing or food. I think the different lifestyle of some people in rural communities in comparison to urban ones should be considered by social services. It is not always practical for an individual to seek employment outside of the area just because it may be more steady.

Receiving mental health services and health care services in geographically isolated areas can also be a challenge for some people and may limit their use of these services. I recently discovered something called Telehealth which allows patients to connect with providers by video conferencing, telephone, or home-monitoring devices. I could not find information on its availability through public healthcare systems, such as Medicaid or Medicare, but hope this may be incorporated more in the future so people in rural areas can have more access to health care. I think another more accessible option would be support for more traditional healers, midwives, birth doulas, etc. within health care systems since these people may be within the community of the rural resident and may be more trusted by and accessible to a rural client since they are within their personal network.