Personal Development

It’s Quicker to Get to my Service Project with a Car that Works: Some Thoughts on Material and Spiritual Progress

The question of gender equality is a fascinating one, to say the least. I recently had a great chat on Facebook with one of my friends on the implications of the advice given in this post about men encouraging women’s quest to be modest in their dress to help decrease the level of objectification of… Read More It’s Quicker to Get to my Service Project with a Car that Works: Some Thoughts on Material and Spiritual Progress

Community, Community Building, Family, Labor and Delivery, Pregnancy

Live From the Delivery Room! Community-Building and the Birth of a New Member

One of the things about having so many friends who have been pregnant before me is that I have had the pleasure of hearing about their pregnancy, labor, and delivery experiences and what they have learned from it.  If there is one important, vital, underlying lesson I got from all of these experiences, it’s that… Read More Live From the Delivery Room! Community-Building and the Birth of a New Member

Andrews + Blaine, Brand, Crane & Co, Kate Spade, Mudlark, Product Review, Product Review, Spr!tz, Target

Product Review: Blank Cards, Thank You Cards, and Note Cards

A little over a year ago, I wrote a piece on how cards can help build a stronger community. Pleasantries, I wrote, “have been previously defined on this blog as the hydrogen bonds of community building” which although “are not in themselves strong enough to hold a molecule together, but can still change the properties… Read More Product Review: Blank Cards, Thank You Cards, and Note Cards

Community, Community Building, Community Development

The Real Meaning of Unity: Removing Obstacles to Fulfilling our True Purpose in Life

Quite unfortunately, community-building doesn’t just happen when a group of good-willed individuals come together. Not that good-will doesn’t help! But it’s not enough. All the good-will in the world cannot be properly channeled unless there is unity. If we think of the community-building process as rowing, it becomes clear that we can have a lot… Read More The Real Meaning of Unity: Removing Obstacles to Fulfilling our True Purpose in Life

Community, Community Building, Community Development

Unity Amidst Increasing Diversity in Smaller and Smaller Spaces: The Vital Importance of Respect

I recently posted reflections about the importance of learning the skills related to consultation in the context of a family, so that we can apply said skills in the context of society. The world is becoming smaller and smaller through increasingly efficient travel and exchange of information. This means two things: different people end up… Read More Unity Amidst Increasing Diversity in Smaller and Smaller Spaces: The Vital Importance of Respect

Baby Shower, Family, Parenting, Pregnancy

The Community and The Baby Shower: Tightening Bonds of Friendship {Includes Free Printables & Pinterest Inspiration!}

When my husband and I were approached for the first time and asked if we were having a baby shower, we said no.  Although we both love babies and baby showers, it felt weird to plan our own. When we were approached by family members and were told that a shower was being organised for… Read More The Community and The Baby Shower: Tightening Bonds of Friendship {Includes Free Printables & Pinterest Inspiration!}

Community, Community Building, Community Development, Friendship

Pleasantries: the Hydrogen Bond of Community Building?

Do you remember your organic chemistry? Do you remember those little H-bonds, who were not in themselves strong enough to hold a molecular structure together, but were strong enough to change properties of, say, water? The ones that make a molecule wrap itself differently, and/or make it a little stronger? I have always had an… Read More Pleasantries: the Hydrogen Bond of Community Building?

Community, Community Building, Community Development, Governance

Eeny-meeny-mino-mo, catch a leader by the toe…

It’s election season in North America! Just like Thanksgiving, Canada went first, and soon the US will follow. These elections are being touted as being of particular importance; after watching the markets go up and down in the last couple of weeks, I have come to the brilliantly original conclusion that it’s because things aren’t… Read More Eeny-meeny-mino-mo, catch a leader by the toe…

Community, Community Building, Community Development, Governance

A New Kind of Leader: Stepping Away From Old Conceptions of Leadership

My concern about the advancement of humanity through the development of each community makes me naturally think a lot about the question of what makes a good leader.  I find myself often wondering how the conceptions about leadership that I encounter in my reading and in my conversations with other can ever pave the way… Read More A New Kind of Leader: Stepping Away From Old Conceptions of Leadership

Community Building, Community Development, Consultation

Conversing to Consult or Conversing to Convince: Implications for Community Building

Living on different continents allows for the immersion into different types of cultures.  The way these differ is a great way of gaining insight into patterns of behaviour that affect our personal development and our contribution to building vibrant communities. A really interesting surprise was the difference between conversation styles in different cultures.  In some,… Read More Conversing to Consult or Conversing to Convince: Implications for Community Building