Connecting the Dots

Being the new kid on the Heart & Soul block has been easy in a lot of ways. People are welcoming and open and seem genuinely interested in hearing from me. But in other ways, breaking in to this world has been nearly impossible. How does one gather information about a field that’s so unique that its players frequently don’t even know they’re in the game?

I find myself observing a lot, hesitant to contribute until I know more. I frenetically Google while on conference calls. I browse what I hope are relevant blogs and news articles, always looking for something to pique my interest. Because the Foundation is in the business of connecting the dots, there is no well-worn trail littered with crumbs for me to follow from one innovation to the next.

I received my neighborhood newspaper the other day and, in the interest of becoming an aware citizen, parked myself at the kitchen table and read it cover to cover. I was surprised to find a few stories that were not only relevant to my day-to-day life, but that also became conversation fodder at my local pub the next evening.

One post I read recently on the Sustainable Cities Collective blog discussed how many community members don’t step up because they feel they don’t have anything to contribute. I’d wager that just as many don’t act because they are unfamiliar with the terrain. In that way, I am an example of the same phenomenon, just on a different scale. But here I am, plugging away, spending a good chunk of my day surfing the Web, reading about innovative community building work of all kinds, and hoping themes and names will start to take shape and look familiar.

All of this leads me to assert that the distance between disinterest and activism isn’t actually as long as it often seems. Osmosis is a proven biological property; isn’t it applicable to social interactions as well? If people with a low concentration of knowledge about Heart & Soul Community Planning are willing to open their hugely permeable membranes, the only certainty is that they will emerge with more knowledge, more ideas and more motivation to create substantive change on the ground in their own communities.

I, as a newcomer to this kind of work, hope to serve as a reminder that everyone has something to contribute; they just need a warm welcome, some encouragement and a little time.

Photo: designmind.frogdesign.com/blog/connecting-the-dots.html