Pattern Shifting
Patterns have certainly been shifting in the USA! We have stepped from American Carnage to science-based public health policies and borders equally open to people of all faiths. Or have we? We cannot forget that there was armed insurrection in our nation’s capitol and that nearly fifty percent of the American voters didn’t get the president they wanted. Those patterns are less evident today, but they persist. Our challenge now is to engage with those who are willing and able to engage and to actively defend ourselves from the rest.
Amanda Gorman’s offering on the inauguration stage gives us a roadmap to begin a journey toward a more just democracy. Her voice was a clarion call to leverage the energy in difference, to open our hearts and institutions to everyone, and to create connections where there are none. She helped us glimpse the goal, but the path from here to there is hidden from view. The bits we can see are rough and demanding.
The theory and practice of Human Systems Dynamics is one way to translate her vision into action. We offer our understanding of self-organizing systems; our toolkit of simple, powerful models and methods; our experience in all levels of human interaction; and our expanding community of scholar/practitioners. Our vision brings the HOW to Ms. Gorman’s WHAT:
People everywhere thrive because we
see patterns clearly,
seek to understand, and
act with courage to
transform turbulence and uncertainty into
possibility for all.
Her message was clear and perfectly in line with ours: No one can do it alone, but everyone must do what they can. Institutions may protect us, but they will not heal us. Executive orders will point the way, but people must choose to act, in every moment, to bring the patterns of possibility to life for themselves and their communities.
Do we know how to do this? No, but we offer support to individuals and institutions who are willing to try. Over the coming months, we will initiate a variety of conversations that apply the theory and practice of HSD to the evolving health and wellbeing of people in political turmoil. Our context will be America in this twenty-first century, but the realities of complex human dynamics extend around the globe and across time. Please join us when you can and practice Adaptive Action with your neighbors when you can’t be with us.
The first of these public conversations will be held February 26, 11am – 12pm CST. We will begin with pattern spotting, move on to sensemaking, and end with a bit of NOW WHAT? for all of us. Like our Live Virtual Workshops and Inquiry IS the Answer, this session will be free of charge.
The event was initiated by our daily Inquiry IS the Answer community. Each of them brings deep insight and action into some facet of the human experience. Monthly, one of us takes the time to share our work with others. February is my time to share what I see of patterns of democracy in the USA today. I hope you can join us.
Register here for Inquiry IS the Answer and the Patterns of Democracy.