Archive for the 'Inspiration' Category

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been blogging for seven years now.  When I was first encouraged by colleagues and started to blog I didn’t think I would have enough to say (that I would feel was really worth saying) on a regular basis.  I made a decision not to feel like I had to do a post on any kind of regular schedule, but over the years, just from my work and observing the larger “change” arena, ideas that feel like they are worth sharing have seemed to come at least quarterly.

What have I learned or observed?

1. Frequency

2014 provided some significant global events and momentum for positive change that we can build on in the new year.  Some of these include:

• Sustaining emergent movements: 2014 included protest movements in Hong Kong , the U.S.  and in Peru around climate change negotiations. A new year will challenge us all to sustain the momentum towards justice, nurturing and extending our communities.

• #post-2015: After much build up, 2015 marks the transition from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

• Certain concepts are universal and timeless:  One of the inspirational people who passed away in …

It was a particularly interesting year as I took some ‘sabbatical time’ to travel, read, write and reflect.

Traveling is always illuminating, pushing us outside of our comfort zones and providing many lessons and times to practice the important skill of observation. For the first time in many years, I also took some time for myself, which as many of us with a personal mission (and ‘urgency’) to help change the world seldom do. If it is something you can carve out for yourself even in small (but ‘electronically disconnected’) chunks, I highly recommend it.

I read and wrote …

Traveling, especially by train, often provides time for reflection and writing. I am spending the end of the year traveling in India. Here are some of my reflections on the year that is about to end:

1. Post-2015 – Although many deadlines can seem artificial, years can be useful barometers for looking at what has been accomplished, what still remains to be done, and what changes are needed. The end of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) period in 2015 is one of those. The past year has been full of discussions about what the MDGs have accomplished and what should …

Recently I was talking to a long-term colleague about a project I’ve been developing based on this piece. He’s done some amazing work over the years for positive societal change, but admitted he’d become a bit cynical.  While we were talking about how hard it can be to bring about significant change he mentioned a recent return trip to a former war torn area ~ 15 years after he had done some conflict resolution work there.  “The changes that peace has brought were almost unimaginable then”.

It’s easy to get discouraged at the enormity of what needs to be done, …