The Village Selfishly Lives.....on and on!!!!

I asked Andrew yesterday how his PSAT test was and his answer was "extremely easy". My response to him was "that scares me"! But now that I have had time to reflect on that, it really doesn't. He has spent his life being surrounded by some of the most positive children I know!

Allison, Courtney, Brandon, Ryan, Austin, Briana and Caleb never cease to amaze me. They continue to set the bar higher and higher for each other. They connect on so many levels and push each other so well, if I could mass produce what they have and sprinkle it on others, just imagine this world.

It was a formula concieved by eight "selfish" individuals over 27 years ago! We selfishly decided we wanted to improve our condition and our communities condition We selfishly decided that our word was bond and we would be there for each other regardless. We selfishly decided that it takes a"village" to raise each other and our children so we tapped into each others resources to deal with lifes challenges. We selfishly celebrate all successes that have come our way.

I believe the most selfish thing we do however is intentionally come together annually for the purpose of letting out children see what is possible for them. They can look at what milestones each of them cross every year and say to each other "I see you"!

So of course the PSAT was incredibly easy to Andrew. He was more than prepared. He had already taken the test seven previous times.

Are Villages Born or Made?

by Stan

I know this is more commonly a question asked about leaders, but it seems appropriate given our desire to encourage others through our example. Just as with leaders, the answer to this question is most likely, “Both”. You see, the most successful leaders must possess certain innate qualities that one simply cannot learn… desire, passion, drive, imagination, caring, etc. But those are not enough. Leaders must also learn communication, visioning, prioritization, strategy, etc. Now don’t get me wrong, one can become a competent leader by learning the X’s and O’s, but truly brilliant leadership is revealed when developed skills are enlivened with natural traits… they compliment one another.

So it is with villages. For a village to be truly remarkable the villagers must share certain innate, fundamental values… spirituality, family, health, education, etc. It is these values upon which the village is built. These are the ties that bind. Without these basic building blocks, it is impossible to find the common ground required for sustainable relationships. That is, after all, what a village is… relationships. I can only imagine that absent these common values, the village would be filled with frustration, confusion, close-mindedness and overall conflict. In other words, it would be the exact antithesis of a village.

Once villagers have identified and gravitated toward this common value set, the real work can begin and the true value can be realized. Our values offer the backdrop for the group norms we must establish and the behaviors that we must learn to exhibit. Over time we learn what is acceptable and what is out of bounds. Through the process of becoming a village and building those relationships with fellow villagers, you learn what buttons not to push and what paths not to cross. A note of caution, however… villages that are built solely upon group norms and organizational rules (learned activities devoid of shared values) can become very stark and disingenuous. Rather than functioning from a position of authentic admiration and sincere empathy, villagers operate from a position of pretense and showmanship.

In the final analysis, there is no single formula for establishing a successful village. They must be grounded on shared values (born) and evolved through shared experiences (made).

Village meet World, World meet The Village

by Courtney

Welcome to the Village Connection. The Village Connection has 2 goals:

1)As a community, we want to make sure that the Village members have as many ways as possible to stay connected with each other. A blog is a central location that we can all come to connect with other Village members.

2)As those who practice and advocate the Village philosophy this blog provides a tool for us to share our stories with the world. Here, people can read our ideas and participate in our conversation.

So, I hope you're as excited as I am about this new opportunity. Share your ideas with us to get the conversation started. Here's your chance to introduce your friends to the Village.