Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Value: Communities of Change


Building close relationships is a revolutionary activity

I was originally going to name this value: Friends & Family, Relationships & Community. In many ways, that would still be an acceptable description...

I take great joy in spending time with people I like. Talking, hanging out, playing games, sharing experiences, laughing. It’s fun and it’s fulfilling.

However, relationships also provide an opportunity to Inspire, Motivate, and Excite one another as we share successes or commiserate and keep perspective around difficulties and challenges. Friendship provides a platform upon which we can make a stand against our struggles whether they be the confusions in our head or the obstacles facing us in the world.

Further, I learn about myself by observing what is reflected back at me during my interactions with others. The more people I have in my life, and the deeper the connection I can make with each of these people, the greater the opportunity I have to compare my thinking, observations, opinions, beliefs with what other people believe & experience.

This sharing of ideas creates opportunities to broaden my perspectives and will have an expansive effect on how I experience the universe around me. The more diverse my set of relationships, the fuller and more accurate my understanding of that universe.

After all, we are smarter than me. And everyone owns a small piece of the Ultimate Truth.

Also, I develop a more accurate understanding of my core self when I strive to connect to and communicate with others. For example, I try to journal everyday but what I write for this blog is actually a bit more rigorous (and better written) than my free-flowing diary entries. I come up with some good ideas in that journal, but writing for publication requires that I really flesh out those ideas and describe them in a way that someone else will understand. The end product does not just make more sense to you, it makes more sense to me. Adding other people to the mix forces me to Step It Up.

Communities of Change

Change begins from within. And then emanates outward. Communities of Change brings to mind the idea of an Army of Lovers. A group of folks deeply committed to one another, using those relationships to strive to make the world (or household, neighborhood, school, workplace) a better place for themselves and others.

Networking

I enjoy working on projects with other people. When I am getting along with others, and when we have a shared agenda, such opportunities can be more interesting and fulfilling.

In my day-to-day life, “the view from here” is limited by my line of sight. However, when I tap into the views of my friends, or the friends of my friends, I have access to a larger picture. An increased number of interesting and exciting opportunities present themselves within the context of these networks of relationships. Through the exposure to larger views such networks can facilitate having a big life.

Some relationships will be based on mutual attraction (i.e. a shared sense of humor or a mutual appreciation of good science-fiction.) Other relationships will be more strategic: building connections with people who can help me, or the folks I care about, to move forward in our lives, more accurately expressing our values, reaching our goals.  

I want to take time to think about and deepen my existing relationships and build new ones.

From the Zone...

ian

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