One year ago today I wrote my first blog entry! I have been wondering for awhile how I would celebrate this first year of writing -- and am still not sure what is going to follow -- let's just see what happens.

What a year! There have been so many wonderful events in the last year -- Michael and Leah's wedding, visits with Julie and Greg and the dogs, meeting Greg's family, Michael's graduation, spending time with Steve and his family, and with my sisters and brothers and parents, and catching up with old friends. At work -- got my contract renewal for three more years, got the first cohort of doctoral students heading to internship, had an article published, kept the budget balanced, and hired a couple of new folks. I got to teach two new classes -- psychology, sustainability, and the environment, and spirituality and religion and counseling -- both near and dear to my heart. And the students. Oh the students - they make it so worth while.

I have learned so much this year since I set out to write about "sustainable health and well-being." I started out exploring some local groups - Pittsburgh Permaculture and their food forest in Hazelwood, Nine Mile Run Watershed Association who helped me get my rain barrels set up, Chris Condello and his efforts to engage kids in his Wilkinsburg neighborhood in community gardening, F.U.S.E. with Michele and Chris who work with urban youth after school, and POWER that serves women in recovery, ... and I went to the March for Blair Mountain to learn about mountain top removal. I started learning more about about other systems of life and living, learning a bit, for example, about how green infrastructure can be used to  manage waste water, and about how fixing our decaying roads and bridges could provide meaningful work for many people who need jobs, and about how people from ALL faiths can work together to address such community problems as cuts in transportation, poor educational systems, and guns in the hands of angry people.  

Check out the picture above. That is what I learned -- what got reinforced for me -- that we are all connected, all of us people, with the birds and beasts, the trees and rivers, the soil and air, and other people from everywhere. We have been doing it WRONG for far too long. We have been acting as though humans (specifically, humans with privilege) are all that matter -- that getting our "needs" met, with little regard for how the methods of meeting our needs affect other people or the world around us, is the highest priority, the ultimate entitlement. We lose so much when we do this -- not only is the earth, our support system without which we would not exist, threatened, but the health and well-being of our children and grandchildren and great-great-great-grandchildren (if we all survive into the future) is threatened. And we miss out on the greatest gifts in life -- the gifts of community, generosity, sharing, and creating.

What, if anything, do we owe those children and grandchildren of our future? My new friend, Cynthia Magistro, who recently joined our faculty, just finished writing a beautiful piece about this very topic -- she speaks about our accepted sense of obligation, as parents, toward our own children. At the family level, we understand that we need to care for these tiny vulnerable beings until they can care for themselves -- and often beyond. This requires sacrifice on our part, giving things up, waiting, in order to insure that the young ones' needs are met, that they are safe and healthy. Cynthia extends this thinking to the much larger world, asking questions about what our generation, globally speaking, owes the world's children of the future. What is fair and just? What is morally and ethically correct? What does it say about our generation if we are not attempting to live lives that are sustainable and balanced, if we are misusing and overusing our limited resources? I am not doing Cynthia's ideas justice here, but wanted to share some of her basic questions with you anyway.

I am reading a new report published by the National Wildlife Foundation that speaks to the mental health consequences of global climate change -- there is evidence that we are experiencing effects of global climate change in recent severe weather events (remember all the hurricanes and tornadoes and droughts and other strange weather in 2011?). There are predictions that this may worsen if our course is not corrected. When things get so topsy-turvy and scary around us like this, there are increases in anxiety and depression and even, in extreme situations, post-traumatic stress disorder. There are lots of folks who are also talking about threats to water supplies, and how conflicts in the future may be related not to oil but to fresh and clean water. This report reinforced my beliefs that psychologists and other health care professionals need to know about these issues, and to think about them when they work with their clients. Add to this the importance of learning about the health consequences of other human-caused environmental assaults, such as mountain top removal or toxin-emitting factories.

So I keep thinking about these things and I keep listening for my calling about what to do. For some reason, though I have been away from Kentucky for many many years (I have now lived over half my life in Pittsburgh), I feel pulled toward the mountains. So here is my next plan.... I think.... going to the Summer Action Camp sponsored by the Mountain Justice Organization, in Pipestem, West Virginia in May. I will admit that I am a little worried that I will be the oldest person there. I am a little worried that it is, like, a CAMP -- and I have to admit that I like beds. With mattresses and sheets. And I am fond of toilets. Ceramic ones that flush. And showers. But if those basics are assured, I may try this.

And long-term plans? I will be 60 next June (2013) -- am going to try to bike from Pittsburgh to Washington DC on the rails trail. Trying to build up "time in the saddle" now. Biking slows me down and helps me notice and appreciate the little things -- birds, wildflowers, little creeks and waterfalls, old abandoned buildings, colorful graffiti. 

Life is good. Very good. And how are you?

Here is a story for our times, originally published by Donald B. Ardell, Ph.D. Think about it...

It was many years ago that villagers in Downstream recall spotting the first body in the river. Some old timers remember how Spartan were the facilities and procedures for managing that short of thing. Sometimes, they say, it would take hours to pull 10 people from the river, and even then only a few would survive.

Though the number of victims in the river has increased greatly in recent years, the good folks of Downstream have responded admirably to the challenge. Their rescue system is clearly second to none: most people discovered in the swirling waters are reached within twenty minutes, many in less than ten. Only a small number drown each day before help arrives -- a big improvement from the way it used to be.

Talk to the people of Downstream and they'll speak with pride about the new hospital by the edge of the waters, the flotilla of rescue boats ready for service at a moment's notice, the comprehensive health plans for coordinating all the manpower involved, and the large number of highly trained and dedicated swimmers always ready to risk their lives to save victims from the raging currents. Sure it costs a lot but, say the Downstreamers, what else can decent people do except to provide whatever is necessary when human lives are at stake.

Oh, a few people in Downstream have raised the question now and again, but most folks show little interest in what's happening Upstream. It seems there's so much to do to help those in the river that nobody's got time to check how all those bodies are getting there in the first place. That's the way things are, sometimes.

A few days ago, the American Academy of Pediatrics presented its report about children and ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The report was comprehensive in its discussions about what ADHD might look like, the course of the illness, and how it should be treated. And it included discussions about treatment of preschool-aged children with parent counseling approaches, behavior therapy, and in more extreme circumstances, medication. The authors note that long-term effects of medications on brain development are not known for sure.

ADHD is often described as a neuro-developmental disorder that starts in childhood and is characterized by chronic inattention, impulsiveness, and hyperactivity. Children (and teens and adults) diagnosed with ADHD often have co-occurring disorders, including learning problems, anxiety, depression, and others. The diagnosis has morphed over the last few decades, and the number of children falling under its umbrella has increased. The report issued last week by AAP also noted the expanded age range for ADHD, listed as formerly 6-12 years of age, and now described as 4-18 years of age. Up to 8% of children, according to the report, have ADHD.

I do not doubt that many children and adolescents have genuine neuro-developmental problems that are revealed in the types of behaviors described above. I also know that the types of  behaviors associated with ADHD are often seen with children with other problems, as noted by the Center for Disease Control. 

I have so many questions and concerns. Neurological development, particularly prenatally and during childhood, is sensitive to many external factors, including drugs and other substances ingested by the mother while pregnant and, before and after birth, many toxins in the environment. Toxins in the environment include chemicals in the air, water, and soil, and chemicals in foods. Neurological development is also sensitive to social and family environment factors. For example, exposures to trauma or violence can result in significant change in brain functioning and/or behavior. And we don't yet know what the long-term effects of being "plugged-in" to long periods of screen time on computers and televisions at a very young age might have on brain development. Research in all of these areas is ongoing.

I also have questions about other issues related to behavior and development. How do chronic chaos and disorganization in a child's life affect her? How might standardized testing from a young age and, more important, educational environments that emphasize the importance of standardized test scores over developmentally appropriate educational practices affect a child? What benefits might there be in giving a child time to dream and imagine, in granting lots of lazy "swinging on the gate" time? There are some studies that indicate that inattentive children show improved attention following unstructured time outdoors in nature. What does that mean?

Some of my best and most vivid memories from my parenting years are of those times when I stepped back and just let Michael and Julie "be" - alone or with friends. One winter, after a scary ER visit, Julie turned our dining room into a pediatrician's office, complete with a doctor's kit, "patients," computers and files, a telephone, and note-pads. She played in there for hours, sometimes alone and sometimes with her brother or friends. I remember going down into our basement one October to find the den transformed by Michael and his neighborhood friends into a Haunted House, complete with spider webs and beheaded dolls hanging from the ceiling. There were long late nights in the summer with kids from 3-13 years of age running around among the yards playing King of the Mountain. There were also times when the kids watched a lot of TV and played video games, but these were balanced out by playing outdoors or by sitting and listening to stories. What do you recall from your years of parenting your children? From your own childhood?

Talking about this is more than nostalgia. I do recognize that many children do not have the good fortune that other kids have - the space, the safe neighborhood or home, the supervision, the willingness of parents to tolerate messes. I am very grateful for what we were able to give our children. But beyond nostalgia - developmental research is clear that play and imagination are very important experiences for all children. These experiences help children be ready and willing to learn in more structured environments, foster confidence and increase self-awareness, and teach valuable socialization skills. They help children learn to pay attention, take turns, and sit still when needed.

I would not want to deny any child or family effective treatment - behavioral, family, or medication - if it is truly needed, if the child's well-being in terms of learning, friendships, and family relationships is significantly impaired by challenging behaviors. At the same time, I want to urge all of us - psychologists, physicians, sociologists, clergy, parents, grandparents, teachers and other educators, nurses - everyone - to begin to look upstream for causes and for possible lapses in our collective judgment or practices that may have contributed to unhealthy environments and/or unrealistic expectations for our children. 

These are complex issues - there are no easy answers. But, at the very least, asking questions and searching for answers is necessary. This is our responsibility - to our children and grandchildren seven generations out, and to our society.

P.S. As I was writing this, Julie sent me the picture below...

I just heard that Steve Jobs died. Very sad. I was listening to his 2005 commencement address at Stanford University about "loving what you do" - in work, in relationships, in every part of your life. Jobs spoke of the love he had for his work and family - through all of his life's ups and downs. He ended his commencement address with a quote from the final issue of the Whole Earth Catalog. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

I have been thinking about how to write about the OWS event - the Occupy Wall Street protests. I first heard about the plans when I participated in the March on Blair Mountain this past summer, and have been thinking about it ever since. There are a lot of young - and not so young - people in NYC right now, calling attention to the pretty complicated state of affairs in our country. This state of affairs? One in which corporate interests wield a significant amount of power over government policies and practices. The power wielded is often not respectful of the health and well-being of the "commons" - it is often more protective of the interests of the top 1%, to use the language of many of the protesters.

Of course, not all corporations and corporate people are contributing to the problem. Steve Jobs' creativity, genius, and leadership have benefited people across the globe. Warren Buffett, as just one other example, supports the recent conversations about increasing taxation of the very wealthy. Others contribute mightily to public welfare. But this isn't always the case. Think about how long it is taking to hold a big corporation accountable for the devastation directly caused by the BP Gulf Oil Spill. Big businesses can be seen as "people" for the purposes of contributing to political campaigns, but they aren't "people" who can be held accountable for crimes against humans and nature in the same way that you and I would? And the mortgage disaster sleight of hand games. It doesn't make sense to me. Businesses ARE people - the business or corporation should not provide an invisibility cloak that absolves the owners and decision-makers of responsibility for their behavior. Really. This is not Hogwarts.

On my drive back home from Kentucky this past weekend, I listened to a podcast from The New School at Commonweal: Exploring Nature, Culture, and Inner Life. Host Michael Lerner was interviewing Richard Heinberg, author of The End of Growth: Adapting to Our New Economic Reality, as well as other books about the changing times. Journalist Heinberg maintains that traditional economic theories of the industrial age - theories that support the idea that economies, based on industrial activities made possible by fossil fuels, should and must continually grow - are no longer useful. He proposes that three factors are converging in a way that will require a totally new paradigm for evaluating the health of a society - the converging factors are resource depletion, environmental disasters and resulting impacts, and enormous debt. Heinberg - and many others across the globe as well - holds that a "healthy" GDP does not automatically translate into health and well-being of the society. And striving to continually make more, spend more, make more, spend more, as individuals or as nations, is no longer sustainable. The earth's resources cannot support this any longer, without significant costs for the future. 

We need to find other ways of measuring health and well-being of ourselves and our society than the monetary bottom line, and to create a culture that promotes and supports the healthier ways of thinking, relating, and doing. Economics and employment would definitely be part of such an index, but so would ethical living, happiness, physical and mental health, moral and social health, and abundant, safe, and clean natural resources.

I respect what the OWS people are trying to do, hungry and foolish though they may be - at the very least, they are trying to raise awareness of power and its repercussions, ill or good. Let's really think about where our power should come from - whose thoughts and needs and ideas should be considered when decisions about the public welfare are being made. And let's think about the ways in which we can exercise our own voices, whether in words that we write to government officials or newspapers, in conversations with friends and neighbors and in classrooms and offices, or in public protests of our own. We can use what is happening on Wall Street to ask questions and start conversations and learn more - we all have to be part of the solution of turning things around.

As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.
—From the  Declaration of Occupy Wall Street

And it isn't just corporations. It is us as well. We are also culpable and need to open our eyes and get real about what matters. More about that coming soon.

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish. Indeed. Rest in peace, Steve Jobs.