Live United by Ann Austin

There are many changes going on in our community right now and it’s easy to react out of fear or frustration. It’s hard to come to terms with things we feel we don’t have much control over.

In the spring at a BushConnect event, I had the honor of meeting an inspiring man named Nate Garvis. Nate worked at Target for many years and helped get Minneapolis’ Midtown Greenway in operation, which revolutionized a neighborhood that was struggling.

Nate now works as a civic designer and he recently wrote a book titled Naked Civics, which explores the complexity of the challenges we are facing today and how we can find resolution by working together. He writes, “I believe that is it time to change our thinking. And once we change our thinking, we can change the way we interact and produce designs that, not only serve ourselves individually, but serve the common good, too.” Nate says the problem lies in the fact that we tend to focus on the wrong things and with all the negativity (by what he terms “Angertainers and the Outrage Industry”) we lose sight of what is truly important.

Nate says anything that has been designed can be redesigned. I like to say that we are consumers of everything, especially what we think and what we choose to support. We can choose to be positive and proactive — and this makes all the difference in the world. When you choose to focus on the positive and look for opportunities to find resolution, it seems as though people come out of the woodwork — willing to help. Sometimes it takes years, because the voices have been silenced for too long and they are afraid to speak up. But, bit by bit, we can engage more and more people in what we want our community to be.

We are influenced by everything we interact with — it’s so important that we strive to understand for ourselves, rather than take others’ opinions or rumors at face value.

“Civics is about how we live together, and how our lives interconnect…it concerns active involvement and listening, rather than shaking our fists at phones, computer screens, and flat-screen TVs.

Civics also requires civility, which means taking a deep breath before we react to a news item or Twitter post in order to think out our beliefs — and to see whether we have good reasons to believe them.”

One of United Way’s core focus areas is advocacy. Any nonprofit knows that in order to remain relevant, we need to have a great deal of advocates. Unfortunately one negative voice can undermine a reputation that has taken years to build up. For the health of our local organizations and the greater community, I encourage you to think about the following questions:

1. Do you know everything there is to know about the situation?

2. Have you spoken with someone within the organization to get clarification?

3. Have you identified how you are emotionally connected to the situation/possible outcome and how this could skew your reactions?

4. Have you taken time to think about the facts? Have you done your own research or relied on others?

5. Are you engaged in the role of a problem-solver?

For many years we have expected leadership to have the answers and find the solutions, but this is only sustainable for a fairly short period of time. Everyone needs to get together to share ideas and find the best possible solution. It’s quite amazing what can happen when we open up to each other and recognize the inherent value we each bring to the communities we live in.

It’s OK to be angry and frustrated, but it’s not okay to dwell in those emotions. I have learned to focus that energy on trying to find positive resolution and if it isn’t to be found, I go for a good, long run! Let’s be intentionally positive and seek first to understand, then to help.

One final piece of advice from the wise Garvis:

Gather differently in order to

Think differently in order to

Design differently in order to

Buy differently so we can 

Prosper together.

Live united!

 

Albert Lea resident Ann Austin is the executive director of the United Way of Freeborn County.