Beginning

Ten years ago I gave myself an imaginary title. I've still got it, actually. I even have these imaginary business cards. They're light gray, with a slick corporate-looking logo in purple, and then, in a sans-serif font, right under my name, my title:

Secret Agent for Positive Change

Now, at that time (I was 28) I already had a real job, complete with a real job title. But I preferred my imaginary job title. I imagined myself pushing the world forward, one iota at a time, one good deed a day.
And, I'd always done that kind of thing, anyway. At 20 I became a Buddhist and chanted for world peace. At 22 I was in the Peace Corps. At 25 I did bike rides to raise money for AIDS research. So, when, as it happened, I wound up in the corporate world, I simply transferred my idealistic energy there. Everything in my department was chaotic. I decided that even though I was not in charge of anything at all, I would do what I could to straighten things out. Thus, the "secret agent" part.

Why am I talking about this? Well, this blog is going to be about just that—ways to achieve positive change, whether it be in the personal, work, non-profit, online, volunteer, or political areas. I've lived in all of these worlds, and no matter which one you live in, the ways to make things happen are remarkably similar. I'm talking now about the intersection between human nature and work. The interaction between people and other people. And, finally, the interaction between an individual and his/her own heart -- activism as a path towards personal self-awareness and spiritual growth. It's about activism from a progressive point of view.

And that, hopefully, will be Practical Progressive Activist!

Namaste,
C