Cohousing-L Mailing List: values and missions

[Casey Morrigan (cjmorr]

I have mixed opinions about the value of developing values and mission
statements.  We have such a statement.  We don't refer to it often.

One way to approach the resistance mentioned by Jan is to ask "why" - why
the resistance? What is behind it? Be curious about it.

Another approach is to see not what the community says ("we as a community
have no values statement") but what it does as a group.  Are actions in line
with one's own values?  This helps me understand the values of my own
community and compare them with my own and see if they are in sync.  For
example, do we REALLY care about environmental issues and show it?  REALLY
value children and show it?

Casey Morrigan
Two Acre Wood
Sebastopol, California

> -----Original Message-----
> From: cohousing-l-admin [at] cohousing.org
> [mailto:cohousing-l-admin [at] cohousing.org]On Behalf Of
> WOLF1GDSFM [at] aol.com
> Sent: Tuesday, February 11, 2003 8:46 AM
> To: cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org
> Subject: Re: [C-L]_Discrimination and political stereotypes
>
>
>
> In a message dated 03-02-10 16:58:45 EST, Kay wrote:
>
> << I've gone through this in my own community, when an
> ideology seemed to be
>  emerging that made me uncomfortable.  It wasn't that I
> didn't like the value
>  or objected to others holding it.  I did mind being accused
> of not belonging
>  here because I didn't wholeheartedly participate in it. My
> decision was to
>  plant my heels -- this is my community, too, so if I don't
> willingly share
>  an ideology or value, it cannot be a community value. >>
>
> I live in a community that has resistance to developing a
> statement of shared
> values other than the value of protecting our investment.
> For now, I am
> seeing how it will go, but to me it seems like this
> resistance is imposing a
> value which is sort of:
>
> our community will have no community-wide shared values other
> than that of
> protecting our investment.
>
> In my opinion, the cliche, "not to decide is to decide" is
> nevertheless true.
>  I do not know if I will want to live, long term, in a
> community that holds
> this (unstated or not) value.  If I am not mistaken in my
> perception and this
> situation does not change, I believe I will eventually leave.
>  I see no
> alternative, because even though I do not willingly share
> this value, it is a
> community value by default.  I merely want to live in a
> community that has
> some additional values that I support.
>
> Jan Ankney
> Sunward Cohousing
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