What Would A Kind, Loving World Look Like?
About two weeks ago, a few friends and I held a creative visioning session at our local library. It’s part of the creativity group I started to move my town to a new, artsy, creative, community-oriented kind of place. We sketched, shared and schemed ways to take small steps to get us there. The participants came up with some phenomenal ideas for restaurants, recycling, biking, museums, art-centers, community public spaces, etc.
How often do any of us get asked to do that? We’ve had some not-that-helpful consultant led events where you say stuff and it ends up in a giant circular file never to be seen again. Sometimes, I swear it’s just an information gathering session for developers. This was put on by the community for the community.
I’d love for some of you to share your ways to create a world driven by love and kindness rather than hate, indifference and meanness.
What can we change or tweak to get to such a place. Let’s believe that it is possible, that we can cut through the Angry Man model.
Is there a Loving Person Model?
I’ll go first … I’m not finding competition — the way — its presented to be helpful. I know everyone says competition is good, but it’s got a dark, ugly side when it gets taken to the extremes we now see.
Has a society ever had a true cooperation model? That’s what we are trying to bring to our town, a way for us to work together to make it the best place to live for those of us who live there. If we encouraged the young to follow their strengths and created businesses that promote strengths, wouldn’t people still invent things? If you talk to some of the greatest inventors/business owners, etc., they’ll almost always say they didn’t do their “it” for the money, yet in our money-centric world we tend to connect it with that. Then we try to do someone else’s “it” for the money and it doesn’t take off.
For me, real freedom comes from letting folks be who they are and giving them the tools to do that?
What say you?
Thanks! G.
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I think Rotary is a pretty good model for cooperation. Individuals in a Club working to help their communities with education,health, children and women’s issues and general economic well being.
Then you have groups of Clubs working together to raise money for bigger service projects in both their own communities and in places all over the globe. Then you have a Rotary Foundation working for world peace and supporting education, health, disease prevention and cures all over the world, including eradicating 99.9% of Polio cases.No one wants or takes credit for any of this, we want to do it to help make the world and our communities better places.
Hi Lou,
I need to check out rotary again. Did when you mentioned it before. I’m back. There is one in the next town of Framingham. They meet every Monday for lunch. They’ve got some neat programs going on all over the world. Will also talk to my dad today since he was in rotary forever.
I love the tagline: service above self. And the four-way test.
The Four-Way Test
The test, which has been translated into more than 100 languages, asks the following questions:
Of the things we think, say or do
Is it the TRUTH?
Is it FAIR to all concerned?
Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
I like this! Thanks. You must have been sent here to get me involved in Rotary. Never thought of it before you mentioned it.
G.
I use the Four Way Test every day, it really clears up issues in a hurry.
My local town government could use this! G.
I love this question, G. I read this earlier today and am coming back now, because after thinking about it more something popped up for me that may sound strange. But have you heard of neighbors getting together for soup night? Basically, it’s one night a month when one family cooks soup for the rest of the people on the block, and everyone is welcome to come. No rsvp or anything. I’ve always wanted to do that myself. It’s a small thing, but I think collaboration in our communities begins when lots of small groups of people come together, like you did with your group. When we eat soup together, break bread together, create together, play together is when we’re more able to listen to each other. People are no longer “other” to us, but in fact are us. I know there are zillion tools and strategies for collaboration and consensus building, but if I had my way I would try soup night! Can you imagine if soup night was supported by local government, the way kid’s soccer or even Rotary is?
Hi Patty,
What a great idea for Soup Night. I’ll tell my community-building friends in town about it.
An alternative to watching reality TV. Yes, kids play together and seem to get along great. It’s when we remove play and get all serious that we seem to get into trouble.
Governments need to become more people-oriented. A lot of the meanness around the world can be attributed to governments doing unpleasant things to their own people, when those people want a say or even a place at the Soup Table.
Thanks! G.
Hi Giulietta — to me, what you ask for seems in keeping with my men’s organization, Nation of Men, which, at least for me, is a place to practice stepping up to lead projects (whether volunteer work or just silly games), and moving forward through challenges and criticisms. I’m very grateful to have a group like this in my life.
Hi Chris,
I’m intrigued by Nation of Men. Will swing by your site to see if I can learn more about it. I’d love to see men expand their lives beyond work and watching sports. May blog about sports soon (Maybe today?) because I’m curious about its impact.
Thanks!