The Catholic Church owns so much land. They would be a great partner. I like the church as a partner because the infrastructure is already in place. I am also reminded of Mother Mathilda Beasley who led an interesting life. Her husband apparently left her a fortune in the 19th century and she left it to the Catholic Church when she died. She wanted to continue helping children long after she was gone. Everything she put in place and desired for peace has remained in place and things like that are important to me.
Community SolarLender
If a church with excess land could erect large solar grids on their property, they can use some of the excess funds from energy generation to finance their fiscal endeavors. They also can sell solar to smaller churches for a fee.
This money can also help with a much needed school. We need high performing Catholic schools with rigorous academic programs.
If you could make your pet understand one thing, what would it be?
My toy poodle is named after a character in Dragonball Z named Vegeta. He is a very happy puppy. There is no reason he shouldn’t be, he eats all the things he shouldn’t.
I love my dog. But the one thing he must know is that he won’t always get a long walk outside. He’s starting to get aggressive with his doggy energy. He likes to wag his little tail fast and start licking my legs —but the answer is no. I’m just not doing it. It’s too cold outside.
Write about your first name: its meaning, significance, etymology, etc.
My name Chiara which is Italian for “bright” or “light.” After my spiritual transformation I became “Luna de Luz” or simply “La Luz.” That is why I am now Chiara Luz. I smile because all of my name is some form of light energy.
Growing up my name was not popular. People ruined it all the time. It was so bad I wanted to be called Lori. It was just easier. I was told that my name came to be because I was almost not going to be here. My mom was young and in university.
Her plan was to have an abortion and the night before the big day she saw a woman at the edge of her bed. It really scared her frozen. The woman leaned over and placed something on my mom’s mouth. Something like a card. The next morning when she woke up she decided to call me Chiara.
When I went to Italy in middle school I was so excited to see my name on name bracelets. When I was young in America there were only names like Jennifer, Pam, and Stephanie. Definitely not Chiara.
I’m glad the name is gaining popularity although people struggle with it.
This past year I have felt like a hostage at varying points. It’s very uncomfortable. I began to question if my winning streak of joy and wonderment would grind to a halt. That would be disappointing.
I don’t like that idea at all.
I can’t be creative in a prison. It’s the reason I try to follow the laws so I can stay outside. I like to interact with people from all walks of life. I like to see new faces and meet new people—it makes life interesting. A storyteller has to hear stories! Our narratives and books can use more of that. This past year was hard but it was the best year because I am so tapped in. Had I known that the people within a 100 mile radius would be so cool, I would have said hi sooner. I feel like I relate to so many people. That makes me so happy. I can do an entire Ted Talk on the frustrations of my vehicle alone. It’s a guzzler and it has so many problems. But, it’s paid for so I deal with it. That’s the Taurus in me. I can get real comfortable if you let me.
The thought of looking at walls or even the same things over and over is the antithesis of inspiring. I need to be inspired. I live for inspiration—not forced inspiration that occurs under the gun. Are you with me?
Innovation and expression comes from the ability to explore and ruminate over things. I believe the reason that creativity is and has been lacking in our society is because we spend a lot of time looking at each other and what others are doing instead of within and around. The only things that get me frustrated are limitations and perceived restrictions. I believe at some point, these things must move. This is called radical faith. I live by radical faith.
I explored this concept of restriction and greatness on LinkedIn. Do you think there is an incentive to be great? Really drill down and consider what has happened in your career, your life, and relationships. I’m an independent thinker and overall robust experiencer of life. We all should be. If not, we will continually fall short of the glories life has to offer. My priest once said, trouble isn’t going anywhere, but we always have God. I believe that. So even after I rant or get upset, I wholeheartedly believe that what goes down must come up. Restrictions must leave. Mountains will be overcome and This Too Shall Pass.
In honor of that attitude, I’m grateful my phone is still on. You know, with these prices it can get dicey. But I am still connected to you:)
I remember lying next to my friend and lamenting the fact that my relationship was really struggling and I needed—well, everything right now. After much ado about nothing she looked over at me and gave some pretty sound advice. “Girl, just live your truth. It’s says it right here,” she smiled pointing to my shoulder.
All I could do was laugh. The answers I need are in fact inked on my body and I still seem to forget them. I got that tattoo after I had my first daughter Calais. It was a daily reminder to not lose myself in the two kids under two struggle. (That was tough) Later it became a reminder to reclaim my voice and rediscover who I was before “adulting” happened.
In those days, I was drowning and getting lost in the motherhood sauce. It seemed like every other month I was on a quest to rediscover my truth. Parenting, marriage, and adulting is not for the faint of heart. Those early years of child rearing and ASD therapies beat me down sometimes, and humbled me in ways I just wasn’t prepared for.
The things I said I didn’t really want, like the responsible stuff, was upon me over night and I often was just grinning through the motions. But the idea of living your truth is less about thinking, planning and talking things into the ground. It’s more about living.
Technically we live all the time. But for me, “Live Your Truth” is about alignment. It’s about aligning your will and your words to produce actions that leave you feeling whole. I know that’s easier said than done. Not because we are bad people who chose to lie, but, we are people that exist in the midst of pervasive distractions. It gets hard to remember what the truth actually is.
That’s actually where grace comes in. So what if the truth changes from time to time. If it resonates with you—then you are living it. And that’s the truth. (Read that last part again)
Yes, there are some natural born leaders and varying leadership styles, but the ability to lead is often derived from the insight that failure brings. I’ve learned the most from my losses because I seem to like things the hard way. It’s the best way to learn for me. Perhaps I know something good is on the other side of it all so I simply persevere.
It goes without question that a leader should have a vision, be able to communicate it, and have a level of empathy to serve and to motivate. I think the biggest sacrifice a leader makes is through delegation. Delegation is the sign that you are ready to lead. You are ready to take on new challenges and new levels. It’s not easy. When you love something you want to be hands on. You want to be part of all the nuts and bolts of the thing that brought your passionate endeavor about. Yet, as a leader it’s a sign that you are now able to teach others. While it can feel like a sacrifice it ultimately is a great blessing. When you teach others to fish, that’s when you are cooking with gas.
The call to lead is the gift of growth and expansion. To have followers is an even bigger reward and commitment, because hopefully you can instill in them all your knowledge and make them better. You never forget people who make you better. Great leaders have a way of naturally doing this.
I was yesterday years old when I decided that it’s time to delegate. My mind feels more open just thinking about it. I even found time to go back to the gym with my mind freed up a bit. Delegation and inspiration are two of my personal goals this year. I told myself, “hey you can’t take all your wisdom to the grave.” It’s time to share it.
My daughter is a big sharer. So, I am learning from a very wise child how to be a great leader.
If you could un-invent something, what would it be?
Anything that strives to mimic telepathy and most technology overall. Technology is THE artificialist of intelligence because it mimics what can occur naturally. We use modern day assumptions to conclude that things are easier when in fact modern day tech often complicates.
However, since most people are too busy to disengage from tech for any long period of time they will never fully access the possibilities of growth available to them without it. Consider this, why is it that when the super wealthy get money they return to the land or build their homes close to beautiful oceans? Nature is the answer to all things. This is the reason we must protect it.
Can you share a positive example of where you’ve felt loved?
When a family receives a cancer diagnosis for their child it’s surreal. It has taken me eight years to finally talk about it with consistency.
At the time when my daughter received her stage four diagnosis she was three years old. Two days prior I had signed on the dotted line after being hired on the spot to work in public affairs. This came after a stay at home stint I had to navigate with my son after receiving his ASD diagnosis. I just felt as if I was finally catching my breath from therapies, homeschooling, and living on a strict budget—then this happens.
Everyone was devastated, including our Catholic school community where we had a lot of friends. I felt so isolated. I also felt too silenced to know what we would need. But a dear friend immediately organized a meal sign up.
There was a light for us in this very dark place. Over the course of a year we received the most thoughtful meals I have ever received to date. I actually had low expectations, only to discover that these moms were chefs! I learned that a bunch of largely “stay at home moms” were actually the heart of everything. I have never felt so loved. We have never felt so loved. They thought of every person in my family. Even my husband and provided wine, desserts, magazines, and toys. I will never forget it. I vowed to do the same. It’s love like that which inspired The House of Maryam. You can never have enough love of the good kind. I feel like in this regard, I continue to pay things forward. If you are going through something, I got something good for you.
I used to like to text message, but as of late the jury is out on that verdict. I’ve been hacked so bad it had me looking for the bogeyman.
I haven’t used Facebook and Instagram in over a year. I somehow can’t get into my X account but it’s up. I miss it and I am leaving Tik Tok. Honestly, I’ve wanted to leave it for a while, it doesn’t feel safe to me. I’ve been searching for what’s next. Ultimately, I may settle on YouTube. It supports long form content and that is my goal.
With that being said, if you ever have been in contact with me, or think you have—be careful. It may have not been me. If it was me, you would be able to feel it.
Trust your intuition. I would never initiate a conversation. I would never ask for money. I would never do anything salacious online. Lastly, I would never swindle or harm a person. Hopefully you have only had good encounters with me or my content.
Additionally, you can always find me on LinkedIn (the best place)here on my website email, and on my Medium page as well. Email is great, but I know LinkedIn isn’t going anywhere.
But I tend to just box them up. Now I have too many boxes. I no longer trust computer clouds so I’m glad I have back up. I just need a better storage system.
I used to have a black cat named Fabio. I inherited him from a friend from acting class who had recently snagged a book deal and was moving to New York. She actually left me with two. The other one was named Inga. Yes, Inga and Fabio. (My friend was Swedish, hence the names). I wasn’t too into cats when I agreed to take them on, but I didn’t want to turn them over to the pound.
Fabio was great. I felt a deep connection to him. I loved his sleek black fur and piercing green eyes. He was very Egyptian-esque and he loved to languish next to me whenever I was around. I don’t own a cat now. But I love cats. I love how independent and mysterious they are. You can’t really control a cat like you can a dog, however, when you gain their trust it’s so special. Cats are the reliable type of friend that’ll be there when you really need them. They may not be there all the time, but they come in at the right moments to remind you of their presence.
Ultimately, I had to give Inga away. She suffered from a lot of anxiety and she could never relax. My roommate joked that Fabio sabotaged her position in our family. Maybe he did. He definitely liked attention and in the end it was just the three of us. That is until he successfully pushed my roommate out and it became just him and I. That’s right, Chi and Fabs.
If you had a freeway billboard, what would it say?
It could seem like a pipe dream at the moment, but dreams are really whispers from heaven. They tend to move on if you don’t capture them. You must Go. Create. And Build what you desire to see. Sometimes you can take things with you and sometimes you can’t. Some times you may have a team, sometimes it’s just you. But if you answer any call, it means you feel equipped enough for the task ahead.
If I drove by a billboard that challenged me to Go. Create and Build, the words would surreptitiously embed themselves deep within my psyche. The call would quicken my understanding and knowing that my true job would be building a nation. The first action is to go. Go towards that shot in the dark and place myself in a position to manifest that interior imagery.
When you realize it’s only you who has answered, you can then build. Remember, many are called but the laborers are few. Yet the laborers will come once you erect it. This is how plans are made—you first must answer the call.
I’ve decided to make that my own mantra. I hope it will serve as a reminder that so much of what we desire begins with a whisper and the rest is in our hands.
