Mary Jo Kreitzer

At the Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing, we often talk as a team about the importance of living the work, and not just doing the work.

There is a lot that gets in the way of human flourishing. In the world today, we face such seemingly unsolvable problems including poverty, climate change, food security, clean water, and violence, to name just a few. These profound challenges are not unrelated. Lack of education contributes to unemployment, which in turn, contributes to poverty. In communities where there is poverty and a lack of jobs, there is also a higher rate of crime and violence. In the United States, we have “failing schools” where children are graduating without the skills to advance in education or be successful in life. While it is easy to point the finger at teachers, in fact, it is much more complicated. Assuring teacher competency is of course critical, but it is also essential to look at the social and environmental factors impacting a child’s ability to learn. We must also examine the lack of funding and resources that contribute to learning delays. Whole systems thinking is critical for addressing the complex social problems we face today.

Twenty-five years ago today, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama received the Nobel Peace Prize.

"Meaning is not something you stumble across, like the answer to a riddle or the prize in a treasure hunt. Meaning is something you build into your life." - John Gardner