A few years ago, I was the national outreach coordinator for the Northwest Earth Institute in Portland, Oregon. It was a very cool job. All day long, I talked to people across the country who were interested in gathering once a week with a few friends, neighbors or co-workers in order to discover more about their ideas, values, and habits affecting their relationship with the Earth. Dick and Jeanne Roy, the co-founders of NWEI, had no expectations when they first made a few copies of articles they found thought-provoking and shared them with co-workers at Dick's law firm during lunch hours. Always a stickler for details, Jeanne carefully selected appropriate reading material and prepared an orderly flow of articles that inspired discussion and connection. They knew they might get folks thinking. They knew they might get folks talking. They had no idea they would change the lives of thousands of participants in all fifty states. Those copied and stapled pages became collections of stirring prose and excellent articles published by outstanding authors. The Northwest Earth Institute became the distributor of these self-published discussion guides for use in homes, workplaces, community centers and places of worship. And yet, as I found in my daily talks with participants of all ages, it wasn't simply the reading material that inspired people to change their lives--though it certainly laid the groundwork for the shift. What led to the transformations was the act of joining these small group discussions to share their ideas with others who were engaged in the same process of thoughtful discovery. Whether the subject was voluntary simplicity, sustainable living, developing a sense of place, or teaching our children about the Earth, the courses led to some dramatic life changes in those who were longing for a sense of connection and waiting for just the right catalyst and opportunity for reflection and sharing. We've all read books that inspired us. Now, imagine that you were reading that book with a group of 8 or 10 others who gathered each week to discuss a chapter for an hour. At least, that's the way the discussions begin. The truth is that the chapters and questions open the door to discussion, and then that door swings wide open as each group finds their own way to explore the ideas the readings have triggered. It's a fascinating process to observe. I've facilitated these groups in numerous settings--from lunch meetings of Intel engineers to coffee gatherings of mothers with preschoolers. Each group has its own personality, but the thread that connects them is a sense of wonder and exhilaration in exploring ideas with others. The comment I heard most frequently went something like this: "I've been working next to Joe for ten years and I never would have guessed that he was so passionate about this topic or had so much in common with me." We tend to talk to each other on a surface level. We veer away from discussion about what is meaningful because we don't want to offend anyone or feel too vulnerable expressing our deepest values to someone who might not share them. Dick and Jeanne Roy had no idea that simply giving people permission--and a structure to follow--to engage in heartfelt discussions about what matters most to them would result in new choices, new lifestyles, new careers, new non-profits, new energy and a new sense of community among participants (cumulative enrollment of over 65,000 people). Dick always refers to "having a conversation" instead of saying he is "talking" to someone. This simple mindfulness of the power of engaging with another person in a meaningful way was a seed that started a tremendous crop of continued awareness and connection. What will you plant if you have a conversation about what matters most? What will happen when you sow the seed of an idea in the fertile imagination of a deep, rich mind? Start sowing, and see what starts growing. |
