Invitation

More from Peter Block about invitation.

We come together to create a new possibility through having a conversation that we have not had before. We do not come together to negotiate interests, share our stories, or problem-solve the past or future.

No one will be asked in any way to yield on their commitments or interests. We are not coming together to decide anything. We begin with the belief that the commitments and interests of each of us have to be honored and taken into account by all.

Each agrees to participate in all discussions. There are always emergencies, and always pressing priorities, but the loss of even one person, for just one meeting, immensely reduces our chance of success./blockquote>;

Drops of Mercury

Stay together friends, don't scatter and sleep.Our friendship is made of being awake. The waterwheel accepts water and turns and gives it away, weeping. That way it stays in the garden, whereas another roundness rolls through a dry riverbed looking for what it thinks it wants. Stay here, quivers with each moment like a drop of mercury. -Rumi

Social Architechture

Man, this book, Community: the Structure of Belonging by Peter Block, is so wonderful, it's making me cry! Here's a good dose of it for you ...

"(The idea of) reconstructing leader as social architect. Not leader as special person, but leader as citizen willing to do those things that have the capacity to initiate something new in the world. In this way, leader belongs right up there with chef, carpenter, artist, and landscape designer. It is a capacity that can be learned as one who creates experiences for others - experiences that in themselves are examples of our desired future. The experiences we create need to be designed in such a way that relatedness, accountability, and commitment are every moment available, experienced, and demonstrated.

This concept of leadership means that in addition to embracing their own humanity, which is the work of every person, the core task of leaders is to create the conditions for civic or institutional engagement.

Leadership begins with understanding that every gathering is an opportunity to deepen accountability and commitment through engagement."

Brendan devouring the book.

Questions

What is the commitment that you hold that brought you here? Questions themselves are an art form worthy of a lifetime of study. They are what transforms the hour. Here are some questions that have the capacity to open space for a different future:

What is the price you or others paid for being here today? How valuable do you plan for this effort to be? What is the crossroads you face at this stage of the game? What is the story you keep telling about the problems of the community? What are the gifts you hold that have not been brought fully into the world? What is your contribution to the very thing you are complaining about? -from Community: The Structure of Belonging, Peter Block

The courage to move

Freedom does not mean that we cease to feel pain, but that we have the courage to move through the depths of suffering and the pinnacles of joy alike. And as we allow ourselves to express whatever arises, fully and without judgement, we discover that what ails us transforms us into what heals us, and the distinction between pain and delight fades - this is the alchemy of creative self-expression. -Nina Wise

Wow!