Paula's Leap of Faith: CAPP Program 2014
When I was a kid, we had a little footbridge across a little creek in our yard. From time to time, one of the planks in the bridge was missing--and as we adventured together, us kids would hold each other up and lift each other across that missing plank. Thus supported, we faced our fears, held each other up, and found our way to the next bunch of fantastic adventures. 
Every so often, life offers an invitation that feels so right that you have to just go ahead and believe that your conspirators-in-life can help lift and support you across that missing plank on the way to the next adventure.
So here we are on gofundme.com.
Life's been a grand adventure thus far--rich with everything that REALLY matters.
And a new invitation looms: I've been invited to join the Spring 2014 Cohort of candidates earning a Certificate in Applied Positive Psychology through the Open Center in NYC.
It's a six-month long academic program that will deeply enhance, empower and enliven the work I do in many arenas of the life that we all share. It's complementary to much of what I'm already doing, and will help me to become an even more authentic, credible resource to the many communities where I live and serve.
I'm inviting you to be part of this with me in many ways--though at the moment, I'm hoping deeply that there are about 200 of you in my life who are able to donate $20 each toward the tuition for me to be able to do this. (That's about the cost of taking me out to see a movie, right?) (I mean, you're MORE THAN WELCOME to donate more than that, or less than that, as makes sense in your life.)
Why?
If you know me, you know there are some Big Life Themes:
the power of community.
building connections and relationships.
resilience, authenticity and generosity.
advocacy and social justice.
being neighbor in new and lifegiving ways.
finding common ground.
developing relationships and networks.
broadening our abilities to care with and for each other to build lives of meaning.
communication, creativity and the power of story.
love for this crazywonderful life in Northeast Ohio/Cleveland and a burning desire to be part of it all.
laughter.
shared meals and lives.
In the past year, I've spent a huge amount of time both formally and informally immersing in the studies and practices of this newly-expanding field of applied positive psychology, both personally and professionally. Formally, this is through the energizing, vibrant work of SOMO Leadership Labs in Cleveland, about which many of you have heard me speak wth wild enthusiasm. I am seeing it make a difference in individual lives and the life of the community. I want to be able to integrate that more formally into my life and the life of our community. I know that the way I go about doing all of the Big Life Themes is already different directly because of what I've been learning, and I want to take it up to the more formal level.
There's more info about the program itself at this link, if you're interested:
I am grateful for the opportunity to join the CAPP program....even if there's a little missing-plank in the bridge that gets me there. I am also grateful to know that at least some of the beautiful people I know might be willing to help lift and support me across that with some little donations toward getting me to the other side of the bridge. I thank you with my whole heart for your consideration.
Big love to you for even thinking of helping out,
paula
ps: yes, i'll be superamped to couch surf with friends in NYC on those weekends!
