Being Your Community
Last week I wrote about Community Relations and, in particular about my accountability to fill the seats in my upcoming Ending Hunger Benefit Gala. I didn’t give any information about it, and I should have – It’s April 9th in the Hanover Marriott Hotel in Whippany, NJ [www.EventsToEmpowerHumanity.org].
Then I saw that my silence about that is symptomatic of most of us. And I don’t fully understand that.
Most of you who read this also volunteer in some way and you certainly contribute to one or more really worthwhile causes. But we rarely speak about it. “Business as usual” is a devastating phrase. We sometimes wear cause-appropriate T-shirts but we rarely speak. Why do we hide ourselves? Business as usual? Or we don’t think it matters much? Or “it’s not my job?” Or “it feels like bragging or a million other reasons? That’s the real silent majority. We just feel awkward and uncomfortable about being personal with people. It’s a risk.
I suggest you take the risk. New worlds of relationship can become available. I learned this from a course I’ve taken: “Say the same old thing and have the same old life.” What could happen if you said something different, if you shared with people what you do for your community? One of the things is that you become your community. You will find yourself with an amplified voice. People will listen to you differently. They will think of you differently. You will have a stronger voice.
Years ago I started speaking about ending hunger. And that is how many people think of me. So I expanded my involvement. And people began relating to me that way. And I discovered that I mattered, I’ve become who I say I am – the possibility of love, contribution, wisdom and harmony.
As you matter. And you do, when people discover that who you are doesn’t stop with the outside of your skin or the reach of your family. Share your involvement. That’s community relationship in action. It’s already there – we just need to let other people know.
Then I saw that my silence about that is symptomatic of most of us. And I don’t fully understand that.
Most of you who read this also volunteer in some way and you certainly contribute to one or more really worthwhile causes. But we rarely speak about it. “Business as usual” is a devastating phrase. We sometimes wear cause-appropriate T-shirts but we rarely speak. Why do we hide ourselves? Business as usual? Or we don’t think it matters much? Or “it’s not my job?” Or “it feels like bragging or a million other reasons? That’s the real silent majority. We just feel awkward and uncomfortable about being personal with people. It’s a risk.
I suggest you take the risk. New worlds of relationship can become available. I learned this from a course I’ve taken: “Say the same old thing and have the same old life.” What could happen if you said something different, if you shared with people what you do for your community? One of the things is that you become your community. You will find yourself with an amplified voice. People will listen to you differently. They will think of you differently. You will have a stronger voice.
Years ago I started speaking about ending hunger. And that is how many people think of me. So I expanded my involvement. And people began relating to me that way. And I discovered that I mattered, I’ve become who I say I am – the possibility of love, contribution, wisdom and harmony.
As you matter. And you do, when people discover that who you are doesn’t stop with the outside of your skin or the reach of your family. Share your involvement. That’s community relationship in action. It’s already there – we just need to let other people know.
posted by 1stclasscoaching @ 6:51 AM
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