I do not have a large vocabulary. As I read more and more blogs, I find myself accessing Merriam-Webster more frequently. The fact that I look-up words other bloggers use humors me, because I typically don’t look-up words when I am reading books.
More often than not, I can figure out the general meaning of the word in a book, based on the author’s use of the word and the storyline. Understanding the words used by bloggers takes greater effort because fewer words are used; plus, I need to have a clear understanding of the post, if I want to leave a comment.
Today, while reading Val’s Absurd Old Bird blog, I found out she tipped her hat to me by honoring me with a Liebster Blog award. Of course, when I first read ‘Liebster’ I read Lobster. (I blame my lack of vocabulary and short attention span.)
Once I realized I was not awarded a creature from the ocean floor, I took to my trusty Merriam-Webster (MW) link to see if I could find meaning in the word ‘Liebster’. Interestingly enough, the word was not in the dictionary, though MW suggested I try the word ‘lobster’.
Now, for the record, the purpose of the Liebster award is to acknowledge blogs with fewer than 200 followers. Seeing as the number of my followers doesn’t break 100, I fit the bill.
Okay, to continue jumping from thought to thought, I wanted to find out more about Liebster. The word seemed special to me. For whatever reason, I couldn’t just run with the award and not research the name. So, I Googled it.
Come to find out there is a foundation called “The Arnold Liebster Foundation“. Imagine my surprise when I read the first few words included in the Google search results: “Purpose of this foundation is to promote peace, tolerance, human rights and religious freedom through education..”
Intrigued, I went to the foundation’s website and read their mission statement, which I am sharing with you here:
“The Arnold-Liebster Foundation seeks to promote peace, tolerance, human rights, and religious freedom by peaceful and nonpolitical means. Building on the Holocaust-era experiences of its founders, Max Liebster and Simone Arnold Liebster, the foundation supports historical research, teacher training, educational seminars, scholarly publications, roundtable discussions, museum exhibitions, film showings, and similar projects.
Through these activities, the foundation especially aims to help young people to repudiate racism, xenophobic nationalism, and violence, and to learn to listen to the voice of conscience. The Liebsters have addressed numerous audiences at schools, universities, museums, and public events in more than 60 European and North American cities.
The Arnold-Liebster Foundation is based on the founders’ lifelong commitment to peace education.”
The timing and coincidence of the award is perfect. Yesterday, I wrote a post about the upcoming ‘anniversary’ of September 11, 2001. In my post, I mentioned how we have forgotten about racism, among other things. And, I mentioned how our lack of tolerance is kindling for a fire of violence. In addition, I’ve written about a documentary film released earlier this year titled, “The Interrupters“.
I don’t claim to be perfect. In fact, this morning I was far from peaceful, as I battled with my boys and husband over various things. No, tolerance was not in my heart this morning. And maybe this is why I write what I write …
Perhaps I am inspired to write about peace, acceptance, and tolerance, because I struggle with those actions in my own life. As long as my eyes remain open to my own weakness, I believe I am better equipped to change myself and accept others. (Though honestly, having tolerance (and patience) at home seems far more challenging than having tolerance (and patience) in the outside world.)
In any case, the above is a long winded way of accepting Val’s nod graciously, while also taking the time to acknowledge others with the non-lobster-related Liebster Blog Award.
Now knowing about the Arnold Liebster Foundation, I feel it necessary to give a nod to bloggers I believe promote peace, tolerance, human rights, and religious freedom. Fact is – all of the bloggers I follow write about the good stuff. Furthermore, I think I’ve mentioned everyone in prior posts. Still, in case you are new, let me point you to some specific posts, and check out my blogroll for other winners.
HavocandShine: I’ve mentioned Leslie in previous posts. I met her in the blogosphere, and I admire her resolve with the struggles of daily life. Having lost her brother this year to Cancer and raising her three awesome boys, while living the life of a married single Mom due to her husband’s work schedule, Leslie keeps her humor active and her insight sharp. Here is a post she wrote earlier this week about autism.
As A Linguist: I need Merriam-Webster when I read Ms. Linguist’s posts. Her writing challenges me, because she provides such wonderful detail. I mean all of this in a good way, too. Her post about Dorothy Parker is so informative, I felt as though I was a fan of Dorothy from the start. L is a linguist; according to my MW dictionary… this means she knows languages and stuff like that.
The Monster in Your Closet: Deb has a category within her blog titled: Thankful. When you access ‘Thankful’ you will find several motivating, enlightening and transparent posts. Deb’s readers gain a great deal from what she shares.
Young American Wisdom: Nancy has three kids. In the form of quotes, Nancy shares the random craziness that stems from three kids. When I took my boys to school today, they whined and argued with each other in the backseat. I shook my head and did my best to ignore them, rather than snap for no reason. Then I thought of Nancy and her boys. Suddenly, I did not feel alone.
.::.
* The feature painting was created by Val Erde. You can find other examples of her work in her blog, as well as this particular post: Free Paintings.
Lenore's Thoughts Exactly 
Wow, Lenore… I didn’t know about the Liebster foundation and what it stood for. When I collected my non-lobster award from Sana’s blog and before I put it in my post, she said it means ‘beloved’ though I wasn’t quite sure how that would relate to a blog award. (And I thought it was lobster when I first saw it too!)
I’m looking forward to checking out the people you’ve awarded it to… will have to wait til I’m more awake, though. 🙂
Great, all this… will come back and have another read on another day. 🙂
Thanks, Val. Thank YOU for the nod, too. I hope you enjoy my ‘referrals’. I only follow the best. 🙂
Congrats on the Liebster Award. How serendipitous that you would stumble upon the Leibster Foundation as a result. I’d never heard of that organization. I’m going to check them out. Sounds like a great candidate for Shine!
Thank you, Jackie. I love the fact that I stumbled upon the Leibster Foundation. Serendipitous for certain! (love that you used that word – one of my favorite words.)
Congrats for the award, but even more for your honesty and wisdom. It’s true that keeping peace within our home walls can be one of the most difficult challenges. But if we don’t have peace there, we won’t respect or encourage efforts to have it outside those walls.
Seems to me the Liebsters may be a pair of Gandhis. We’re looking for them in all nations – in an effort to focus on non-violence. Bless their hearts for their legacy.
Thank you, Souldipper. Keeping peace in the home is certainly difficult…. more so after long days. (smile)
Aren’t the founders of the Liebster Foundation angels? How wonderful to create such a great organization. I feel as though I found a gem, and I want to share it with others.
Congratulations, Lenore! Well deserved, whether lobster or Liebster. 😀
I will be sure to check out the ones you’ve awarded (and have my dictionary ready…)
Thanks, Darla! I hope you enjoy my referrals. Your vocabulary is larger than mine. You won’t need a dictionary. 😀
Congratulations, Lenore Diane. Very deserved. May I say you are one of my “liebster” commenters? btw Go to Google translator, drop “liebster” in on the left choosing German, and see what is displayed in English. I won’t tell you and take away the fun. I think you will like the word. Have a wonderful weekend.
Thank you, thank you, Georgette. I did as you suggested and used Google translator and I said out loud, “Oh my gosh, how sweet is that?!” I did like the word. I am glad you explored the word yourself, and shared the information with me. Thank you. I hope you have a wonderful weekend, too.
I don’t know what good it would do to be perfect. If we never felt anger, frustration, impatience — or those occasional thoughts we’d rather not even acknowledge — we’d be completely out of touch with every other human being. You said it yourself: “As long as my eyes remain open to my own weakness, I believe I am better equipped to change myself and accept others.” The only thing I’d add is that you are also better equipped to inspire others to change themselves, too. Congratulations on a well-deserved award, Lenore. You inspire me.
Thank you, Charles. I am humbled at the thought of inspiring others, as well as inspiring you. I’m not very inspirational when I am wearing my ‘cranky Mom’ hat. I need to work on that part.
I think I’ve said this before, Charles – I genuinely appreciate you reading an commenting. I value your opinion. Thank you..
Congrats, Lenore! The award is perfectly suited to you and is well-deserved. Like bronxboy, I think that quote really encapsulates the self-reflection and thoughtfulness that comes through in your writing, which in turn inspires others to do the same. Plus, you’re funny 🙂
And thank you so very much for the nod as well! I’m truly flattered and honored that you thought of me.
You had to use a word like ‘encapsulates’ didn’t you?! 🙂 No worries, I knew that word.
Thanks for the kind words, L. I really do enjoy reading your posts, so thanks for blogging.
Congratulations, Lenore! The Arnold Liebster Foundation’s mission statement perfectly describes how I view you as a writer. Your sense of humor and compassion shine through your gift of words and warms the soul. Well deserved, my blogging friend.
Thank you so very much for the nod, as well. I’m honored to have my silly little blog included. I’m flattered that you thought of me and my humorous and playful look at parenting. You’ve made my day.
Thank you, Nancy! The quotes you share bring smiles to my face. I appreciate you sharing the wisdom of your kids. You have very wise kids.
Thanks for the kind words. I hope you have a fantastic weekend! (Pleas keep documenting the words of your wise kids!)
All the time, effort and energy you put into your blog really shows, Ms. D. – congratulations on some very well deserved recognition!
(Now I have ‘Rock Lobster’ stuck in my head. Wonderful.)
🙂
Rock Lobster. Hilarious!
Thanks for your kindness, SIG. I appreciate your recognition. 🙂
I was off in Eugene, so I didn’t get a chance to comment till now. THANK YOU! Having taken German, I understood what “Liebster” meant from a direct translation perspective, but I loved how you chose to reshape that. To me, it made this award both powerful and sweet. 🙂
Thank you. ♥
You are welcome, Deb. Thanks for continuing to put good stuff ‘out there’!
hey..great post… i’d appreciate if u’d visit my blog as well. cheers 🙂
arjun1097.wordpress.com
Thanks, Arjun. I will certainly check out your blog, too. Cheers!
Did they say patience begins at home? No? They should have. “(Though honestly, having tolerance (and patience) at home seems far more challenging than having tolerance (and patience) in the outside world.)” I agree with you one hundred percent.
None of us is perfect, Lenore. Only, most of us do not like to admit it. Your posts often talk of emotions and incidents that see humour in routine. That’s brave. So, you deserve this award, and another one for your honesty and acceptance. You’re one of the millions of unsung heroes, who make this world worth living in, and blogging in.
Priya you are one of my kindest and most eloquent blogging friends. Just the thought of you visiting and reading is enough to put a smile on my face. Thank you for your time, Priya. I truly appreciate it. Your kind words are the icing on the delightful cake!
Congratulations on the Award; well deserved! And I like the snappy new (red) photo, too 🙂
MJ
Thanks, MJ. I’m in good company when it comes to that award. (smile)
And, thanks for the compliment on my ‘snappy’ new photo. Glad you like it.
When I saw the word Leibster, I immediately thought it was a form of the German word for love, “Liebe.” My German is like Swiss Cheese with more holes than cheese, so I read on with interest. Okay, so this Liebster guy…his name just seems to fit his mission. Syncronisity. (I didn’t spell that right, but I’m not going to look it up, sorry.)
I think you deserve the Liebster award. Now I’ll be checking on some other Liebsters. Thanks.
‘with more holes than cheese’. Too funny, Linda. I also appreciate the fact that you didn’t look up synchronicity. (The only reason I spelled it correctly is because I right clicked on it and had the computer do it. Yes, I am lazy. Sorry.) 🙂
Thank you for thinking I deserved the Liebster award. I know I am in great company, and I was honored to get the nod.