Many of us think of the first, or more prominent, meaning of reconcilation which says opposing parties can make things right with each other. Common use of this term involves religions and spirituality. Are sinners reconciled to God? Have the people who do wrong been reconciled with those they have wronged? The third meaning of…
Flourishing communities have a degree of flexibility that can scare the hell out of their members. Our attraction to things that are safe and familiar is remarkable. We like the security of our labels, our short cuts, our traditions. We like things to match or contrast in predictable ways. Still, being flexible in our response…
If communities are going to form, function, and thrive, their members must identify the leadership that exists. Because there is always much to be done in communities, many leaders are needed. Humans are a talented, intelligent bunch overall, and leaders are abundant. They conduct, control, counsel, direct, govern, guide, head, illuminate, manage, organize, pioneer, preside,…
If communities are going to form, function, and thrive, their members must recognize community issues and find motivation to address these issues. Once communities identify their issues – which is a big deal – they can see how community members share some values and not others. Even when community members agree on an issue, they…
Gaining perspective has been an important and challenging journey for me. In the past five years or so, I have gained a new appreciation that I have not actually achieved perspective, in large part because there may be no actual destination or end point. In other words, it has dawned on me that the notion…
Last summer on Facebook I read a post from someone who called AIDS his Vietnam. I was startled. For me, Vietnam was Vietnam. AIDS is AIDS. Almost nothing about them was the same. But I must confess both changed everything for me. In 1966 I graduated from high school. At that point in my life…
When I formed my most recent Board for Myself, I was struck by the occasional ways that everyone in the room thought about a thing the same as I did. But I was more interested in the times when our thoughts were highly divergent, especially when I was the odd man out. There were only…
I started Diverse and Resilient as a program in 1995 and as a separate non-profit organization seven years later. The time I spent in health care administration and medical education was rewarding in that it provided me daily opportunities to achieve good and useful things. I honed several skills in an excellent organization that had…
“I can’t wait to get home.” “Home is where the heart is.” “Home is the place that when you go there, they have to take you in.” For me, none of these often heard statements resonate. There have been many places where people felt compelled to take me in, but were not home to…
When I was in my 50’s I told friends that I felt like I could just snap my fingers and start a new program, project, or plan. Having done just that in a large, vertically integrated health care system, a great family planning organization, and a successful national effort to create legislative policy changes, my…
Creating Community for Everyone 