Tuesdays a movable feast

On Tuesday May 29 at Kawa we created some memorable dishes for the moveable feast.

• Shared new learning: A 12-step approach to consensus-based consultation that Michael and Judie Bopp had provided at a recent capacity-building workshop for the South Sudanese community and friends.

• Naomi, Mahendra, Sasona, and Deevum were among the participants atKawa on May 29 and introduced us to a way of thinking about marriage and how it is part of a larger system, and that if both partners enter the marriage with the shared intention of contributing to the harmony of the larger system through their marriage, then outcomes are likely to be good. This was probably the highlight of the May 29 Tuesday at Kawa. It stirred further discussion of possibilities, including ideas for an ongoing interaction with the Centre for Harmonious Coexistence at Folk Tree Lodge.

• Among other things, it resonated with the larger purpose for meetingat Kawa, for the Calgary Social Capital Society, and for everything I am doing these days (see the attached graphic provided by Chris Jensen and shared with others at Kawa on May 29). We want a healthy global community. Cities can be the playing fields for social change where like-minded people worldwide are actualizing that shared global vision. Calgary can create an example for other cities to follow, simply by being aware of the larger vision in everything we do, and by connecting like-minded organizations in Calgary for that purpose. In the attached graphic representation, the organizations in our circle right now include Naomi and Mahendra’s Centre for Harmonious Coexistence at Folk Tree Lodge, the Calgary Centre for Global Community, the Calgary Social Capital Society, Mary-Ann’s People for Progress, and Michael and Judie Bopp’s Four Worlds Centre for Development Learning. The attached graphic also indicates we are aiming to make Calgary a “moveable feast” – a place where the human imagination flourishes through poetry, art, and all kinds of social connections designed for that purpose. Tuesdays at Kawa provide a weekly forum for the (purposeful) play of imagination.

• The Finals of the Social Transformation Tournament will be held on September 29, and the Calgary Social Capital Society is a team project entry in the Tournament this year. Our current score in the Tournament scoring system was presented to the participants at Kawa, together with a timeline for us to use as we steadily increase our team’s score between now and the Finals of the Tournament.

• We heard a good story from Laurie about her recent interactions with a horse (a farting horse!) and with the owners of the horse.

• We heard a poem by Pablo Neruda and one by Dylan Thomas.

• Naomi did some artwork with the children.

• From a book of quotations, Sasona selected one (“Be prepared to lose sometimes”) and we thought about what that might mean and the possibility of writing a poem about it. (Elizabeth Bishop has written one, a poem we read at Kawa not long ago, which begins with:)

The art of losing isn’t hard to master;

so many things seem filled with the intent

to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

• We added two more items to the menu of possibilities for June: 1) Sitting in on a meeting of City Council to learn something about a current issue in our city; and 2) a visit to Folk Tree Lodge to learn more about this concept of harmonious coexistence and specifically how it could be used to improve the chances of a good marriage.

Well, there was more, but you get the idea. Tuesdays at Kawa. A moveable feast. We’ll be there next Tuesday.

Arthur