Creating Healthy Community Collaboration

“Either we all hang together or we’ll hang separately.” Benjamin Franklin’s phrase used to unify complaining American colonist to join in fighting for independence.  July 4 is quickly approaching and I agree with Peter Senge, “No one entity alone-no individual government (local, state, regional, or national), corporation, or NGO –can address the sustainability issues we face.  No one has sufficient resources. No one has sufficient understanding.  And no one has sufficient credibility and authority to connect the larger networks of people and organizations that real change must engage.”

In their book The Power of Unreasonable People: How Social Entrepreneurs Create Markets that Change the World, John Elkington and Pamela Hartigan show how capitalism is being successfully applied to Third World problems. Their book is filled with stories of ‘unreasonable people’ who have applied Imagineering practices (Disney concept) to these nontraditional markets.  This has created a current   ‘new phase’ of evolution within  business, markets, and capitalism itself. The success entrepreneurs contribute their accomplishments to their uncanny ability to (spot dysfunction in the current system) and feel called to transition the systems equilibrium to a more functional state.  In this process new organizations form from an unquestionable passion for co-creating greater wholistic practices in the world.

We tend to have a myopic worldview in America.  Believe it or not, President Theodore Roosevelt, used to take his guests outside following their meetings, and have them stare at the stars, the moon and take in the brilliance of the universe as a subtle gesture of empowering people with a sense of the bigger picture. “The average American is less well-read and informed about world events and situations than are our European counterparts, our children are less well educated, and we are the only industrialized nation that does not have universal health care.” –Marianne Williamson, The Healing of America.

In accepting the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, Mohammad Yunus said this, “Poverty is created because we built our theoretical framework on assumptions which underestimates human capacity, by designing concepts which are too narrow (such as prevailing views of business, creditworthiness, entrepreneurship, employment) or developing institutions which remain half-done (such as financial institutions, where the poor are left out).” Yunus has demonstrated that innovative entrepreneurship is a universal human capacity when properly financed and nurtured, will transform lives.

Closing with this writing to My Fellow Swimmers, from the Elders of the Hopi Nation, Orabi Arizona, June 8, 2000:

“Here is a River flowing now very fast.  It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid.  Who will try to hold onto the shore.  They are being torn apart and suffer greatly.  Know that the river has a destination.  The elders say we must let go of the shore.  Push off to the middle of the river and keep our heads above water.  And I say, see who is there with you and celebrate.  At this time in history we are to take nothing personally, least of all ourselves for the moment we do our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt.  The time of the lone world is over.  Gather yourselves.  Banish the word struggle from your attitude and vocabulary.  All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.  For we are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”