Yes, the road is paved with good intentions...

The year is drawing to a close, and I am trying to get everything done that I had hoped to get done much earlier.  Where does time go?  All those good intentions I had are now breathing down my neck, with just days to go before year end.

I have many good intentions. Don’t we all? But in the rush of every day life, my good intentions sometimes seem to get lost.  The call I meant to make, or the note I had hoped to write, or the visit I wish I had made.  

Sometimes the list of “shoulds” is much longer than wants, and I know I need to honor more of my intentions.  This next year I would like to forgive myself for some of those things on my list that truly are not as important – and work to focus on those things that truly do matter.

Here’s a start: Being present and listening.  Being intentional.  Valuing what is important to me. Speaking up.

So this holiday season I am going to forgive myself for not cleaning out my attic, finishing my daughter’s baby book (she is 13), organizing my files, cleaning my car or baking all the cookies that my mother used to.  

Instead, it’s enough that I got a mammogram, reached out, donated my time and money, spent time listening, asked my daughter to do her squirrel imitation one more time and hugged people I love.

I hope your holiday is filled with one or two good intentions. Let the other stuff go.

Sequoias and endowments

On a recent trip to California, I had the opportunity to spend some time with large trees: Redwoods, Sugar Pines and Sequoias. I marveled at their size and majesty in grandeur and wondered how they started and how they grew. Some are as old as 2,500 years and are still growing strong.

They all started from seeds that grew in a pine cone. The Giant Sequoias have very tiny seeds and benefit from fire to help them get established and to grow.  The Sugar Pines are not giant pine trees, but they do have an unusual shape – especially when piled with snow as they were when I saw them.  They actually have the largest pine cone in the world, measuring 12” to 16” long. Over time, these giant trees have weathered many adversities and have continued to grow.

Endowments are like seeds. They hold the promise for a better future. They can start small or start large. This is the charitable season of the year, a time to reflect on quality-of-life issues for ourselves, our families, our communities and the many organizations working to make a difference in the arts, human services, historic preservation, the environment and many other areas.

Recent articles in USA Today (Nov. 30, 2010) on “Sharing in the USA” and the Chronicle of Philanthropy highlight many organizations’ seasonal activities that respond to human needs. Raising money to meet these needs is a greater challenge today, but organizations should not ignore the importance of having conversations with supporters about needing funds for future operations. Research has shown that people give for many different reasons, and there are different kinds of giving.

Many nonprofit organizations have been surprised and delighted to learn that a donor has made a bequest to their organization as part of his or her will, or to learn that they have been named a beneficiary of an endowed fund. These gifts came from caring individuals who more than likely knew of the work being done by these organizations and chose to make a special gift above and beyond annual operating expenditures.

These endowed gifts grow over time and are like the seeds from pine cones. Endowed funds have been a part of our culture for only a few hundred years. The promise is that they will continue to grow and serve their purpose for hundreds of years to come.

The North Carolina Community Foundation is like a pine cone, holding many seedling endowed funds for the future benefit of our communities.

Photo: Peggy peeks inside a giant Sequoia, which she said would hold at least 20 people.