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“You
never really understand a person until you consider things from his
point of view... until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in
it.”
~ Harper Lee
(Atticus Finch in “To Kill A Mockingbird”)
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Who Are You Listening To?
Earlier this month, Desiree Adaway and Ericka Hines joined Hildy Gottlieb in an energizing, information-packed conversation about inclusion and social justice. During that conversation, Desiree and Ericka reminded listeners to take notice:
Who are you surrounding yourself with?
Who are you listening to?
When
we get to know people whose life experience is different from our own,
our perspectives begin to change, simply by seeing the world through
someone else's eyes.- Can you name a person in your life who wears a hijab or a yarmulke or a turban?
- Do you spend time in your real life with people whose skin is a different color than yours?
- Do you speak regularly to people from other countries (in your real life, not just on social media)?
- Can you name a person in your life who has physical challenges or different physical abilities?
- Do you spend time with people with different sexual orientations or gender identities from your own?
Compassion grows the more we connect with people who see life through a different lens.
The
more you know people’s stories as individuals - learning what life has
been like for them personally - the more you can begin building
relationships of trust and empathy and compassion.
That simple connection is a big leap forward in being the humane future you want to see in our world.
Pay attention.
- When
you’re at a meeting, pay attention. Who is in the room? Do the people
mostly all look alike? Are there people of different abilities,
different ages, different skin colors? Who is NOT in the room?
- During
the meeting, who has the key seats, and who is among the masses? Who is
doing most of the talking? Who are most people listening to keenly? Who
are they ignoring?
Listen to other voices.
- Intentionally watch news from other cultures and other countries.
- Intentionally
follow people in social media whose lives are dramatically different
from yours. Spend time reading posts from groups and individuals of
different faiths, or different socio-ecoonomic backgrounds, or
different sexual orientation or gender identity than you are used to
seeing.
- Intentionally
watch entertainment channels where the people’s lives are very
different from yours. If you live in an urban setting, watch shows
about people in rural areas. If you are usually surrounded by people
with the same skin color as you, watch shows and movies about people
with different skin color. Or religion. Or sexual orientation. Or
physical ability.
When we do not understand someone else’s life experience, we make all sorts of assumptions, rooted not in their life experience, but our own.
That is why the practice of asking and listening for people’s stories
is a critical part of Catalytic Listening – one of the three core
practices of Catalytic Thinking.
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Want to meet other people who are also learning how to apply Catalytic Thinking in their lives? Join us at the Catalytic Thinking in Action community on Facebook -
a welcoming place where you can ask questions and learn from people
like you who are experimenting with these practices. We look forward to
seeing you there!
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Keeping Our Programs Freely Available Most of the programs at Creating the Future are free or low cost, with liberal tuition assistance when they aren’t.
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| If you find our programs of benefit, we hope you will consider contributing, to help keep these programs available to as many |
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Creating
the
Future
is a
collection of
people around
the world,
supporting
each other in
a grand
experiment.
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The
experiment:
To
determine how
much more humane the world
could be if
the questions
we ask in our
day to day
lives are
bringing out
the best in
each other.
If
everyone,
everywhere, is
bringing out
the best in
every person
they encounter
– and if the
systems that
guide our
behaviors are
built to bring
out the best
in all of us -
how much
closer will we
all be to a
healthy,
humane world
that works for
all of us?
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Creating
the Future
3849
E
Broadway Blvd #238
Tucson,
Arizona 85716 USA
Creating the Future is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization in the U.S.A
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