Tag: Personal Development

— Community Building, Community Development, Empowerement, Personal Development —

Positive, Powerful, and Empowering: Standing Up for Compassionate Justice in the Face of Sexual Abuse

April 13, 2016
Sahar's Blog 2016 04 13 Positive Powerful and Empowering Standing Up for Compassionate Justice in the Face of Sexual Abuse

Sahar’s Blog’s editorial calendar is pretty clear: Wednesdays are dedicated to product reviews.  But once in awhile, things happen and plans change. One of these things is an amazingly powerful post Martha uploaded a little under a month ago.  In it, she discusses how she was affected after being sexually abused by a family friend… Read More Positive, Powerful, and Empowering: Standing Up for Compassionate Justice in the Face of Sexual Abuse

— Community, Community Building, Community Development, Personal Development —

Developing Virtues: Never One At the Expense of Another

March 1, 2016
Sahar's Blog 2016 03 01 Developing Virtues Never One at the Expense of Another

Last June, I came across an article by John Haltiwanger in which he explained why optimists are always late. While articles such as his do help understand how people—ourselves or others—think and function, the way Haltiwanger went about excusing lateness as a natural consequence of a virtue didn’t jive well with me. I felt that… Read More Developing Virtues: Never One At the Expense of Another

— Community, Community Building, Community Development, Personal Development —

The False Choice We Have to Make Between Helping Ourselves and Helping Others

February 2, 2016
2016 02 02 Sahar's Blog The False Choice We Have to Make Between Helping Ourselves and Helping Others

It’s interesting how each person’s life struggles seem to distil to just a handful of challenges that occur again and again in various shapes and forms. A personal struggle of mine, which I blogged about previously (and one post of which will be reposted later on today), is the injustice that operates within so many… Read More The False Choice We Have to Make Between Helping Ourselves and Helping Others

— Personal Development, Service —

What Traveling Through a Tornado Reminded Me Of and What it Taught Me

January 19, 2016
Sahar's Blog 2016 01 19 Things a Tornado can Teach you Whether You Want to Learn or Not

One would think that, after what happened last month (here, here, then here—yes, it’s that long of a story, and yes, it’s well worth the read), I wouldn’t be thinking already of traveling again for a long time. But what do you want; the heart wants what the heart wants (and also, my friends won’t… Read More What Traveling Through a Tornado Reminded Me Of and What it Taught Me

— Community Building, Friendships, Personal Development, Relationships —

The Importance of Trusting People Who Love You

December 15, 2015
Sahar's Blog 2015 12 14 The Importance of Trusting People Who Love You

“Trust is the foundation of all human connections, from chance encounters to friendships and intimate relationships.” (Source) So when one’s faith in people is shaken, if not broken, it comes as no surprise that our relationships suffer. An interesting concept has peppered quite a number of conversations around me in the last two months or… Read More The Importance of Trusting People Who Love You

— Personal Development —

The Magic of Building on Strength: An Almost Too-Good To Be True Story

November 14, 2015
Sahar's Blog 2015 06 23 The Magic of Building on Strength An Almost Too-Good To Be True Story

A friend of mine recently told me the story of an experience she had which she claims changed the way she sees personal and community transformation. It started with an office managed for the longest time by a very kind individual. Unfortunately, this individual’s management style was based on kindly and lovingly pointing out mistakes… Read More The Magic of Building on Strength: An Almost Too-Good To Be True Story

— Community, Community Building, Family —

Weathering the Storm of a Cancer Diagnosis: Some Initial Learnings and Thoughts

September 29, 2015
Sahar's Blog Weathering the Storm of a Cancer Diagnosis Some Initial Learnings and Thoughts

There are a few things I strongly believe in. For example, The X-Files and Buffy: The Vampire Slayer are two of the best television shows I have ever watched and chocolate is a cure for nearly everything. Or, that community-building at the grassroots is essential in ensuring the well-being of every single individual and that… Read More Weathering the Storm of a Cancer Diagnosis: Some Initial Learnings and Thoughts

— Community, Community Building, Personal Development —

The “Just Wait” Phenomena: Why Can’t We Build A Different Future?

September 22, 2015
Sahar's Blog The “Just Wait” Phenomena Why Can’t We Build A Different Future

Back in March, I posted a piece on how certain structures of our society encourage us to live in a state of constant discontent. I was thinking about how, at whatever stage we were in—single, dating, engaged, married, with one child—we were always prodded about “the next thing” that we should be aiming for. It… Read More The “Just Wait” Phenomena: Why Can’t We Build A Different Future?

— Community, Community Building, International Development, Personal Development —

How to Live in a World of Contradictions Without Going Completely Nuts

September 8, 2015
Sahar's Blog How to Live in a World of Contradictions Without Going Completely Nuts

Do you remember how frustrating it was when, as a child, living in a world of contradictions?  When you were told you couldn’t do something by an adult only to see them doing that very same thing? Or to be told by one adult not to do something only to be told by another that… Read More How to Live in a World of Contradictions Without Going Completely Nuts

— Community Building, Personal Development, Racism —

Cultural Appropriation: Contextualizing our Work to Eliminate All Prejudices

August 4, 2015
Sahar's Blog Cultural Appropriation Contextualizing our Work to Eliminate All Prejudices

Last week’s post on cultural appropriation inspired some very interesting conversations. Most interesting was the fact that most reactions came from well-meaning individuals who work hard on eliminating prejudices from their day-to-day lives. It’s difficult for people like us to realise that, despite all the time, energy, and love we put into this cause, we… Read More Cultural Appropriation: Contextualizing our Work to Eliminate All Prejudices