A functioning community provides a safe place for its members to explore, learn, fail, and grow.
That requires the community members to make room for aspirations beyond their own
(self-centered?) biases.

~~~~~

Energy practitioners believe the fifth energy chakra—the Throat chakra—connects to a clear voice; integrity of message. It is associated with the sense of hearing. To have a clear and authentic message, we need to hear what the other person, group, and ideologues say. That requires acts of listening, not commissions of me-centered statements. (Community as a Safe Place to Land)

We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community. Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others,
for their sakes and for our own. 
(Attributed to Cesar Chavez)

The above quotes share a basic concept of community and community building: Recognizing and respecting the other people in the room. Of course, in turn, the others need to see and hear you. A community replaces the discordant self-centered cacophony with the positive energy of recognition and listening.

We replace my with ours, me with us.

That does not mean our needs should be ignored or belittled. It does mean that our needs are part of a broader community dialogue. Just because something is convenient or best for us does not make it in the community interest.

Maya Angelou reminded us, “We are not our brother’s keeper; we are our brother and we are our sister. We must look past complexion and see community.”

And we need to judge ideological positions on whether they are rational, fact-based, and community-minded. That would take, however, questioning not just the other ideology but also our  dogmas.

A functioning community provides a safe place for its members to explore, learn, fail, and grow. That requires the community members to make room for aspirations beyond their own (self-centered?) biases.

~~~~~

Video recommendation for the week:

Enjoy these short podcast clips featuring community advocates and their views about the core values that help build a community that recognizes the worth of each member.

~~~~~

Make it a great week and HTRB has needed.

You will find my latest book, Roxie Looks for Purpose Beyond the Biscuit, in
eBook ($2.99) and paperback ($9.99) format. Click here.

My dog Roxie gets top billing on the author page for this work. Without her, there would be no story.  Please, check out her blog.

And you can still order:

• Community as a Safe Place to Land (2019, print and e-book). Available on Amazon. More information (including seven free podcast episodes that spotlight the seven core values highlighted in the book) at the above link.
• Stories about Teaching: No Need to be an Island (2017, print and e-book). Available on Amazon. One college’s new faculty onboarding program uses the scenarios in this book. Contact me if you and your team are interested in doing the same. The accompanying videos (see the link above) would serve to stimulate community-building conversations at the beginning of a meeting.

My podcasts (all 50 episodes) can be found here.

You will find more about me at www.stevepiscitelli.com.

©2021. Steve Piscitelli
The Growth and Resilience Network®