Bingo

Yesterday I spent some time on the phone again.  I am reaching out to each of our local cities regarding the transportation issues I've been made aware of in our county.  In each call I was asking for someone from that city to serve as point person as I disseminate a flier to nonprofits in our area, and they pass them along to their clients in an effort to raise this conversation to the next level.  The city person just needs to be aware of what services their city has, whether that be something they offer, a nonprofit offers or a business, such as a taxi or ride share service provides.  They also will have the opportunity to engage the public to learn first hand about their needs, and if the opportunity becomes available to share that with their city councils, they will have first-hand accounts as fodder to fuel the dialogue forward.

In my conversations with so many of the nonprofits here in our county the constant thread is transportation.  In order to get to the next level or capitalize on service opportunities they need a way to move their clients in order to take advantage of the opportunities that are available to help them break cycles of crisis.

Some have given up on the transportation issue entirely, stating that they don't want to come back to the dialogue table until people are talking about more than roads or building plans.  Maybe I'm naive, but in order for the conversation to be brought up, doesn't there have to be someone who's invested their time, gained credibility, and been the one willing to reintroduce the conversation?  How can we have expectations that this issue will speak for itself?

Others have become creative, as some nonprofits are considering campus hubs, which contain satellite offices of providers who show the greatest opportunity of helping assist their clients in getting to that next level.  Its a strategic venture, and one I am very interested in.  It provides a solution for some client's needs, but there is still the need for single vehicle families- when kids need to go to the doctor.  Or what about the single parent family who can't afford a vehicle, and the parent needs to get the kids to care and to a job to etablish independence?  What of the senior adult who no longer feels comfortable to drive?  Are we saying by lack of action that our communities have no place for these individuals to thrive?

I believe in collaboration.  I believe when you bring people to the table the end result will be a much more developed and potentially successful plan.

I've made an effort to reach out to each city's transportation person, and I've been listening to their stories.  In yesterday's calls I even had some of them asking me what the others are doing.  They are interested in a regional approach to think creatively and strategically about how we best meet this need.  And this certainly doesn't and shouldn't fall solely to a city's responsibility.  Its a community responsibility.  Its where the corporate, private and government sectors can all come together to create a multifaceted response to a complex need.

After yesterday's calls I got an email requesting a meeting specifically with one of of the larger cities in our county.  They are "looking to host a round table discussion with service agencies in the area.  The purpose is to get people to think outside of the box in coming up with ways to get more public transportation". 

BINGO

I'm thrilled.  It's dialogue at the next level.  I'm hoping dialogues like this one begin in each city, and then cross-city and county-wide.

I'm not exactly sure when it was, but some years ago I decided that I wanted the opportunities that I invest my time and energy into to be accelerators or catalysts that would do the most good.  I don't particularly have a love for transportation.  I certainly never intended to serve as a community moderator for this issue.  Sometimes, you just have to see the need, meet the need.  The existence of need in itself is an invitation or call to action.  Being a mom now, only encourages me all the more to set a precedence for my son of what I feel it is to love God and love others in action.  All I hope to do is lead by example, and hopefully my family, my friends, my neighborhood, my community is better for it.

Hinged on Community

Almost a year ago a friend of mine lent me a book from her personal library.  I owe her for not having returned it by now, but I owe her more for the insight and challenge its been to me since recently picking it back up and working through the first couple of chapters.

The book is called Quitter, and it's written by Jon Acuff.  As I'm reading it, I can see some parallelism with the Leadership coursework of my MBA.  The book narrates, rather comically, the notion of following your dreams, but also mitigating risk. 

I'm currently in the second chapter, and Acuff talks about "hinge moments", as opportunities to look into your past and see the moments that differentiate your passions and skills.  Through the process of discovery, you can uncover, rather than discover, what life's work may look like for you.

In the discovery of his own hing moments, Acuff asks 5 questions-
1. What do I love enough to do for free?
2. What do I do that causes time to feel different?
3. What do I enjoy doing regardless of the opinions of other people?
4. If only your life changed would that be enough?
5. Are there any patterns in the things you like doing?

Amidst these questions he says-
"If you killed yourself for years creating something and at the end of the experience, the only life that had changed was your own, would that be rewarding enough?  If the experience was the lesson and the journey itself was the reward, would that be okay with you?  If there something that holds that sway for you"?

I do love the idea of intrinsic motivation and the value of each one's journey.  I departed from the idea of a destination a long time ago.  However, the first question seemed to alienate me a bit, but I think that's driven by my passion for community.  Christ calls us to community, and if I'm living a life that only affected my own, to me that seems disjointed from purpose.  However, that does highlight the hinge for me is absolutely driven by the sense of community- my life's work is driven by my passion for inclusion, for representation of the "least of these", and doing it in a way that encourages everyone to get involved.  Not just the usual suspects of philanthropy.  We all have a role to play in developing community and quality of life is an extension of love for one's neighbor.

As I continue to seek God's calling and continue my life's journey, I sense community and leadership will continue to be a prevailing theme.  With that comes the weight and responsibilities of leadership, but thankfully, in community that weight is never something one we must bear alone.