ACTIONS WE CAN EACH TAKE
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Introduction
Our Actions Matter
Two Challenges
Actions to Foster Mutual Development in Interpersonal Relationships
Actions to Jump-start our Community’s or Nation’s Development
Getting People Excited about the Prospects
Getting Those Involved who Can Implement It
Actions for Global Development
Article 22, Universal Declaration of Human RightsEveryone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realisation, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organisation and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.
This Section addresses development as a personal process and something that you can help become a rewarding aspect of your personal life, your friendships and how you can, as an individual participate in national and international actions.
As we saw in Section 2. About this Web Site, development is a life-long challenge for us all, regardless of our cultural, economic or social background. It involves both surviving and thriving. Simply surviving is not enough. Where we do not feel our lives to be meaningful, we take futile actions to fill the inner void: we overindulge, scramble for power, status or resources. And because these actions are futile they result in a downward vortex that results in depression, aggression, conflict, raping the environment, and the global problems of life-threatening proportions that have come about because of the cumulative effect of our actions.
As Article 26.2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality ... The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is traditional international law and therefore applies to all people and all Nations.
Personal development is therefore both an inalienable right of all people and in the interest of us all.
Our Actions Matter
Development begins with each of us individually following our own unique course through life. How we develop affects all our relationships—with other people, the groups, communities and countries we belong to as well as the global community which is being formed through our cumulative actions. In this world where we all are interrelated, each of us is a motor and a building block in our global world.
Two Challenges
This section addresses two challenges each of us face:
Actions for Personal Development
1. Finding Personal Meaning and Fulfillment by becoming aware of our internal responses.
In the same way that an acorn knows inherently how to grow into an oak tree, so, too, each human being has innate knowledge of how to develop physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, and spiritually in her or his unique ways. It is a matter of moment to moment decisions and observing the degree of energy and joy a decision brings and the degree to which, as a result of our action, things fall into place.
- Notice your response to each situation you are confronted with (it could be what to eat, what to read, where to go, how to react to a situation, which job to choose, who to befriend). Sometimes the choice results in a sense of dullness, “being turned off”, lack of enthusiasm or energy. Such choices, how good, decent and proper they may have seemed, often don’t work out well. This type of response tends to indicate that it was not the right choice for you (and others) at that time;
- Conversely, when your interest is piqued, your level of joy and energy increases when you act and somehow everything falls into place, the sense of meaning you experience and your understanding of your unique path through life grows.
As you focus more on the art of development and feel more fulfilled, you choose your relationships less on the basis of need than for the joy of relating; your benevolence toward others increases; and so does the quality of your relationships. This is a strong basis for friendship and working constructively together.
The art of developing as a person can be challenging when we are faced with choosing between what gives us joy and energy and our own former habits, or our family’s or our community’s values or traditions. In such cases it is important to tread carefully and to realize that we shall all have to do some things quite differently if we are to create a world that works for all. Following our inner knowing may lead to joy and pain simultaneously.
2. Resources that Can Help Us with Our Personal Development
Knowing what we feel is not something we are always taught by our families or at school. For many of us it is necessary to resort to the help of others, for instance:
Actions to Foster Mutual Development in Interpersonal Relationships
A. Sharing your Hopes and Dreams with Others
As we get to know each other better in this way, we are better able to empathize with and support one another. Our friendship can constantly deepen.
B. Women Rise in Santa Cruz, California, USA was founded and is organized by Eleanor Wesson now 97 years old. Eleanor brings women together once every two weeks to share what they are doing with their lives, so that they can lend one another support. Women tell me how they felt empowered after the very first meeting and how their mutual support as well as their friendships have deepened.
Eleanor limited her group to about 20 people, but so many women wanted to participate that members of the group have started other groups and these, too, are thriving. Each meeting is followed by a potluck. (A meal or snacks to which all contribute)
C. A number of my friends regularly organize dinners with the express aim of deepening personal development, making new friendships and deepening existing ones.
Gerda Wieggers organizes “afternoons for reflection” for a regular group of guests, followed by a dinner she prepares herself. Her objective is to discover connections within their everyday lives between the psychological, mental and spiritual levels. These afternoons are both relaxing and produce deep insights into how life works and the dinners allow people to further deepen their personal acquaintance.
Petra Sitskoorn. organises “theme dinners” where the dinner is actually integrated into the theme to be discussed. She loves to cook and charges a minimal amount per (five-star, five-course) dinner. There are regulars among the guests, as well as new people. Themes have included: friendship, talent, timing
D. Supporting one another using a focused program
I have had good experiences working with the book Wishcraft (See 1 above). I
would meet with a friend in person (and when we were not in each other’s neighborhood via phone) every week. Each week we would undertake to read one Chapter and do the exercises. The caring attention, the regular meetings and the support of one or more friends helped to keep me focussed and encouraged.
Working with Wishcraft, I was able to write my first book in a period of 2 months; a friend was able to successfully rewrite her Masters thesis (which had been turned down with crushing criticism from her faculty). This earned her her Masters Degree. In the same two months she was able to locate the man she was later to marry. They are still together after 20-plus years.
Community and national projects require broad support. Each locality and each nation has its own ways of getting people involved. And as a member of a community we can each take the initiative and contribute in our own ways.
There are two basic steps, choose which one appeals most to you personally:
Getting People Excited about the Prospects
Getting Those Involved who Can Implement It
Skype is a free software that can be downloaded from the Internet and allows fair sized groups to talk for free. All you need is a computer in each locality.
When you organise face to face meetings do so in a spirit of celebration by acknowledging the qualities of the people there, sharing a pot-luck, providing opportunities for people to get to know one another. Your effectiveness is increased to the degree you have fun and genuinely enjoy one another.
In one of our national projects in the Netherlands called A World that Works for All, a number of organisations work closely together. This is quite a challenge when we become entrenched in our ways of doing things without realising it. But where we open ourselves to the benefit that co-operation brings, we find that we save time, energy and costs and produce actions that are many times more effective than when we act alone.
Please feel free to use our web site as a resource manual (with mention of source) by printing out those sections that are useful.
Also feel free to discuss any of the challenges you encounter in one of the forums. You will get help and others will learn from you.
Piggyback on other actions that are going on in your country and in the international community (See the Forums)
Create local, national and international think tanks to help to solve conflicts of interest peacefully.
Their objectives are to:
The UN is the world’s largest and most diverse development organization. It is also the largest and most comprehensive forum where global policies are developed. It is therefore valuable to be able to build on the UN’s global decision making capacity, its structures, resources and expertise. The UN is open to NGOs who are specially accredited. It also opens its doors sometimes to organizations that want to attend just one decision making conference.
Where possible participants will be given information and/or training before and/or during the UN Conference.