Re-entry

Photo: Our princess in her Halloween costume.

Following our outreach trip in Peru, I hopped on a flight in Lima and flew directly to New Orleans to meet Lee and our baby Alex. The transition, moving between different geographic worlds, is nothing new to me. I have been traveling back and forth between a number of different communities (here in the U.S. and internationally) for a number of years. This re-entry, however, has been difficult for me.

The difficult part has been trying to hold the bigger picture. My challenge has been viewing the bigger goals of HBI - all the while being mindful of the issues and elements that cut across the numerous cultures and geographies of our planet.

Yesterday I went for a run. I ran down Magazine Street to the Garden District. A beautiful area with old Antebellum homes and tree lined "Southern" streets. Running back to downtown I passed an inner city school with children playing. The kids, elementary aged students, were playing typical school yard games. There were smiles, loads of laughter and a general lightness in the air.

Almost instantly I felt this jolt of awareness - what if these kids had a strong connection (a bridge) to the kids playing in a similar playground in a poor community in the city of Lima. What if they, from a very early age, had a chance to get to know the intricacies of the lives of their counterparts living on continents thousands of miles away? What if the world were connected at the level of children meeting children? Would these "bridges" be powerful enough to ground our economic, political and social forces toward a common good?

My re-entry from this latest trip has been a powerful adjustment. I have this nagging feeling that there is a more strategic role that HBI can play in helping to build more complete bridges. I am excited to think about a future that binds communities and people together at very early ages. I am hopeful that such connections can lead to vast improvements in the health and vitality of communities and populations. I am completely committed to the idea that connecting people through meaningful relationships can (and will) generate powerful levels of change!