Who are you? We've asked this question before. You are NOT what you do, but in this podcast we are adding another component. You are not just your outer self but your inner self too. Your whole self is a mixture of your outer individual self and your inner being. This episode kicks off a new podcast series Jibril and I call "Worldly Spiritual" in which we talk about spiritual topics with the goal of helping fill the emptiness that has become so prevalent in today's society.  

It's a simple title but it has multiple meanings. Johnny Appleseed, AKA John Chapman, actually lived in the early 1800's. In the fall of each year, he collected seeds from the crushed pulp of apples at cider mills and planted them the following spring. The "fruit" of his labor (pun intended) can be seen in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and West Virginia, but what does this phrase mean on a higher level?    It means that we should be planting seeds now that will bear fruit in the future - part of our series discussion of a multi-cultural America.

What is nationalism and how is it different from patriotism? This podcast is part of our emphasis on building a multi-cultural America now so we can grow into that inevitability over the next half-century. The key points - 1) Understand history, not just yours but everyone else's as well, 2) Become aware of the suffering of others, as it is a prerequisite to building moral courage, and 3) Be others-centered, thinking about the needs of those around you.

This episode talks about history and America's multi-cultural future. We need to understand how each group of Americans has interpreted the history they lived through and passed on to their offspring. This is essential for us to understand if we are to mature as a nation. We also need to understand that change is an ebb-and-flow. A change that may be positive for one person could be detrimental to another - take westward expansion in the 1800s vs. America's Native Americans or Columbus's Discovery of America vs. the Caribbean natives as examples. We need to create change that is in the greatest good for everyone involved. More topics covered too - all good stuff!

Jibril and Mark recount stressful times in their lives and how they dealt with them. You can look at managing stress as you would look at managing a business. You can grow your business by either increasing revenue or minimizing costs. The same is true with stress - you can either increase your ability to handle stressful situations or you can develop ways to minimize sources of stress in your life.

Freedom is a much richer topic than what people think. We are not free to do anything we like, such as choosing to run a stop light, because many freedoms are given to us by a society that chooses the way in which it wants to live. Also, what some people call freedom is actually individualism. We need to understand that freedom comes with a cost and that we assume responsibility when we are given freedom. Food for thought as we celebrate Memorial Day.

Everyone is flawed and everyone changes over time. It is important to know who you are and what you believe in to position yourself to be able to do great things. We also need to continually encourage others, giving them the grace and space to enable them to change and mature, and be willing to sacrifice personally to help our family, friends or community achieve great things. Lastly, realize that some things may not come to fruition until after you are gone. Do things according to what you believe in and stand for, knowing that your work now WILL have an impact in the future.

Empathy and compassion for someone else can lead to your loving them. Love is built on mutual sacrifice and thinking of the other before one's self. How does it apply to loving someone not like yourself? What role does fear play in destroying love, and how does fear progress to anger and then to hating someone else?