Relations
The term ‘relations in this context is tertiary; indigenous, personal and professional. Indigenous is that which relates to planetary citizens that are comprised of people from all walks of life. Personal relations are any familial, paternal or relative relationship one engages on a daily basis. Professional relations are those which affect the world, from local community to global village and our collective affect on planet Earth through the application of business models and/or commercial activity.
The first category are what might be termed, at least in part, as Cultural Creatives – noting the charactieristics of this definition as the behavioral norm for Planetary Citizens. These folks are aware of local and global concerns, ranging in knowledge-base from novice to expert. They are active in some way, promoting harmony among people and planet through whatever means are available.
The second category begins and ends with the family, nuclear and extended. Some, no doubt, would be considered Cultural Creatives yet most are caught up in the daily deliberations and travails of raising and supporting a family. The attitude of the individuals vary as much as belief systems, religions and politics. They are too busy to educate themselves on the environment, let alone local or global activities to support awareness. Still, most genuinely want to do the right thing, morally and ethically sound.
The last category is a major concern regarding the voting power of currency and where those votes have been cast to intentionally or unintentionally retard our growth as a planetary society. We know the power of commerce; education and community are more important in developing sound practices for sustainable living, causing no harm. It is here where tools like the ISO 26000 Social Responsibility Standards can affect change.
Indigenous Rights – Our Responsibility
It is time we learned how to get along. We know the difference between desirable and undesirable behavior. We know that when threatened, we tend to attack and defend instead of pausing to understand the situation and why it is occurring. Fear-based thinking pushes us toward hasty action and undesirable results. We know that consideration is necessary, yet our emotions often circumvent our better sense. The UN endorsed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People some years ago, but shouldn’t we treat each other with the same care and consideration?
Making sense common in the 21st Century is tantamount to becoming a smarter people and planet, capable of meeting the needs of our planetary civilization. It isn’t a matter of the meek inheriting the earth any longer. It is a matter of humans turning their hearts and minds toward getting along. War is not the result of getting along, yet the engagement of it has fueled our nations’ economies for decades if not centuries. So becoming more familiar with natural cycles and rhythms seems appropriate, including our human cycles.
Biorhythms used to be an esoteric notion; astrology a psuedo-science with mad scientists in control. Funny how biographies of world leaders and revealing these tools to be part of their every day lives and decision-making process. Now we have various personality profiles and team-building surveys that include a deep understanding of psychology and spiritual awareness. Indeed, we are getting smarter… maybe even wiser.
Personal Relations – Intimacy
We know the divorce rate in the US is over 50%. That should tell us we’ve missed the mark a long time ago. Why? We don’t invest any importance on emotional and spiritual development in school. We expect those things to happen magically, evidently, by osmosis or something similar. Parents aren’t held accountable, taught how to be effective caregivers or even encouraged to be families today. The drive for economic gain has removed the core of the family unit and replaced it with financial and social pressures.
There is a mass exodus from churches, too, as evidenced by the Catholic and Mormon Churches advertising on television now, looking for new members to fill the pews. Is this the direction we need to go? How could so many religions who fight amongst each other be talking about the same Creator? There is value in the core teachings of any religion, but it is meant to bring us closer to each other and our natural world. To love one another and to treat our environment with the same consideration of sacredness. But do we?
Solutions?
There is a massive shift away from the distractive and disturbing noise of commercialism, opting for greener pastures and a healthier lifestyle. How do we work together to make things better? First, we need to recognize that things just are the way they are now and not seek to blame anyone or anything. That is a waste of precious energy and time. Next, we need to learn how to communicate our intimate feelings and thoughts openly, without the emotional charges of pent up frustration from unspoken and unfulfilled expectations of self and others. The latter will lead toward the next best steps, restoring a foundation of faith, love and trust. Why? Because we can be open and transparent like little children again, only we have the emotional maturation to work things out.
Professional Relations – Change Agents
Organizations like ASTD, SHRM, PMI, IAF, ICA and others are working to empower employees and staff toward achieving excellence in their professional lives and work. Local, national and international gatherings promote the next best process or tool for getting more work done with less. Corporate change strategies have been about the bottom line in most cases, not about the people making it happen. Happy people get more done with less supervision. That seems almost like common sense, even logical, but have you felt the tension in your work place lately?
People move slow. Change is arduous and most people are downright afraid of it, mostly because it is an unkown… something different than what they have been doing. An organization is like a slug in comparison to personal change. Organization cultural patterns are well ingrained and hard to recognize, let alone change if you are on the inside. Change management takes much longer to manuever through the river, but there is a party on the other side. Coaches and consultants help organizations change effectively, with little to no pain and the most effective ones actually get the people involved so they enjoy the process. Facilitation is an art and skill developed from years of moving chaos to order in stressful environments. The best facilitators help those with the experience in the organization to develop their own change methodology, making the buy-in a natural part of the process.
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