Posting Comments

Dear Friends,

I want to offer my apologies to those of you who've had trouble posting comments. I respect your time, I value your input, and I want this blog to be user-friendly in order to serve all of us. I'm very sorry that some of you found it intimidating or difficult the first time around.

Since I'm new to this myself, I neglected to adjust the default settings for the comments function when I launched the blog. I've now done that, so it should be possible for anyone to post a comment using their name only.

For step-by-step instructions, please see the sidebar to the right.

Thank you for your interest and perseverance,
Deb

Co-Creating Change

As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies dráw fláme; As tumbled over rim in roundy wells Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell’s Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name; Each mortal thing does one thing and the same: 5 Deals out that being indoors each one dwells; Selves—goes itself; myself it speaks and spells, Crying Whát I do is me: for that I came. Í say móre: the just man justices; Kéeps gráce: thát keeps all his goings graces; 10 Acts in God’s eye what in God’s eye he is— Chríst—for Christ plays in ten thousand places, Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his To the Father through the features of men’s faces. --Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–89). Poems. 1918.

Dear Friends, Shortly after 9/11, it came to me that we needed to do two things: (1) start a global dialogue on conflict resolution, and (2) co-create new solutions to the challenges we face as a global community (poverty, violence, militarism, materialism, and environmental degradation, for starters). I'd never been much of an activist before, the task seemed overwhelming, and I had no idea where to start. Somehow, my life since that time has constellated itself around those two endeavors. With much trial and error--not to mention the support, example, and camaraderie of activists and visionaries I've met along the way--I've found myself "making the path by walking." My own journey has taken me from the wrenching horror of 9/11 to shock and outrage over the violence and injustice that have followed from that; through seven years of peace-building efforts and issues-oriented activism; to sustainability-conscious living off the grid, in community, and on a working farm; to a renewed appreciation of our sheer aliveness in a rare and precious world. I find myself longing now to slow down and embrace that aliveness in some new way that can help us move forward together in a spirit of adventure and joy. I'm starting my blog with these verses from Hopkins because I believe each of us brings something to the world out of our own uniqueness--something essential and irreplaceable, even sacred, that's needed by the collective if we hope to craft new solutions in this time of challenge and change. The more I myself try to live mindfully and sustainably, the more I realize that everything I do affects someone else and that my own well-being is inextricably linked to the well-being of all life on this planet. The more troubled I am by violence in the world, the more I see that peace begins with me. The more I seek solutions, the more I understand my need for companions and colleagues to lift my spirits, expand my thinking, and teach me skills I haven't yet mastered. While I have no idea what this blog will encompass or where it will lead, I see it as an experiment in co-creation--an open-ended process of sharing and discovery that can build new connections and seed new possibilities. I welcome your offerings and your comments, I hope our exchanges can be heartfelt, and I look forward to seeing where the conversation takes us. Yours in change, Deb ---------- Some initial questions to consider: 1. What sort of change have you found most challenging in your own life? How have you experienced that, and where has it taken you? 2. How do you feel about change--change that's voluntary versus change that's imposed on you by outside circumstances? 3. How would you describe your growing edge in embracing change? 4. Do you see larger patterns of change in the world? If so, how would you describe them and what do you make of them?