As you consider Tom's original calling question, how has your sense of what we have to be and do shifted or developed?
Tom's calling question: What do we, as members of the dialogue and deliberation community of practice, have to be and do to enable our most positive transformational impact in the face of emerging global crises which fundamentally challenge our business-as-usual habits and systems?
Collaborative Notes
Nancy - noticing the potential of the tech but the challenge of using it. If you have participated in any of the conversation or Hackpad, how was it.?
Tom offered his experience that led to his sending his message to NCDD. Since we didn't get what he said noted down, he posted the text below(***) to cover the ground.
Laura - On the first call I found it incredibly frustrating - in the time we had hard to get any coherence or connection. It will be interesting to see the bigness of Tom's question.
Laura-It's not easy to face up to what' s happening to the earth and will happen to the species; designing a context in which people can begin to find their way out of denial and ignorance to sustainanble engagementwill require our best skills.
What kind of questions would invite the kind of attention engagement from people that's needed?
Nancy: I would embed what you just said. Thinking strategically How do we engage people at a level that IS inviting that they CAN handle and respond to in terms of their own sense of personal transformation and engagement with others and action(all kinds of action) that could optimize fundamental change. In addition to having the KINDS of questions people can respond to, we need to know what knowledge, information, other kinds of info or kinds of engagement need to surround those questions. What kinds of support need to be there so they don't feel hopeless but animated and inspired. What people with what kinds of backgrounds do you want to reach? How do you reach them, get their attention in the first place, how do they even know about the process? Should it be through existing networks like faith communities and prof assns? I can imagine going back to Tom's concern; we've identified many people who share that concern, and start thinking strategically about how to do this.
Michael: How important the problem is; if we're going to develop a WW movement to solve the problem, people need be be convinced that we could turn it around. If people are convinced of those two things.
Laura: Refer you to Nancy's language and questions above ; not much time, no reinventing wheels, maybe reach out to other orgs that have been trying to engage people in conversations about what's happening. We're late to the party. Much already known about what kinds of questions are workable. If we found out what were the best practices out there and enrich them with our wisdom.
Nancy: That's true. I find often when we express our concerns and motivate each other, we inadvertantly speak as if we are the only / first ones starting. Just as a species we are up against the greatest-ever crisis, many people are doing the right kinds of things. Not only responsive social action but strategic - that address the causes of the problem. Join with what's already hopeful and working.
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Tom's writeup about his"being and doing" thoughts and feelings in his original NCDD note:
The kinds of"being" I had in mind when I wrote my NCDD note - re what we would be and do to rise to the occasion of extinction level issues - were less about"evolved consciousness" and more about identities like"my/our role in the world" and"my/our relationship to the world". Examples of the latter forms of identity might include:
* ancestor of future generations
* co-creator of whatever future is going to unfold