Author Archives: RFBF

Evaluating Workplace Religious Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Using the Kaizen HC Model of Religious Inclusion

By Dr. Ed Hasan, Washington, DC

Should a public servant be allowed to wear a crucifix at work? What about a kippah or a hijab?

These are deceptively simple questions that have been hotly debated throughout the world—in fact, the question of whether or not police officers should be allowed to wear religious dress has resurfaced in the Netherlands where it continues to be disallowed. So often the answer depends on one’s own religious conviction or lack thereof—and the conversation can descend into a quagmire of personal beliefs and perceptions about the role of neutrality in the public sector.

At the heart of these conversations is actually the concept of belonging: Who gets to show up as their full selves at work? And, how do we know the answer to that question?

It is undeniable that religious affiliation is a central influence on people’s identities. Despite this, religiously diverse people have been all but forgotten in workplace efforts around diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) initiatives. This means that organizations that embrace the importance of workers bringing their full identities to work when it comes to gender and race are ignoring a critical component of identity: religion. At the same time, according to a new Deseret News/HarrisX survey, 80% of business leaders say employees’ being open about their faiths is “good for company culture.”

So while many leaders see the importance of faith at work and are open to religion-related programming, religiously diverse people and religious identity aren’t being integrated into formal structures and DEIB initiatives the same way race and gender are. (It’s not all on business leaders. Only 54% of non-leaders agreed that faith is good for company culture—many seemingly due to a fear of repercussions or tension with colleagues.) Often, the result is that workers are forced to hide their religion. Employers would never require a worker to hide their race or gender–that would be unimaginable. Why, then, should we expect employees to hide their religious identities?

To become an organization that reaches DEIB maturity, it is imperative to embrace religious identity alongside other identities—and to do so formally and with as much dedication as any other identity.

But how does an organization, its leaders and employees, and society at large know how successful we are at including religious identity at work? How do we know what to do next?

Image credit: Dr. Ed Hasan, Washington, DC

Built upon both scholarship around religious diversity and work with organizations seeking to become more inclusive, the Kaizen HC Model of Religious Inclusion helps organizations, leaders, and workers evaluate religious inclusion practices and determine what the path ahead might be. There are four levels to the model:

Level 1: Avoidance – Organizations at this level do not recognize the need for religious diversity in the workplace. Most Level 1 organizations are homogenous and avoid the subject of religion or promote only one religion, often the dominant societal religion. Avoidance might look like refusing to discuss religious accommodations with employees whose needs are deemed strange or are different from the dominant religion, for example.

Level 2: Compliance – Organizations that reach this level meet existing legal requirements, but go no further. Level 2 organizations are guided by a desire to avoid lawsuits and associated costs. For instance, to be compliant, an organization may say that employees who are Muslim women are allowed to wear the hijab at work, but in reality, that employer might not actually hire any Muslim women who wear the hijab. Just because the bare minimum is being done to meet legal protections doesn’t mean religious people are actually being protected.

Level 3: Emerging – Organizations that reach this level seek to make their workplaces safe for people of all religious backgrounds (or none) and see the benefits of including religious diversity among other DEIB efforts. Level 3 organizations are content with their internal work and do not seek to push the external conversation further. This may result in a broad expression of religious “tolerance,” but it doesn’t necessarily create belonging—a concept organizations at this level still find elusive. This can translate to microaggressions between coworkers who may not share religious identities.

Level 4: Transformational – Organizations that reach the final level ensure that religiously diverse people aren’t just safe and included, but also belong at the workplace as religious people. For Level 4 organizations, religion is an integral part of their DEIB strategy and programming—including employee resource groups. Furthermore, organizations at this level advocate externally for religious freedom in society and the workplace. A compelling example of a Transformational organization is Chobani, the yogurt maker, which has time and again advocated for all their employees to be their full selves–inclusive of religious identity and refugee status. In the case of CEO Hamdi Ulukaya this has looked like speaking publicly about the importance of hiring and supporting religiously diverse employees, advocating for the rights of all workers inclusive of religious identities, and much more. The Corporate Religious Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (REDI) Index also provides insight into the companies that are most faith-friendly workplaces, many of which could be described as reaching Level 4, including American Airlines, an organization which utilizes ERGs, provides chaplain care, and makes accommodations available for religiously diverse employees, among many other efforts.

You might be tempted to jump in and use this model immediately to decide if your organization is doing a “good” or “bad” job at religious inclusion. You might even want to change everything at your workplace. While that energy is commendable, it’s best to slow down, take a deep breath, and reassure yourself that this isn’t black and white. This model is not meant to be one size fits all or to give any organization a stamp of approval. Instead, the Kaizen HC Model of Religious Inclusion is a living tool that works in concert with other frameworks, initiatives, and philosophies to help you chart the path ahead.

Most importantly, this framework can help you identify organizations at the level you’re reaching for, what work they’ve done around religious inclusion, what they’ve learned through the process, and how they moved from one level to another. In Embracing Workplace Religious Diversity and Inclusion, we explore several organizations and the specific scenarios they have faced, even rating them on the scale, so you can become fluent with the tool and its application.

Regardless of where your organization falls on this model, don’t panic or give up. Organizational cultures evolve and change—using this model, you can help shape your culture to become all the more inclusive of religiously diverse people.

Want to learn more about the Kaizen HC Model of Religious Inclusion and about the business, moral, and legal cases for inclusion? Pick up Embracing Workplace Religious Diversity and Inclusion, Dr. Ed Hasan’s in-depth exploration of the current state of workplace religious diversity and inclusion where the Kaizen HC Model of Religious Inclusion is first introduced.

UVU Pres. Astrid Tuminez joins CEO King Husein & Maj. Gen. (ret) Jefferson Burton, to keynote Utah Interfaith@Work on 11/11, Veterans Day

I’m pleased to announce that Utah Valley University Pres. Astrid Tuminez will join Span Construction and Engineering CEO King Husein and Utah legislator/Maj. Gen. (ret) Jefferson Burton, to keynote our Utah Interfaith@Work Summit on 11/11, Veterans Day, on the “Silicon Slopes” just south of Salt Lake City.

These three top leaders will discuss why Faith matters to people in the workplace and why it should be accommodated.

Dr. Astrid S. Tuminez will discuss why this matters globally; King Husein will share how the movement in Fortune 500 companies to religious inclusion is so encouraging; and Maj. Gen. (ret) Jefferson Burton will describe how the spiritual care of chaplains in the military is a great model for providing spiritual care in the workplace.

President Astrid Tuminez

Dr. Astrid S. Tuminez (pronounced too-MEE-nez) was appointed the seventh president of Utah Valley University in 2018. Born in a farming village in the Philippine province of Iloilo, she moved with her parents and siblings to the slums of Iloilo City when she was 2 years old, her parents seeking better educational opportunities for their children.

Her pursuit of education eventually took her to the United States, where she graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in international relations and Russian literature from Brigham Young University (1986). She later earned a master’s degree from Harvard University in Soviet Studies (1988) and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in political science (1996).

Before UVU, President Tuminez was an executive at Microsoft, where she led corporate, external, and legal affairs in Southeast Asia. She also served as vice dean of research at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. She has worked in philanthropy and venture capital in New York City and is a permanent member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She is the author of Russian Nationalism Since 1856: Ideology and the Making of Foreign Policy and many other publications. She and her husband, Jeffrey S. Tolk, have three children. In her spare time, she enjoys running, dancing, and traveling.

Nov. 4, 2022

It is important to understand the geography of the Middle East. At the Israel-Lebanon border, I was closer to Beirut (120 km) than to Jerusalem (205 km).

Running up through the middle of Israel is a mountain range, with the pinnacle being mount Carmel. This mountain range goes north into the sea with a conclusion that includes a grotto. The mountain range also separates Israel and Lebanon at this point. At the border crossing, the train route – that used to connect Haifa with Beirut – is sealed off … the last time the gate was opened was in 2008 for a prisoner exchange where Lebanese and Palestinians were exchanged for two Israeli soldiers’ bodies.

By Brian Grim | Guest Post on our blog series, Authenticity & Connection.

Crossing the border, my guide (unprompted) articulated RFBF’s philosophy: Business as a vehicle for covenantal pluralism & peace

After going through the Israeli security wall from Jerusalem into Bethlehem, our group’s Israeli tour guide (below left) no longer had authority to operate. As he handed authority to our Palestinian tour guide (below right), he told me, “business together is really the way for us to prosper together in peace.”

His observation went deeper than just business because he, as a Jewish guide, had just shown us around Jerusalem with a deep understanding of Judaism, Islam and Christianity, representing each fairly and winsomely. And now, he passed us to a Palestinian Christian who showed how two people from somewhat different worlds and faiths can work together in a business venture because of that appreciation for each other and the other’s beliefs – a perfect model of what we call Covenantal Pluralism.

The next day I saw this approach institutionalized at the Peres Center for Innovation & Peace, founded in 1996 by the late Shimon Peres, a Nobel Peace Laureate and former President of Israel, which brings together Arabs and Jews into joint initiatives, ranging from soccer competitions to cutting edge innovative start-ups.

Below are pictures that I took at the Center: first, of Shimon Peres’ Nobel medal, and second, of a hologram of Dr. Kobi Richter, CTO of Medinol, an Israeli heart stint company. Richter was one of 12 innovators featured as interactive holograms sharing their innovation stories.

Richter with his wife, Dr. Judith Richter, CEO of Medinol, were friends of Peres, and are doing what the Peres Center promotes through the NIR School of the Heart, which helps high school students of all faiths from Jordan, Israel and Palestine to not only understand cardio-vascular career opportunities but also connect their hearts.

On Thursday, Judith and I, joined by JP Morgan Chase’s Jean Sung, will deliver an invited plenary address to the Global Wellness Summit on the value of faith to wellness. The global wellness industry is a $4.5 trillion sector covering everything from resorts and fitness to health and wellbeing products and services. This summit attracts the top CEOs working in this field from scores of countries around the world.

On Friday, I’ll be making my way to the far north of Israel, to the border with Lebanon. I’ve been to Lebanon several times, but this is the first to its neighbor, Israel. Having been on both sides of several borders, I’m left with hope that what unites can be stronger than what divides.

Prayerfully yours from Tel Aviv.

By Rev. Melissa Maher and David Roland, Houston, Texas | Guest Post reacting to research by the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation. This is part of our Blog Series, Authenticity & Connection.

“Thank God we don’t all lose hope on the same day.” This gratitude prayer echoes across the room every week. As hope dealers (yes, an intentional play on words because some congregants once dealt other things), we who have received hope share it freely with all.  Hope. Everyone needs some.

Since the late 1990’s, Mercy Street, a church community in Houston, Texas, stands as a public witness to the messy and transformative work of practicing spirituality AND recovery.  About 60% of us work a 12-step program in the traditions of Al-Anon, AA, SLAA or CA. Yet 100% of us are in recovery from life. We are a safe harbor to bring your whole story—the light and shadows. Faith and doubt.

If you attended our church on a Saturday night, you’d be sitting next to a miracle: either a CEO who kicked workaholism to the curb to discover a wealth of real relationships or a woman with an ankle monitor and a PO (parole officer) searching for an employer sympathetic to her past and attentive to her present.

Mercy Street reveals at a micro level the macro trends outlined in the 2019 research by father-daughter team Brian and Melissa Grim, Belief, Behavior, and Belonging: How Faith is Indispensable in Preventing and Recovering from Substance Abuse. Their research amplified the influence and economic contribution 130,000 faith communities have by working alongside treatment providers and the 12-step community to address the growing epidemic of addiction and mental illness.

Deaths from opioid overdoses topped 100,000 Americans in 2021, nearly double the number of deaths from 2018.  How do we change the tide? One of the primary ways to reduce addiction is by shattering the stigma and bringing to light the struggles we each encounter. We are only as sick as our secrets, and what is hidden often grows in the dark.

Now is a time we need faith communities, clergy, healthcare providers and employers to recognize the fragile ground on which we stand and the practical tools we have within arm’s reach.  As an ordained pastor, I’ve intentionally learned the language of addiction and how best to connect with treatment and recovery resources in Houston. At a national level, Mercy Street is working with a growing inter-faith network to address substance use disorders. It is also a time for business leaders and companies to provide resources to their employees to seek help before a crisis erupts.

For one of our congregants, his life experience and participation in Mercy Street has enriched his 35-year legal career. David writes,

     My wife and I have been active members of Mercy Street for over 10 years. For the last 18 years, I have been employed as a senior executive and chief legal officer of two NYSE-listed companies. My faith has made me a more effective business leader, manager and lawyer, and I also believe my experiences as an executive, manager and lawyer have greatly enriched my faith journey.

     I could give numerous examples of why I believe this to be true, but perhaps the best example is how my faith informs and influences my performance as a manager. My faith enables me to be more empathetic, forgiving and patient toward employees, less prone to over-reactions and more able to view developments with a broader perspective.

     I’ve gained a broader perspective because of my participation in the Mercy Street community. Becoming close friends and being church with a former homeless person, a drug addict or survivor of human trafficking provide an unexpected and immeasurable perspective. 

     When I am interviewing a person, I focus on their experience and qualifications, but my hiring decision is always more influenced by the whole person – their presence, personality, maturity, character, even their sense of humor. My experience is that the most effective professionals (especially lawyers) also possess intangible traits that result in a level of wisdom and discernment which is far less common.

     Because I strive to hire the entire person, the employee must be willing to apply their whole, authentic self to their job. My job as a manager is to foster an environment where an employee is willing to be vulnerable and bring their whole self to work. The last thing I want is for an employee to leave those intangibles, including their faith, at home. I try to be open with employees about my personal and family life, including our struggles, and I encourage employees to freely talk about their home life. I reference my faith, and, perhaps most importantly, I repeatedly remind employees while it is important to devote our time and effort to our jobs, our work is not our most important function on this earth. Our ultimate reason for existing is greater than any “to do” list.

     After working with exceptional professionals over a 35-year legal career, I have discovered those uncommon intangibles almost always include a strong faith in a higher power, regardless of whether it is defined by any one religion.

Mercy Street is just one example of the impact faith communities can have in developing a thriving society. Even as church membership and worship attendance decline nationwide, we believe there are pockets of hope. The essentials for us are show up to God and show up for one another. Be where our feet are because Jesus is there too. Swim in the ocean of God’s radical grace because we’re living proof our worst days won’t be our last days.

There is hope, and if you run out, you can borrow some of ours.

Here’s Cecilia’s Story:

New UK Prime Minister Makes History as First Hindu to Hold Such Office in the West

By Brian Grim

While some may find it surprising that the United Kingdom now has an Indian-origin and practicing Hindu as its new Prime Minister, the impact of Indian-origin politicians, business leaders and medical professionals is an entirely predictable trend.

Six top U.S. tech companies now have India-born CEOs. While it is not a matter of public record whether all of these CEOs practice Hinduism (and certainly not all India-born CEOs do, e.g., Span Construction CEO King Husein is Christian), having a rising number of US India-born CEOs draws attention to a little-known data point from our study prepared a few years ago for the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Role of Faith.

We estimate that global GDP at the disposal of Hindu populations is expected to increase by 615% between 2010 and 2050 (see chart). This growth in GDP is substantially more than projected overall global GDP growth of 216% for the same time period. This not only outpaces overall growth, but is makes Hindus the fastest growing economic group among all major religions, according to the study.

This means we can expect to hear much more from Hindus on the global stage in the coming years. That can, of course, be very good when compared to the anti-religious stance of their giant neighbor, China, as long as the voice is one that promotes a faith-friendly future for all (including those without a faith), as espoused by Covenantal Pluralism.

But the challenge is real: A recent survey by the Pew Research Center finds that Indians generally say they do not have much in common with members of other religious groups, and large majorities in the six major groups say their close friends come mainly or entirely from their own religious community. And reports of communal violence continue to cause concern.

On the other hand, there is a tremendous open door for Covenantal Pluralism to grow: The same Pew survey found that most people (84%) say that to be “truly Indian,” it is very important to respect all religions (see chart). Indians also are united in the view that respecting other religions is a very important part of what it means to be a member of their own religious community (80%). People in all six major religious groups overwhelmingly say they are very free to practice their faiths, and vast majority (91%) say that people of other faiths also are very free to practice their own religion.

The open door for Covenantal Pluralism is even more evident (and promising) when looking at common practices across India’s religious groups. Pew’s study also finds that India’s religious groups share several religious practices and beliefs (see chart): “After living side by side for generations, India’s minority groups often engage in practices or hold beliefs that are more closely associated with Hindu traditions than with their own. For instance, many Sikh (29%), Christian (22%) and Muslim (18%) women in India say they wear a bindi – the forehead marking often worn by married women – even though the bindi has Hindu origins. Meanwhile, Muslims in India are just as likely as Hindus to say they believe in karma (77% each), as do 54% of Indian Christians. Some members of the majority Hindu community celebrate Muslim and Christian festivals: 7% of Indian Hindus say they celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid, and 17% celebrate Christmas.”

While Western Christian theologians might scratch their heads to find that nearly a third (29%) of Indian Christians believe in reincarnation (just 11 percentage points fewer than Hindus, 40%), it reveals the actual beliefs and practices of people. As the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation emphasizes in its religious literacy programs for corporations, people cannot be best understood by beliefs theologians may hold, but by their actual beliefs, what faith organizations they belong to, and their behaviors, which may be idiosyncratic or cultural, rather than dogmatic or religiously mandated.

This open door of shared beliefs and practices – as shown by the Pew data –  is one which companies in India can capitalize on and be the drivers of mutually respectful engagement across faith traditions, as is demonstrated by one of our 2021 Global Business & Interfaith Peace Award winners, Candice Corby, CEO of US and India-based Cobra Legal Solutions.

The text of Corby’s Award states: “Cobra provides rights and freedoms for all religions and beliefs in the workplace and promotes the celebration of religion and belief, encouraging employees to be their full selves including bringing their faith and beliefs to work. Cobra Legal Solutions accomplishes the goal of being a religiously inclusive workplace by observing every festival and religious holiday world-wide and by hosting a commemoration for religions in a week known as “Cobra Life Week” [see video].”

And for an example of an Indian-born CEO working for religious freedom, see this video:

80% of business leaders say it’s “good for company culture” to encourage employees to be open about their faith, according to a new Deseret News/HarrisX nationally representative poll

A summary of the findings by Deseret News’ Kelsey Dallas notes that while business leaders are at times reluctant to reveal their own faith, they are more open to religion-related programming in the workplace. The survey finds that 8-in-10 business decision-makers say that it’s “good for company culture” to encourage employees to be open about their faith.

Additionally, according to the survey, 3-in-4 business leaders said discussions about religious beliefs make workers happier.

RFBF’s senior corporate advisor Kent Johnson, coming from a 37-year career with Texas Instruments, shared his thoughts on this with Kelsey Dallas. Read more here.

Also, see more on Kent’s thoughts on the contributions faith makes to corporate culture in the video below, or meet him at the 5th Annual DFW Summit for Religious Freedom on Oct. 27th in Dallas at SMU!

By Brian Grim

NEW: First Comprehensive Resource on Religion’s Impact in America

Faith Counts, a multi-faith nonprofit group, recently launched a first-of-its-kind database that distills the latest research on how religion positively impacts the most important issues facing America.

Two of the studies that my daughter, Melissa Grim, and I did on the economic contribution of faith to society are featured:

• Socio-economic impact: Religions in the United States today contribute a combined $1.2 trillion a year to the economy and society.

• Substance abuse addiction: Faith-based recovery programs provides $316 billion annually in savings to U.S. economy.

However, studies highlighting the impact of faith and religion are often aimed at scholars and academics, making it difficult to find the meaningful information too often buried in published works that can be difficult for the non-scholar to navigate.

Faith Facts uses videos, infographics and shareables to pull out key data points to detail the invaluable role faith communities play in supporting the economy, healthcare, immigration, criminal justice, substance abuse and disaster relief. They have been particularly critical during this historically difficult period, supporting:

• — Disaster relief:  About 58% of all emergency shelter beds are faith-based
• — Criminal justice:  There are 12,000 congregations in the U.S. that have prisoner outreach groups
• — Immigration: Over 30,000 congregations have programs to help immigrants

Check it out!

Related Video

by Steven A Hitz. Steve is a co-founder of Launching Leaders Worldwide. Launching Leaders, a partner of Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, has engaged participants in more than 70 countries on six continents through a faith-based personal leadership curriculum which empowers participants everywhere. This is a guest post in our ongoing blog series, Authenticity & Connection.

A pastor noticed that a parishioner had stopped attending his services. The parishioner evidently felt he was no longer noticed, loved, or missed by his attendance, so he simply stopped coming.

The pastor gave it some prayerful thought and paid a visit to the elderly man on a very snowy and cold winter day. He knocked on the door. The man opened the door, and they had a cordial greeting, but beyond that, neither said a word.

The man motioned to a chair to join him by the fire. After a good time of only the sound of wood and coals crackling and feeling the warmth of the fire, the pastor picked up the fire prod and began poking at the coals. He moved a glowing coal away from the fire. They both sat watching as the coal lost its heat and eventually stopped glowing. Several minutes went by in silence. Then, the pastor pulled the coal back to the edge of the fire as they watched it rekindle and glow again, adding heat and luster as the glowing embers glistened off their warming faces. The pastor put the prod down, tipped his hat and walked to the door and let himself out.

The following Sabbath, the man returned to the congregation. The pastor welcomed him by name and asked what brought him back. The man said “Pastor, at my home by the fire, you gave the best sermon I’ve ever heard you give without saying a word.”

This story I recently heard is directly relatable to the epidemic of anxiety and depression in our world today, especially among our youth. Feelings of anxiety and depression often lead to isolation. The healing process is a two-way street. Those who notice the dying ember must reach for it and bring it back into the fire. Those who are the dying ember must allow themselves to be open to authentic outreach and be willing to be moved (both on their own and by the love of the community).

The question is how to begin this outreach. One of the more evident answers is to do as the pastor did, and not say a word—just listen and be there for each other.

In his book, Happy Mind Happy Life, Dr. Rangan Chatterjee articulated 10 rules for listening to others.

1. 1. Be non-judgmental.
2. 2. Be curious.
3. 3. Practice true sympathy: not “I know how you’re feeling,” but, “I don’t know how you’re feeling but I am here for you.”
4. 4. Take time to really listen; don’t just think about the next thing you’re going to say.
5. 5. Show them you are listening with your body language—posture, tone of voice, eye contact, not being distracted by your phone.
6. 6. Don’t try to predict where the conversation will go next.
7. 7. Embrace silence.
8. 8. Repeat back what they’re saying in your own language.
9. 9. Don’t try to fix them or rush in to tell them what you would do. Instead, try asking “How did that feel for you?” and then actively listen without interruption.
10. 10. Have no attachment to the outcome of the conversation.

There are also keys for listening to ourselves and surrounding ourselves with people in selective circles of trust. Parker J. Palmer, talks about developing circles of trust in his book, A Hidden Wholeness. Not surprising, he notes both the need for companionship and community in our journey, as well as being able to live in silence to effectively “listen” for our inner voice. He writes “….We all have an inner teacher whose guidance is more reliable than anything we can get from a doctrine, ideology, collective belief system, institution, or leader.”

Becoming acquainted with our inner voice (or teacher) is essential. Though it is a unique voice for each of us, it still requires community for our inner truth to leave isolation. This journey toward inner truth, he said, is too taxing to be made solo, too deeply hidden to be traveled without company, and needed to find the courage to venture into alien lands (a new life of fulfillment).

The space we make to discover and listen to this inner voice is highly individual. No two people may take the exact journey, and that is the beauty of discovering our inner voice It is OUR personal teacher—no one else’s. It is OUR personal tutor and speaks only to us if we are listening.

For me, finding my inner voice requires peace. In some recent travels I had a chance to compare total chaos in a busy city to the absolute peace of a secluded lake. What was the difference between them? The city was a cacophony of noise with masses of people like salmon swimming upstream. While at the lake, I could sit and hear myself breathe as I viewed the large expanses of mountains and water. The silence around me brought the peace I was seeking, and my inner voice began to speak to me. Those trusted friends who were with me were kind enough to watch me breathe without saying a word, until I was ready to reveal some of what my inner voice was telling me. I extended the same courtesy to them. This became a beautifully healing experience.

In all my research and lived experiences dealing with these issues, I’ve felt simple observations and suggestions like these are helpful. The formula that works for me in lowering my anxiety and limiting bouts of depression are these:

• – Find a place for peaceful silence without being too isolated; a space to hear the inner voice guiding your next steps.
• – Be with trusted friends and family who have the skills to listen, really listen (sometimes without saying a word), and to enjoy the warmth of their figurative fires to keep the embers of hope alive.
• – Practice the art of listening as you figuratively reach for the fire poker and gather in the dying embers to ignite hope.

Evolution requires reflection. I hope as you reflect on the impressions of the inner voice, ponder the story of the dying ember, and commit to a being a better listener, you will discover ways to be reignited and experience the glow and warmth you truly deserve.