The Good Among the Great

On a personal note: I have had alcohol only twice since January 1st. My lifestyle before this major change was of an extreme roller coaster ride that led me to places of happiness and despair. It seems my life has changed and all for the better.

Being at home at night with my family makes me extremely happy as well as a more confident person.

I have lost many of my former contacts/friends from before with this change of lifestyle, but the way I feel and being close to the family on a nightly basis makes me happy inertly and I can express more unconditional true love from this change.

My father was not like that. After years of drinking, we lost our family and lived some odd years on these Aquidneck Island streets without a place to go and had to stay at friends’ and other family members' places.

You still see people of this nature with drug and alcohol problems locally and, with this close-to-home understaning and when I see this ever growing problem of homelessness around us, I think about how we need to make the right decisions about the future development of Aquidneck Island so we don't have these continuing problems.

Beyond homelessness, there is an even bigger problem that hovers at the poverty line locally because we don't have the resources of economic development to help many families here who have to choose between being able to pay the rent and pay for the electric, water, or gas bill on a timely basis. And that is a problem. 

As said above, the economic development of Aquidneck Island is of utmost importance for the future of our community and its residents. As I strive to find the appropriate income to satisfy our needs in my household, I only wish our council members and state representatives see the problem of low development resources and work on bringing forth an economic plan that will move our communities toward a more stable year-round economic community. 

I left many years ago for inner reasons and for reasons that there were not enough job opportunities. But I came back home because I realized that there is no other place in the world like what we have here. 

We do need a solid and progressive economic development team in order so that we can prosper here in the community.   

The Rhode Island Small Business Development Center does a good job helping you start out and build a business plan when it comes to financing. Still, many people are not able to move forward and become disgruntled and settle back into a summer position.

With that said, this is my segue into my Zero Waste Recycling Program and the process of Anaerobic Digestion. 

These programs have the possibility to bring many jobs to the island and education to our school systems, both hands-on labor jobs, management positions and other non-profit agencies will stem off of a unique and productive model program for the utilization of sustainable energy through our waste program.  This program could also be the model template program for Aquidneck Island and throughout the state of Rhode Island, all the while bringing more businesses and more jobs to our communities.

Onto the weekly hot topics: 

Music: With so much music happening now on the island, I am just wondering when I get paid, and will that money be legitimate. I do hope so.

Movie: “Parking Lot.” I am giving this movie 1/2 a star out of 5. This movie is a documentary of over 250 hours edited down to 45 minutes from a perspective of the people who tend a parking lot on a daily basis. It is supposed to have an underlying purpose of showing how people react to paying as much as 25 cents and the philosophical aspect of these students working next to the University of Virginia. But watching so many drunk people get into a vehicle and drive away just made me extremely upset.

Food: Low-Cal and Healthy Easy Fruit Tart Recipe

Graham Cracker Pie Crust

1. Fat free vanilla pudding
2. Fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, kiwi

Place non-fat pudding in piecrust, top with fresh berries and refrigerate.

Next week’s recipe:  Grilled Chicken Salad

Health: 10-minute meditation to start your day

Before you are to start a program in Yoga, Tai Chi or any other physical health programs towards your body & mind, one must learn to master the art of breath and thought. This is the Hinayana practice in Tibetan Buddhism; this is a practice of mastering your breath and focusing your mind. A ten-minute meditation starting your day focuses on your breath and is the first step in mastering all forms of physical and mental body awareness.

• To do this practice find a comfortable place you can focus with little distraction. This can be sitting in a chair, on a cushion, in your yard, walking silently and slowly etc. 
• To focus your mind, start with focusing on your breath.
• In an upright position just concentrate on your breath, as thoughts arise you can label them and just follow your thought back to your breath. 
• Do this for ten minutes daily, you will find that you will become more focused, foods will have a better taste, and the world around you will start to become more understandable.

(I have practiced and have been schooled in Tibetan Buddhism and the Hinayana, Mahayana & Vajrayana practice of meditation for over 15 years starting at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado and further practice and education during my residence in Nepal and India.)

Zero-Waste Recycling Tip of the Week: In my Zero-Waste proposal that could help the Johnston Landfill reduce waste and help Aquidneck Island become one of the leaders in waste reproduction in the nation let's first get a basic understanding on:

Understanding what goes in the garbage, recycling bin & your compost bin.

Food to Energy: The success of Anaerobic Digestion is seen in the video section of this article. Hopefully Rhode Island goes to the three-bin system so we can be as productive as possible and turn all our waste into energy and other products.  

Travel: Heading on up to the Shambala Meditation Center in Providence for the

Vesak 2011 A Celebration of the Life of the Buddha

• Saturday, May 14, 2011 ~ 9 am to 2 pm
• Providence Zen Center
  99 Pound Road
  Cumberland, RI 02864

Book of the Week: "The Good Amongst the Great" by Donald Van de Mark is an inner look into some of the happiest, respected and successful people around the world.

Taken from Abraham Maslow's self-actualization work, Van de Mark takes 19 steps from  people he has interviewed on their success and family-based philosophies while striving to gain success and think more creatively. This self-help book was given to me after our interview on WADK and it was a wonderful treat in delving into the psychological philosophies of successful individuals around the world. 

Sports: Some of the best slapstick comedy comes out of Chicago on a page called The Heckler. Read this recent report of a Whitesox hitting coach updating his resume after being no-hit earlier in the week.

What to watch for on the Island:

The Potter League’s open registration for their annual Heart & Soul Walk for Animals is now available on the Potter League website.

Visit www.potterleague.org for more detailed information the walk will be on Sunday June 5, this is the Potter League’s 22nd annual walk.  Join today and start building your very own fundraising page.

Local Fundraiser of the Week: A Roger's Theater Company fundraiser will be held Sunday May 15th at Gary's Lunch hosted by Peter Corr from 4 pm to 7 pm.

Spaghetti dinner fundraiser for The Rogers Theatre Company's performance of "Beauty and the Beast." $10 per person or $25 dollars per family. Please come and support the arts at Rogers High School by helping us raise the money we need to stage our musical production.

About Phil:

Phil, a radio engineer at 1540 WADK, is originally from the Aquidneck Island and spent fifteen years living in Nepal, India, Boston, New Hampshire, Colorado, Utah, & California.

Catch Phil on the open forum at WADK 1540 from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm weekdays. “The Open Forum” is a call-in radio hour with local personalities and community leaders where topics range from local to worldwide issues mixed with a little trivia and nostalgic memories.  Feel free to call and speak out on the topics of today for Aquidneck Island at 401-846-1028.

Send an email suggesting future topics to Phil at philemon.hadley@gmail.com.