December 2019 HBB President Update

Photo by Joel Anderson

December 2019 President Monthly Ezine

I continue to observe something that I've written about before in Perspectives in Healing - folks actively searching for the Attributes of the Heart. This also was how I talked about the movie shown at our conference this year, Won't You Be My Neighbor. I think this movie and the current Renaissance around Fred Rogers is an excellent of example of for what people are starving.

Think it's all in my head? Well, there's a more recent biopic starring Tom Hanks as Mr. Rogers. There are numerous articles about this resurgence. And there's this new podcast called Finding Fred that explores the very idea of why everyone is being drawn to Mr. Rogers in today's world.

As healers, we know the answer to this question. He eloquently demonstrated healing presence, unconditional love, compassion, and innate harmony, which were funneled into his joyful service. These Attributes of the Heart are not foreign to us. We work to incorporate them into our heart-centered approach to life each day. Many of us also work to include gratitude and dignity as well.

As we watched the film before our conference opened and when I listen to the podcast, I remember Mr. Rogers' presence in my life. Growing up in rural Appalachia, educational resources were limited. My elementary school made use of public broadcasting and shows like Sesame Street and Mr. Roger's Neighborhood to fill the gaps. For a kid on a mountaintop on what seemed like the middle of nowhere, public broadcasting showed me the world and all of its wonders. It sparked my imagination and inquisitiveness, traits that serve me well today in my professorial role.

But it fed the fire of compassion just as much. During movie night, I saw the thread of the Attributes of the Heart through my life and how one of the first people really to display those traits to me in such an adept way was Fred Rogers. And for that, I am grateful.

As the solstice nears, the seasons change, and the year comes to a close, I have been thinking about all that has occurred in 2019 and all of the promise of 2020 and a new decade. Being students, practitioners, and instructors of this heart-centered work of ours, we are aware of energetic flows. Our theme this year of "the Art of Compassion and Healing" reflects not only the unwavering ability of our community to hold an energetically vibration high, but to do so with tenderness, strength, and finesse.

Since the founding of our organization, our mission and vision of spreading healing light and restoring wholeness on Earth has been a beacon to those seeking wisdom, healing, and holism. May it ever be so.

Each of you provides compassionate leadership and unconditional love to our planet and all of its beings. During the holy days ahead, on behalf of the Board of Directors and staff of Healing Beyond Borders, I wish you peace, hope, and prosperity.

In light, 

Joel G. Anderson, PhD, FGSA, CHTP
President, Healing Beyond Borders Board of Directors