Democracy Action Circle

FRIENDS,
reminder, tomorrow night, Friday, January 10, 2020 at 7 PM the fourth of a series of meetings and discussions will occur at The Center. We will continue to explore the book and topic, HEALING THE HEART OF DEMOCRACY.
Tomorrow’s topic is the Fourth Habit of the Heart — A sense of personal voice and agency.

The Five Habits of the Heart discussed by Parker Palmer in his book, Healing the Heart of Democracy are:
An understanding that we are all in this together.
An appreciation of the value of “otherness.
An ability to hold tension in life-giving ways.
A sense of personal voice and agency.
A capacity to create community.

The topic: a sense of personal voice and agency, explores finding the insight and energy that permits us to rise to new life as we speak out and act out our own version of truth, while checking and correcting our truth against the truths of others. We may be tempted to believe we lack confidence in our voice or in our power to make a difference. We may have grown up in educational and religious institutions that treat us as members of an audience to be spoken to, instead of actors in a drama. As a result, we may become adults who treat politics as a spectator sport. We will ask ourselves if it is possible for us, irrespective of our age, status, or story, to find our individual and collective voice. Perhaps we can learn how to speak for our truth and to discover or deepen into the satisfaction that comes from contributing to positive change. This will lead to the fifth and final habit of the heart, a capacity to create community; we will explore that topic — that habit of the heart — in February.
At our discussion in December we explored the need for both chutzpah and humility. By “chutzpah,” Parker Palmer explained he meant knowing that, “I have a voice that needs to be heard and the right to speak it.” By humility, Palmer explained he meant “accepting the fact that my truth is always partial and may not be true at all, so I need to listen with openness and respect, especially to ‘the other.’” You are invited to show up with both chutzpah and humility.
American Democracy is a non-stop experiment in the strengths and weaknesses of our political institutions, local communities, and the human heart. We would love to hear from you and have you help us in this journey and experiment.
More than ever, I believe, we need citizens, from all political perspectives and different political camps, to come together, to listen to and invite “the better angels of our nature.” Our democracy needs our attention, our care, our thoughtful and respectful partnership. Please join us tomorrow for this on-going discussion.
Light refreshments, excellent brownies, and light – non-adult– beverages will be available. If you want something more hearty feel free to bring something of your choice.

Hope to see you soon,

Lee Barron

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