“It’s Easy Being Green”

By Morris Panitz
Program Director, Kayam Farm

Kermit the Frog has been misquoted! Sure, he said “It’s not easy being green,” but, if you listen to the whole song, you’ll remember that’s not all he said.  After recounting the difficulties of “being green,” he shifted his attitude and sang (or croaked):

But green‘s the color of Spring
And green can be cool and friendly-like
And green can be big like an ocean, or important
Like a mountain, or tall like a tree.

Kermit looked himself in the mirror and realized that “being green” can be understood much more broadly than he once imagined. Let’s join Kermit on that journey of self-realization (yes, I realize Kermit is a Muppet) and expand our notion of what it means to live a green life. Here, we can turn to our tradition for insight into how to live an environmentally and socially conscious life.

As Abraham Joshua Heschel famously said, “Wonder rather than doubt is the root of all knowledge.”  When we take the time to notice the beauty of nature, the complexity and interconnectedness of the living world and the simple fact that we are living, loving creatures, we create the foundation for a life of awe and amazement, gratitude and awareness. With this foundation, we encounter the world and strive for solutions to the social and environmental issues that threaten our sustainability.

We mistakenly think that environmental and social causes belong in different conversations; whereas, in reality, the interconnectedness of our social and environmental issues demands our full, undivided attention. While pesticides degrade our soil and contaminate our water sources, poisoning vital soil biology and aquatic life, poor communities suffer the health consequences of cheaply produced, processed food and contaminated water. When we advocate for fair distribution of food, we must also ask the fundamental questions of how that food is grown and at what cost to the health of our planet.  Being green and being a social justice advocate are two sides of the same coin.

Our Jewish calendar and the holidays we celebrate throughout are based on the natural cycles of our planet and the agricultural rhythms our ancestors knew so well. Imagine a Judaism that went beyond Tu B’Shvat as the only day of the year in which we examine our connection to the Earth. As we celebrate Sukkot in the upcoming holiday season, let’s reclaim the agricultural roots of the holiday. Known as the Harvest Festival, Sukkot is a time to express our gratitude for the water that animates life, the food that sustains us and the opportunity to gather as community to celebrate our countless blessings.

When green is all there is to be
It could make you wonder why, but why wonder why
Wonder, I am green and it’ll do fine, it’s beautiful
And I think it’s what I want to be

Join us at the Pearlstone Center, October 5-7, for our 20’s and 30’s Sukkot Retreat>>

The Value of Feedback

By Leaders from THE ASSOCIATED’s Center for Community Engagement & Leadership (CCEL)

Everyone talks about the importance of feedback. But what does the term really mean? Why is it useful and how do we create a culture of feedback?

Leaders are constantly striving to create an environment where every volunteer has a meaningful experience, and is given the tools necessary for success. THE ASSOCIATED has been working to make sure we are truly achieving that goal.

This year, CCEL’s Forum invited top lay and professional leaders to a three-part series with the goal of creating a culture of dialogue and feedback, one where we can help each other to be more  effective leaders. The forum was facilitated by leadership development coach Ellen Kagen Waghelstein and was a tremendous success.

The take-away? Three tips for incorporating feedback into your work as a leader.

Manage Yourself
As you are offering feedback to others, do a check on your true intent and motivation. You are ready to give feedback if your heart is open and you are focused on their success, not your opportunity to express anger and frustration.  Commit to:

1. Letting go of the past
2. Telling the truth
3. Being supportive and helpful-not cynical or negative
4. Making  sure you are focused on improvement rather than judging

Seek Feedback
Each of us has an Achilles heel, the thing that is a blind spot to us and can get in the way of our being our best leadership self. Seeking feedback that opens your eyes to those blind spots is a gift.  Feedback of this sort is not finding out what people think of you or how they feel about you or even what they like or dislike about you. There is really one fundamental question: How can I do what I do better? Listen carefully and take the feedback seriously. And continue to seek it.

Create a Feedback Culture
The best way to begin a process of culture change is to become a role model yourself. If people see that as leaders you ask for feedback regularly and are open to their feedback, without repercussions, people will begin to open up and share their thoughts honestly and thoughtfully. As you move forward in this process, be aware of the times when you have received feedback that opened your eyes to a blind spot and helped you be a better, more effective leader. Share those experiences and draw out the experiences of others. This will provide an opportunity to bring the issue to the table and encourage new behavior from everyone.