tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2090387618484983886.post7736305852447221895..comments2024-03-18T02:34:29.852-05:00Comments on Laird's Commentary on Community and Consensus: Crisis in Cooperative LeadershipLaird Schaubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01751204926086189047noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2090387618484983886.post-45663084918560725812014-02-21T10:08:55.797-06:002014-02-21T10:08:55.797-06:00Well written Laird! (as usual) I think the issue...Well written Laird! (as usual) I think the issue here is that a community is made up of people. And people aren't perfect. So a community isn't going to be perfect. Individuals have different viewpoints, based on their upbringing, outlook, desires, goals, interests, etc. - and these viewpoints aren't always going to mesh well. Individuals also have different levels of self-reflection and self-awareness, different levels of how/when they get triggered, and different levels of awareness to identify that they ARE triggered. People also want to say yes - to help out and contribute (and I'd guess that this is especially true in an intentional community setting, where community members have, by definition, taken on an interest in living in community with others and thus balancing their individual needs with the needs of the community). And as long as all of these things are at play, you're going to have challenges - including discord, overwhelm, and failed expectations (both folks failing their own expectations as well as folks feeling that others have failed the expectations they had of them/the job).<br /><br />What intrigues me most (and I know it intrigues you too) are finding the ways that communities successfully navigate these dynamics. And you've written some about this in the past. While probably too ambitious a project - and also probably too hard to quantify - I would find it fascinating to collect data from intentional community members vs. those of us living in a more traditional society. It would be interesting to see if those in community function with more awareness of those around them and their impact on the planet, whether there is a greater experience of understanding and forgiveness, while also finding ways to measure overall satisfaction with life, and the overall sense of overwhelm one has regarding the "larger" life issues (e.g. political coming to mind).Elizabeth Perrachionenoreply@blogger.com