How can we move past conflict back to each other?

Neighbors,

Even though I no longer live in Boston, the city, the neighborhoods, and the people are still deeply ingrained in me and I still care. A lot. I also still believe deeply from years of experience that when neighbors come together and behave compassionately and selflessly towards each other great things are possible - like Neighbors for Neighbors.

In Jamaica Plain the Whole Foods debate has challenged the community to re-consider whether or not it really values diversity and equity as core beliefs and values. For me, and I believe for many others, a consequence of this debate resulted in a decline in our being kind, warm, and generous to each other.

For me the foundation of my neighborliness and what guides my interaction and behavior towards my neighbors and people in general is intentionally practicing and holding myself accountable to being approachable, generous, and in service to my neighbors.

I propose that as a first step in moving past conflict and back to each other that as a community we imagine, define, share, and discuss what for each us of inspires us to be there for each other.

So, how are you inspired to be a positive force for your neighbors?

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Comment by Angie VM on October 9, 2011 at 10:42am: For me, what inspires me to be there for others is the knowledge that we all moved her because we saw something about jamaica plain that seemed to us was the perfect place to live. as such, I try to make sure not to judge people by whether they rent or own, work one or three jobs, make lots of money or not. we are all neighbors here and we should respect whatever walk of life each one of us comes from.

Comment by Joseph Porcelli (Chief Neighbor) on October 6, 2011 at 1:16pm: Rira,

The intention of my post was to incite responses where people would share THEIR OWN PERSONAL foundational ways of being as means to identify what we have in common rather than our opinions of who is or who is not doing something. If we continue the rhetoric of yesterday, tomorrow will be the same.

To come together I'm proposing we define and be and collectively experience all we have in common.

We have the most influence we have is over our own behaviors, so lets' not give our power away. Once we define our own voice, we can harmonize together.

Comment by Rira on October 6, 2011 at 12:57pm: I think the leadership of JP needs to take a stand far more often! Our elected leaders have been deafeningly silent on their obligations to build bridges across all groups. They have allowed a small group of angry mob like college kids to divide and conquer JP and take over the JPNC with their divisive rhetoric. No politician has had the stamina to say no to them and rise above and praise the majority of JP's 37,000 +/- residents who live in harmony with each other and reject the politics of division. The reality is some politicians thrive on divisive politics and relish it because it gets them the illusive 'progressive ' vote. Sad day for JP that had prided itself on being truely progressive, when progressive actually meant something that brought good people together, when it did not divide them. Now, JP has become more regressive than our most conservative sections of Boston and no leaders are confronting it head on. There are no editorials, no letters to any editors, no JPNC committees dedicated to building community harmony, nothing of the sort. Just people letting those who hijacked our good cheer, and proudly keeping it under lock and key, never to see the light of day. We need the good hearted people, the scores of 1,000's of good hearted people, of all ethnic groups, all income levels, affluent and disadvantaged together coming back out into the streets to take JP back from the divisive little block of angry spoiled 20 somethings who have nothing better to do than criticize anything good and scaring off warm caring people from moving into JP. That word is very out - people no longer want to live here anymore in what is widely perceived to be an anti everything zip code - just read the 100's of comments all over the blogosphere. We need proactive leadership to reverse this perception.

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