Government As Conscience

A government is like the organ that reflects what the body (of citizens) is doing. A good government, one that keeps us happy and successful, is like an organ made to hold whatever creative tension lies between what is actually happening on the ground, and what is alive in the spirit of the people. A good government organ is able to align (not consolidate, hide, or justify, but align) where we currently ARE, with our goals, priorities, and visions. A healthy government affirms what seems to be working, reminds us of our goals of holistic functioning, and asks us, like a brain or a battery: what is the happiest way to wield the power of today's momentum, plus the potential energy generated by the tension between that, and what we know we desire?

I'm happy to say we have such a government in Seattle. At least, I reflect on the City of Seattle as having momentum in the direction of being an 'organ' in the Seattle 'body' aiming itself to be/become good, healthy, and able to hold a lot of healthy, creative tension... How do I help us see ourselves this way?

Keep on doing what I'm doing in my neighborhood...
and collaborate in this group seattleneighbors.org making a white paper and presenting it before City Council on tv Septemeber 14th. My 3 minutes of fame?

Living by Example

I'm excited to share a description and photo of my friend Carlo Violi's home and neighborhood ethic. He works miles from home everyday, faithfully biking there on his bike with electric assist fueled by the windmill... this is just what he does in his spare time!

Find the article about him in The Enterprise Newspaper, here.

PARK(ing) DAY 2010!

You can do this fun activity with a group of friends yourself, or invite teachers!

Participate in PARK(ing) DAY !!!

I made this YouTube video special for today, so you can reserve your spot in time for PARK(ing) DAY next month
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COe3Y56FHns

I love to hear feedback!

Engage Seattle On Purpose

Recently, the office of the Mayor of Seattle launched 'Engage Seattle', an initiative aiming to make Seattle an even better place to live by engaging us citizens in ways we find meaningful (reminds me of 'Making Common Sense' - see my earlier post)

We're invited to make common sense out of the three-fold goal to cultivate communication between citizens and officials, to encourage volunteerism, and support leaders-in-the-bud.

I notice that the goals are spelled out nicely. They make sense and communicate to my mind what the heart of the creator of the grants wanted... The goals are by necessity broken down and fractured pieces of a beautiful dream... the realization of which will inevitably encompass and bring about many more victories, since everything is connected.

I am excited to engage with this project, both for me, my city, and all of the people on a similar page/mission as Neighbors On Purpose. I have ideas on how accomplishing multiple victories can more efficiently and effectively accomplish the three described in this grant... with the same budget! I see how being Neighbors On Purpose and being Neighbors communicating On Purpose is pivotal to the realization of the goals in the grant.

Seattle Night Out

I loved our SoZoo block party!!

The musicians really had it together, basically 3 local bands, followed by a midnight acoustic jam...
the other activities were fun and well-intuited,
there was plenty of everything,
cool lighting...

Thanks to MarkeTime, our local mini grocer, we had over-abundant BBQ goodies and buns, (and free photocopies for the paper-airplane-survey explained below!)

Thanks to other local businesses, we have over $200 of incentives. I gathered these with the promise to give them to neighbors who jump in and cultivate a small monthly gathering.

Thanks to: Hunger tapas café,
Swingside Little Italian café, Fremont Abbey Arts Center,
Richard's Salon, Hansen's Florist,
Rialto pasta bar & grill,
Video Isle,
American Music,
Lighthouse coffee,
Caffé Vita,
our local Dry Cleaner,
and an Extra Special BIG thanks to the Zoo!!!!!!!!

...As a direct result of these enticing gifts, 3 new groups got started who will meet monthly! One will be crafting, one will be a book group, and one will organize more neighborhood parties... plus our holiday caroling group just
doubled in size and quintoupled in frequency, and might ACtually practice in advance this time (haha)! I wish much joy to the neighbors who are spearheading these efforts, and to those who responded on the sign-up sheets! I'm supporting them in getting up and going within 2 months.

I feel hugely supported as a community organizer/spearheader-support-person now. In the picture you can see some bright green surveys I handed out regarding 'How I would like neighbors to invite me to come together' ... they were filled out, folded into paper airplanes, and flown in!! We now have a poll of how a sample of our neighbors indicated they'd prefer to be kept abreast of neighbors' invitations. Half of the surveyed neighbors signed up for a conversation to help make at least one of these 'media' a reality!

Perhaps our private online social network will become much more active, or something else, the jury is still out on which mode of communication wins our attention first...

Oh, and in the middle of it all, the mayor McGinn popped by and asked me for my business card and some of my time to help his office - I'm in heaven. Sol Villirreal in his office is engaging Seattle's Neighbors, On Purpose!

Making Common Sense

The full title of this essay published in a small book format by the Center for Creative Leadership and written by Wilfred H. Drath and Charles J. Palus is:

MAKING COMMON SENSE
Leadership as Meaning-Making
in a Community of Practice

The essay essentially explains the title. The whole essay rings very true for me.

• Leadership is the practice of making meaning, making common sense (making basic, unbiased observations) in the context of a group of people seeking meaning in their togetherness, all practicing making meaning (feeling useful and On Purpose) together.
• Making meaning together is all of our jobs, to be practiced perpetually.

What this means to me is: we are all here to observe through a specific lens (the lens of our talents, attention, and personal, current vision, mission, and purpose) and feed into the common sense of what is going on. As frustrating (and detrimental) as it can be to have convincing evidence of something and nowhere responsible/responsive to put our wisdom, it is our responsibility as leaders to find out where the information we naturally gather, goes, so that all can benefit.

Exercise Generates Local Energy

I struck up a conversation with a neighbor today who runs a local triathlon training center. Knowing beforehand that I was going to suggest that he generate power with his training machines would have made the conversation awkward, had I not remembered to just connect heart to heart in the moment, and trust whatever will happen to happen at the rate it wants to.

Well, this man and I connected on many, Many more levels than I'd have dared dream possible!! And, long story short: he actually worked at the place that makes the machines he trains people on and was influential enough to ENSURE that they would easily convert to energy-generators... And my enthusiasm prompted action: He's going to convert all of his training gear into grid-feeding machines! When I bump into a neighbor who wants to store/use the energy, I'll hook 'em up... on purpose.