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2020 is not only a new year, but the beginning of a new decade.
I’ve pulled together some questions you might want to use to guide a deep reflection in preparation for the coming times.
I’ve come to see that the embracing of true peerness with all others is the core value that needs to be in place if networks are to become transformational. But we are each wrapped in a sticky, almost invisible cocoon of our culture – a culture that has taught us that we are separate from others and that every relationship has a hierarchy.
So the first question I ask for this new year: How can you begin the healing process that will enable you to remove the cocoon of dominant culture? How can you dismantle the hierarchy, patriarchy and racism all around us that keeps you and others from a life of wellbeing? How can you find others to work with you on this?
Because dismantling hierarchy is so core to the transformational aspect of networks, we here at Network Weaver are going to try to publish at least one blog post a month on this important topic. If you have some thoughts, an existing blog post or recommended resources on this topic, please send them our way!
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The second question is: If you are an experienced network weaver, how can you become a mentor to less experienced weavers, especially those who come from communities of color or from the global south? If you are a novice weaver, how can you find and reach out to a more experienced weaver so that you can get the support and practice you need to more quickly become a skilled weaver?
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The third question is: How can you share more of what you are learning with weavers around the world?
Can you write a blog post for your blog or the network weaver blog on on your work? Have you developed resources that you use in your network work and practice that you could share with others in the resources section of our site?
In 2020 we’re going to make the site able to handle payments to multiple product owners so you can generate some income from your materials. Can you please take a bit of extra time to document what you’re doing and share it with others? It’s this kind of learning and sharing that is going to bring transformation more quickly. As Curtis Ogden often reminds us, transformation is about changing the flows in networks and that is what your sharing can do.
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The fourth question is: What networks do the networks you work with need to connect with to provoke their thinking and aggregate their efforts? How can you bring together participants from two or more networks to build the relationships that they will need to share and work together?
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And one final question: How are you going to take care of yourself this year so you are in the best shape to do this weaving work? What can you do to work from a more centered and supported place where you can get the clarity you will need to ruthlessly prune your to do list and have the spaciousness to notice and engage when areas of opportunity arise?
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What questions would you like us to focus on to be ready for the coming decade? Please share in the comments below!
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Featured Image : Jan Tinneberg / Unsplash
3 Comments
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Hi June
What fantastic questions 🙂 I’ve already started discussing them with another network guardian / team member, and we will begin working on responses next week. We can share inspiration that has been helping us in the work of nurturing emergent cultures, and ways we are connecting with others to cascade network weaving knowledge through neighbouring networks. We certainly have resources that we can share freely for others to use, remix and build on. We’ll reflect on relationships that have been growing across networks and share our tips / learning.
In relation to your final question I have an immediate response.
Slowing down, boycotting busy and creating space are things I’ve been working on for over two years now, enabling me to be much more intentional. I appreciate the paradox that we can speed up change by slowing down. My journey to slow began with a very little book called Destination Simple by Brooke McAlary (see https://slowyourhome.com/books/ – I also love her podcast, I’ve learned so much from it). Through the five simple ideas in the book that I put into practice, and the suggested building of morning and evening rhythms, everything changed! (I wrote about the change here: https://medium.com/zero-51-sixty5/a-morning-rhythm-ec3b437d8462)
The space created opened up possibilities for me to embark on a learning journey around permaculture and social systems design. As a result of this I am now experimenting with seasonal rhythms for myself and for our network, hooking activity to nature’s cycles. I’ve also been in a place in which I can embrace emergent design , which is what I feel your question is partly about. There’s a great blog post about it here from one of my permaculture course tutors https://medium.com/permaculturewomen/permaculture-and-emergence-an-introduction-to-design-a2af447fc5b1
In more straightforward terms: I am looking after myself by practicing gratitude; getting on the yoga mat regularly; running, walking and sitting a lot in nature (including my garden); making good meals; reading (a lot); planning; playing; learning; reflecting; connecting; and developing confidence to bring even more of the things I deeply care about and am learning into my work. All of which circles right back around to your first question, as this consideration of self is critical when the work involves such challenges.
I’d love to hear how others are facing the future 🙂
Thanks for these questions, June!
In answer to your first question: I am challenging the cocoon of dominant culture that favours the more extravert people in education and organizations. For some time now, I have been experimenting with design principles that stimulate introvert people to create value in networks. Hope to share some of the lessons in a publication this year.
To add a question of my own:
How can we better learn how to make progression in paradoxical questions? By paradoxical questions, I mean this: http://www.liberatingstructures.com/4-wicked-questions%20/. Learning to do this might help us to move from either/or-frames to both/and-frames. It could accelerate the transformation from polarization to co-creation.