Common Good Collective

Reader

This Reader is an expression of Common Good Collective, a vision for an alternative way, rooted in the act of eliminating economic isolation, the significance of place, and the structure of belonging. Whether you come at this from a place of economics, social good, or faith, we hope these reflections help orient your day in fresh, provocative, courageous ways. And most importantly, we hope these lead you into the sharing of gifts in particular communities—into co-creating a common good.

We read hundreds of articles and select the best ones for you by sending them to your inbox on Thursday.
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Poetry for Building Community, Reader Permalink

The Tradition by Jericho Brown

Jericho Brown

Aster. Nasturtium. Delphinium. We thought
Fingers in dirt meant it was our dirt, learning
Names in heat, in elements classical
Philosophers said could change us. Star Gazer.
Foxglove. Summer seemed to bloom against the will
Of the sun, which news reports claimed flamed hotter
On this planet than when our dead fathers
Wiped sweat from their necks. Cosmos. Baby’s Breath.
Men like me and my brothers filmed what we
Planted for proof we existed before
Too late, sped the video to see blossoms
Brought in seconds, colors you expect in poems
Where the world ends, everything cut down.
John Crawford. Eric Garner. Mike Brown.

Jericho Brown won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his book The Tradition. In his poem of the same name, he reflects on the impact racism and climate change have on today’s youth, speeding up one’s childhood with fears of surviving the future.

Reflection: When you reflect on your childhood, what aspects of that environment and experience would you like for your children? What aspects would you like to be different for them?

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Kyle Korver On Privilege

Kurt Korver

In this profound essay,  professional basketball player and antiracism advocate Kyle Korver, demonstrates the power of language, context, and possibility as a way to better understand his experience as a white man in the NBA.

When the police break your teammate’s leg, you’d think it would wake you up a little.

When they arrest him on a New York street, throw him in jail for the night, and leave him with a season-ending injury, you’d think it would sink in. You’d think you’d know there was more to the story.

You’d think.

But nope. Read more

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Forget Your Perfect Offering by Al Etmanski

Al Etmanski

Al Etmanski gave a compelling talk on the subject of the power of disability, which is also the title of his latest book in our Conversation series. This poem describes how one must rise above the forces and advertisements society offers to “fix” you, and that our human frailties particularly equips make a positive impact on our community.

Forget your perfect offering, advised Leonard Cohen.
There will always be another shiny concept or tool so much better than the ones you currently use.
And consultants, who describe a perfect world within reach should you decide to hire them.
And fundraisers, who already have money in the bag ready to be released the moment they are retained.
And researchers, who can describe your challenge in learned ways.
And people smarter than you, who will knock you off balance.
But hopefully not for long.
Be careful what you are advised to transplant. It must be able to grow in your territory, in your soil.
Trust your natural rhythms.
Pay attention to your people.
Have confidence in your experiences.
Your association with frailty, vulnerability and imperfection will serve you better than an association with those who peddle certainty.
Certainty breeds fear and hesitation. Fear of uncertainty, of not getting it right.
Certainty kills spontaneity.
It is a prison the light can’t get into.
The antidote to certainty is confidence.
Confidence that you are enough. Confidence that you have enough.

We invite you to join Al Etmanski in a three-week cohort: Community That Calls Forth Caring, learn more.

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Falling Together by Rebecca Solnit

Rebecca Solnit

Rebecca Solnit has had an extensive writing career, often taking well-accepted assumptions and turning them on their head in a beautiful way. In this podcast, Krista Tippett interviews her to get her takes on hope, especially in the midst of disaster and crisis.

“When all the ordinary divides and patterns are shattered, people step up to become their brothers’ keepers,” Rebecca Solnit writes. “And that purposefulness and connectedness bring joy even amidst death, chaos, fear, and loss.” In this moment of global crisis, we’re returning to the conversations we’re longing to hear again and finding useful right now. A singular writer and thinker, Solnit celebrates the unpredictable and incalculable events that so often redeem our lives, both solitary and public. She searches for the hidden, transformative histories inside and after events we chronicle as disasters in places like post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans.

Take a listen to the conversation with Krista Tippett.

Reflection: “Unknowability is as rich as the womb, far more than the tomb” is how Solnit describes darkness. In this time of crisis and uncertainty, what reminds you to hope?

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