Piet Lammert

Background

About Piet Lammert

It took me a long time to figure out that my currency is unconventional: joyMy greatest joy isn't about me, it's connecting others to experiences or resources that enable them to access their own joy—whether in a meaningful human connection, a “right fit" college, or a “rehomed” drum kit.I am a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) and an Introvert (IS/NFJ), both of which fuel my super power: Radical Empathy."You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view—until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” Harper Lee/Atticus in "To Kill a Mockingbird."My transformative college experience as a fourth generation UMaine Black Bear enlightened me to the benefits afforded me simply because of my particular cluster of demographic characteristics. As much as I am able to insert myself empathically into the lived experience of other people, I have the luxury of stepping back and removing myself whereas others cannot. That is privilege. With great privilege comes great responsibility; in all I do, I endeavor to leverage my advantages for and on behalf of those who do not share them.I have had an interest in politics since I was a youngster; I supported Jimmy Carter for President in 1976 (I was 7) because he believed as I did that the government's primary responsibility is to take care of the people that it governs. The personal is unequivocally the political. I truly believe in the vision espoused as self-evident at our nation's founding-that all people are equal and endowed with inalienable rights. I insist on holding our nation to the vision that Schoolhouse Rock portrayed to Gen X in “The Great American Melting Pot.” A place where everyone belongs.I have been profoundly influenced by four Japanese concepts: kintsugi (seeing the beauty in brokenness)yutori (intentional well-being)kaizen (continuous self-improvement)ikigai (living a purposeful life).I intend to shuffle off this mortal coil having fully integrated all four into my life.As with "The Giving Tree," I will give until I have nothing left to give.I do all of this as a Person (living with) Parkinson’s