July 2011
1 post
the space where the earth dreams →
…we humans are the space where the earth dreams through us. Our heart’s desire is the desire of the earth – it is what She is asking you to do.” – brian swimme
March 2011
2 posts
I Will Play. →
This weekend, I took a long walk by the river in the morning. While the sun was shining, it was cold and windy, and there weren’t as many people out and about as usual. Despite the cold,…
February 2011
5 posts
I Will Express Gratitude →
Every Christmas for five years in a row, my mom would give my siblings and I a “gratitude journal” in which we could write down what we were thankful for every day. Oprah did it, so it was…
Vast
IT has no boundaries. The soul. The universe.
They are vast, similar in a lot of ways. Only bound to the restrictions we give them. Full of both darkness vast and overwhelming, and light vast and overwhelming. The deeper we go the more we learn about the enormity. The more possibility is born. We fumble with the possibility because it is huge.
Huge.
Both in us and amongst the stars, the...
Be a Champion →
Yesterday morning I met Jessica Jackley, co-founder of KIVA. She is walking inspiration. And KIVA is quite an organization with an equally compelling story. Listen to it in her own words here:
Link →
Via James Pearson, and from http://caavadesign.com/_blog/Caava_Design/post/Life_Experiment/
I Will Not Talk About the Weather →
They say that people in New York don’t talk to strangers. But I disagree. The one conversation we will have with someone we don’t know is surrounding the weather, particularly in the winter. You’ll…
January 2011
3 posts
Daydreaming →
Our first experiment will be a fairly easy one.
Today at 3pm, I’m going to let myself day-dream for an entire 20 minutes.
Jared has a friend who has started at least 5 successful…
Everyday Experiments - A new blog by Kerry and... →
Kerry Docherty and I have started a new blog called Everyday Experiments! We hope it will challenge us and our followers to live more full and experimental lives. We’ll post new experiments that we’re trying every few days and enlist our community to try them too.
We hope you’ll join us on some experiments and share your experiences with us.
Bringing Light →
On May 8th, 2010, I married the love of my life, Ilea Dorsey. Naturally the assumption is that we would change her last name to mine, Miller. However, it’s a rare occasion that we roll with the status quo. When we first started talking about marriage, I tossed out the idea of changing both of our…
December 2010
1 post
September 2010
2 posts
REBRANDING AFRICA: Expectations →
Developing Nations are not often recognized for excellence. However, this has little to do with the level of talent and determination found in these areas. There are thousands of extraordinary artisans and competent entrepreneurs yet to have the opportunity to present their design and product to…
August 2010
4 posts
ubuntu+africa+branding: REBRANDING AFRICA: Image... →
Building a solid brand that fuels a better image for Africa can create an even bigger impact than the direct jobs you are creating with your business. For instance, with KEZA, we stand to generate 200-500 lucrative careers for African artists and entrepreneurs over the next 2 years. This is…
ubuntu+africa+branding: REBRANDING AFRICA:... →
In 2007, The Washington Post did an experiment on context, perception and priorities in which Joshua Bell, an internationally acclaimed musical virtuoso, stationed himself in the Metro, playing his violin (valued at $4 Million) for passersby. He was perceived as any other bum trying to make a buck…
July 2010
2 posts
Africa Inspired Resort 2011 Collection; Tory Burch... →
June 2010
2 posts
RE-BRANDING AFRICA: Entrepreneurs Empower the Poor →
For many years, KEZA has focused on what the aid world refers to as the “poorest of the poor”. It’s become another buzz term like “sustainability” or “capacity building”. These terms help attract volunteers, donors and public awareness. However, we’ve recently taken a step back to reanalyze our…
RE-BRANDING AFRICA: Deconstructing The Brand →
We live in a world where shock value regularly trumps true value. Consequently international aid agencies either play ball or loose the opportunity for funding. And it’s not just the funding mechanisms that are tainted, it’s the “brand” that’s generated in order to garner the funds. The media…
April 2010
2 posts
ubuntu+fashion+africa: There is Purpose →
We see atrocities every day. We incessantly discuss the topics of suffering and death, asking , “why does God allow these things to happen?” In our ignorance, we clamor for meaning. We grow jaded because we’ve fooled ourselves into believing we are capable of understanding the infinite…
ubuntu+fashion+africa: When Greatness is Expected →
The aid world talks incessantly about “sustainability” in Africa, especially in reference to setting up businesses. Isn’t that the least we would expect from a business in the West? If I operated a business in Nashville, TN, it’s unlikely I’d consider myself a success if I merely kept the doors…
January 2010
7 posts
People, Not Haitians
jaredmiller:
A 7.0 earthquake struck Port au Prince, Haiti last evening (1/12/10). This is a devastating blow to an already impoverished country with little infrastructure for stability. It’s estimated that over 3 million people have already been displaced, and the death toll is in the thousands. I’ve been in humanitarian work long enough to know that this is a time to leave the relief work to...
Keep Haiti in your thoughts & prayers - Over 3... →
Let us know if you want to help (jmiller@keza.com) Jared is rallying the troops here in Nashville to send support over to Haiti.
Facebook | Fear.less →
Fear.less may help. It’s a collection of stories from dozens of people - entrepreneurs, scientists, artists, survivors - who have felt what you feel and emerged triumphant. Once the Fear.less e-book comes out in July, these people’s victories can uplift you and their techniques can inspire you. Join us. Be fearless.
Jewelry by Sarah Richey →
Beautiful handmade jewelry! I want it all…. LOVE it!
“We want spiritual principles to be more than beautiful abstractions; we want...”
– Marianne Williamson, Everyday Grace
human universe
“A human being is part of the whole called the “universe,” a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something seperated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of…consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be...
December 2009
1 post
an eclectic selection of handmade items by... →
November 2009
2 posts
It’s About Dignity
jaredmiller:
I wanted to build businesses in Africa because I knew it could help generate a sustainable income. It could free them from dependency on donors and connect them to the same market that allows the western world to thrive economically. I picked the fashion industry above all others because it exemplifies sustainability in its resilience to the ebb and flow of our economy. KEZA...
October 2009
4 posts
Kicking Of The Training Wheels
jaredmiller:
Four years ago we set out to build businesses in Africa for poverty stricken women. We had three major goals.
Create locally (African) owned businesses that provide lucrative careers, resulting in income and dignity.
Set a higher standard and example of a quality products and a preferred brand.
To do it all so well that it attracted more outside investors to do business in...
“ Then a woman said, “Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow.”
And he...”
– The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
Attraction To 'Do Good' Brands Is Escalating... →
jaredmiller:
I’ve been talking about this dynamic for a long time. First wishing it would happen. Then predicting it would. And now they’ve actually done studies to prove that it’s happening. This is what the KEZA brand is built on. These are truly extraordinary times.
May 2009
2 posts
October 2007
2 posts
season's change...
season’s change…
I’m coming to the end of my second year in Uganda, and as all of you know, it’s been full of joy, sorrow, frustration, growth and discovery. I have discovered so much about the world, about Africa, about God, about friendship, about life and about death, and about me. Every moment of my time here has been full and it seems that every minute I have been learning....
Come Sit with Me
Come Sit With Me (a short story) My name is Nyero. I am a young man. Newly married, eager to care for my new bride and start a family of my own. The dirt I stand on has been faithful to my father and to my father’s father, and to my grandfather’s father. This soil has given me life, it has birthed the materials for my home, and it has covered my dead. I grew up playing in this mud with my closest...
August 2007
1 post
learning to hope
learning to hope “I look out today, and I don’t see the same people I saw 2 months ago.” says Mzee Denis, Restore Academy’s English and Literature teacher, as he looked into the faces of our students. “I see doctors, lawyers, teachers, politicians, people who will stand next to those in Washington DC. In less than 2 months you people have changed and grown. As you...
April 2007
1 post
An unlikely friendship.
An unlikely friendship. Whoever said that beauty dwells in the eye of the beholder was genius. Even though it was likely meant to taken in a positive light, I’m learning there may be more to that phrase than I ever realized. Lately, the validity of my own perspective has been consistently challenged. I find it intriguing to watch a man cover his red clay bricks during a sudden rain storm....
March 2007
1 post
justice
“…restoring justice to children and the poorest of the poor” is the mission of the organization I work for. Justice isn’t just a good guy vs. bad guy legal term that is determined in a courtroom with lawyers and judges. One dictionary describes justice as “fairness or reasonableness, especially in the way people are treated or decisions are made”. Sometimes justice means communities are supplied...
February 2007
1 post
back to uganda
Back to Uganda I have just returned to Uganda – for those of you I haven’t talked to in a long time, I’ll be here this time for a year. I was surprised when I landed. Surprised at how familiar everything looked, sounded…smelled. From the plane, the landscape greeted me with a colorful smile. The earth is deep red, the thick bush, green. The sky – more enormous here than I’ve...
November 2006
1 post
some thoughts
some thoughts on some things I’m beginning to understand how true it is, that we may never quite “feel” at home while we are here on earth…no matter where we’re from, nor where faith takes us. I feel somewhat settled here in Uganda, yet at the same time somewhat unsettled that it’s starting to feel like a home here. I recently learned that I’ll be here for at...
August 2006
1 post
can't sleep
can’t sleep. I tried to go to bed an hour ago I took a shower, cleaned my room, got in bed. But I can’t sleep. I can not stop thinking about a couple of stories I heard today… A young girl, abandoned by her parents and living with her grandmother was getting help from a teacher after school one day. He raped her. At age 13 this was her first sexual encounter. Her grandmother...