I was standing at the bus stop, and struck up a conversation with a fellow about a man across the street at a corner of a major intersection. The bus to be coming any minute, we began to discuss our perceptions of the man across the street, waiting for people driving by to offer him money. It was apparent to me from the beginning that we did not share the same view, but something enabled us to explore the topic deeply. The bus was not showing signs of being on time, but i was not bothered by that, because of the interaction with this fellow. In writing this, it is not so important his view or mine, it is more about the fact that we kept an intelligent conversation up for a half an hour, the number 8, by know is no where to be seen, so we began walking. At the top of the hill, we parted- and i realize that even though we had completely different opinions- we were able to share our views with each other, without conflict, and i believe we both walked away with something learned.
I bring this connection up, here, because i've been wondering about all the questions around getting more people involved in discussions on Wiser Earth. Granted i am new (and for the record, the lowercase ' i' is intentional) to Wiser Earth, but my impression thus far is that it functions beautifully as a network for those, such as myself, who spend most of their time working for change outside the this realm. I am inspired by the connections i am making here, knowing that it is one more place where i can fuel my 'fire' to continue the work that i do. I guess i am not so concerned to spend more time trying to figure out how to engage folks in discussion on this format, as much as i am inspired to engage in conversation on a bus stop corner, face to face with someone that has different views than mine. And to have a discussion, without desire for changing the mind of the other, it is more about the sharing of information, so that we can see within ourselves, what feels right. This is beautiful, and i think that it is a time where there is an opening for these connections to be made. If you are inspired to share a reply- welcome!
with wild synergy! Linda