Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Was Looking Glass...now, Respects and Responsibilities

[Unnat (Zen]

> One member's comment really made deep sense to me...he suggested that
the
> document itself, the end product, is not really the most important
> thing...rather, the process by which it is created is the nourishing
nugget.
> The journey getting there, in other words, is what will build
community bonds
> and thus influences how we behave around one another.

Don't get me started .... grrrrrr!

For me, process without an outcome is like riding a merry-go-round -
nice while you're doing it and then what?  Over the years in my
community, 'commitment to process' has been tauted as the lofty
approach - "It doesn't matter if we never get houses as long as our
process is good". - yeh, right.

In the early days, I was one of the 'fast-trackers'.  The implication
was that if you had a goal, you weren't committed to process - this
eithor/or, black/white reality frustrates me.  My experience is that the
bulk of time and effort in getting houses on the ground came from the
'fast trackers'  who also participated in all the (often arbitrary)
process.

When I start a journey, I like to have a purpose and a destination.  I'm
willing to throw caution to the wind and change direction in the light
of circumstances and maybe I'll sit still for a bit.  However I still
need to know where I'm going and why.

Process is great but I've not seen good process (systems or procedures)
happen without a clear and agreed purpose.  For many groups this is
articulated by the mission or vision statement.

Warmly
Robyn williams
Pinakarri Community
Fremantle, Western Australia