Making the shift requires only that we act as if each of us and all of us have all that is needed to break our habits of consumption and its limits to satisfaction. We have the gifts, the structures, and the capacities needed right now. We have the capacities in our families and in our communities. All we need to do is shift our thinking first and then act on that shift. This is true, independent of the culture we live in, east or west, urban or rural, rich or poor.
When we stop looking to the marketplace for what matters to us, we find ways that neighborhood and community can provide much of what we require. This is the place to begin the discussion about what we all can do.
In the realm of doing, there is a community world around us that is now doing much of what is needed; it is simply invisible. Our modern media is just not that interested. The overpowering spotlight of the consumer world and the system world shines so brightly that the community world lives in its shadow. We want to magnify that neighborhood and community world to make its blessings more accessible and usable. We want to magnify the power of connectedness as the antidote to the symptoms and dis-ease of consumerism.
Today, rather than looking at your own practice, look for a way to celebrate the practice and courage of a neighbor. Is there someone you know that you can shed “the spotlight” on? If no one comes to mind, ask an immediate neighbor, “is there someone you know who cares about this community whose story we could tell?”
How might you get the word out: facebook, instagram, a flier, a local paper, an intentional introduction?
McKnight, John. The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods (pp. 115-116). Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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