Taking Care

I spent last week in Houston, Texas attending the biennial International Tribes Trainers Conference. It was a great week!

Tribes conferences are different from any other. The process of Tribes emphasizes the practise of appreciation, mutual respect, attentive listening and inclusive participation. Tribes people are genuinely kind and compassionate. At this conference the people are also smart, enthusiastic, and committed. They are people who genuinely care about teaching and learning and about making the world a better place. They are really, really, really nice!

I think I’m usually like that too. I like people! I’m the kind of person who makes my way to the kitchen in a restaurant to say thank you to the chefs after I’ve eaten. I initiate eye contact with strangers so they see me smile and hear my “good morning.” When a panhandler on the street asks me for ‘spare change’ I don’t ever ignore him/her. I respond. “No….and please, have a nice day anyway!” I try to do good things in the world and I remain open to know what more I can do.

I do love people, and I would never not be nice. although sometimes it's hard to maintain a smile and a positive disposition. I manage to do it though....almost always. I feel responsible to model appreciation and optimism. I believe that one person can influence others to be positive and affect change in this world.

When I’m with Tribes trainers, it seems like others feels similarly. Thank you’s are abundant. Compliments flow between people. Hugs, high fives, ‘pats on the back’, words of encouragement, and positive affirmations are the norm. I begin to notice the behaviours and I think, “Hey, with everyone else being nice and kind and compassionate, I don’t have to try so hard. I can just be natural. Natural is good.”

It reminds me of the David and Roger Johnson’s elements of cooperation. When we have a culture that is functioning ideally there is a comfortable balance between individual accountability and positive interdependence. If each member is actually behaving responsibly, then no one has to work too hard to compensate for those not working. Think about it in the context of our global environment. If each person in our universe did what simply needed to be done for the health of our earth (energy reduction, responsible use of plastics and non compostable products, reuse of materials, etc) we wouldn’t have to rely on the energies of the few. No one would get ‘burnt out’. Our world would maintain the richness and fertility with which it was lent to us.

Just imagine if each of us smiled throughout the day, generated positive energy, and accepted with love and compassion all those in our immediate community. We would have so much more energy and spark to give to those who really needed it. There would be fewer of them too. Our world would be a better place to be!

Margaret Meade says “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Thank you Jeanne Gibbs, Centre Source, and all the Tribes trainers this weekend. Let’s keep working towards a better, happier world. See you in two years!