I remember listening to people talking everywhere I went in town about how bad things were. The town was financially a disaster all but essential services were shut down- in this case that went all the way to cleaning staff for the Town Hall and cut even deeper to the after-school programs for the youth.
Complaining was common. Action was non-existent. The problem, people said, was just too big for them to tackle. Moreover, it wasn't their responsibility to fix it. Tension had grown to such an extent that there was a significant rise in youth crime and isolated violence was beginning to appear, let alone a growing tension between various factions in the city. That was 1999. Today, this same town is in great shape, a wonderful city to live in and has experienced planned, yet exponential growth. The people of the town and new town council (formed during the process I initiated) made a commitment to their future and within months positive changes could be seen throughout the town... with their finances soon to follow.
Eight years later, I hear the same theme echoed in a German town on the border of Poland, really a German-Poland sister city. The words: "Poor Me!" seem to echo throughout the town. At the same time the desire to create change... the changes the people in the town know in their hearts and shared from their heart during a Future Search Conference are waiting to emerge.
A one point, at the close of the future search commitment was so strong you could practically touch it. The Lord Mayor Patzelt's final words summed up the commitment and touched everyone's heart:
He said with a conviction in his voice:
What has happened here is really a small miracle. Here came citizens voluntarily together and feel responsible for something. And it is a productive process, where citizens feel active and start to change something.
Oberbürgermeister:
Das was hier passiert ist ja eigentlich ein kleines Wunder, hier kommen freiwillige Bürger zusammen und fühlen sich verantwortlich für eine Sache. Und es ist ein produktiver Prozess, wo sich Bürger aktiv fühlen und beginnen etwas zu machen.
But, in the next days, it seems, the "poor me!" stance returned. Nothing was said at the Town Council Meeting, the financing to move ahead was not committed to. Promises made were not kept. People shared their dreams and made commitments with open hearts and trust. Now, they are watching and waiting to see how the leadership of the town will follow-through. Their hearts are open and their expectations and readiness to commit to projects are high. However, I wonder what will emerge if the leadership continues to waffle back and forth between outwardly committing with words, but not with actions.
Can you imagine the undercurrent of tension that is forming... between hope and feeling stuck; between a vast readiness to take action NOW and waiting; the frustration and desire to act; what's worse is the desire to honor vs feeling of betrayal that non-commitment is creating.. the trust that is being threatened.
It is easy to say that this all about money. But, money is the least of the issue. It is about commitment and follow-through. The hardest thing in the world at times seems to be commitment. Yet, it is the lack of commitment, wavering and indecision that is at the core of most pain. When a decision is made, we can act. What can we do when the scene changes from moment to moment? Our sense of safety and security is threatened. What types of actions does threat produce vs confidence and trust?
"It is not what you did, but what you are doing?" quoted from my cousin, Al Fromme's book, Life After Work as mentioned in Everything to Gain, by Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter.
Eduardo Galeano, a Uruguayan journalist, puts it this way: "I don't believe in charity. I believe in solidarity. Charity is vertical, so it's humiliating. It goes from the top to the bottom. Solidarity is horizontal. It respects the other and learns from the other. I have a lot to learn from other people." |
