The Story of ‘Unity’

If not now, when?

We’ve now shared our stories of ME, about how we’ve gotten to where we are today, the challenges we faced along the way, the choices we made in response to the challenge and outcome of our decisions. We’ve also gone through the story of WE and how our communal experiences have shaped our motivations and values. Putting this all together, what does all this mean? What is this calling us to do together, in UNITY, right NOW?

The idea of NOW is related to our willingness and ability to act together, in UNITY. What can we tap into that is Urgent - and worthy of coming into our ever busy programs and agendas.

Marshall Ganz reminds us that NOW does not mean that we should jump into moving traffic. But, rather, take head of what Tolstoy first called the 'Snare of Preparation' - education versus action. We don't want only to "lumber our minds", as he put it, with the information we read and take in. The things we study and work at should prepare us for life - not to help us avoid living. We might say that the whole function of education and preparing is to produce habits of action, appropriate reactions that contribute to our individual and social good.

How much learning and preparation is enough? Who knows. But it is clear that we can never really plan for the world and what is to come. We have to step into it and learn as we go, learn by doing. 'Just another degree, and I'll have all the answers the world needs to figure things out...' Just a bit more fine tuning on the strategic plan and then it will be ready to save the world...' Life does not work like that. We cannot predict the future. Rarely can you learn to do something well until you actually begin to do it. Understanding flows from action, not prior to action. We are in a learning mode all the time.

How does your stories of ‘me’ and ‘we’ unfold to become your story of ‘unity’?

 

A useful place to start thinking about what ‘UNITY’ means in your personal context is to contemplate on what you want to commit to now - and how others can help in that mission. What can we do together that we can’t do alone?

What are the shared values that come together in this group? What are the unique energies that can be converted into meaningful action? What is our motivating goal and what opportunities must we act on?

Of course, answers to these questions may not be clear at the moment. But, is there an intention within you that you can identify that you are ready to share? What expression of action can you bring to the table?

Some things that might help your thought process..

  1. What are things that you wanted to achieve in other groups or communities that were left unfulfilled? Why did they stall?

  2. What are the real issues that ‘piss you off’? What gets you out of bed faster than anything else in the morning? What keeps your mind occupied when you’re sleeping? What is eating away at your short term memory and subconscious?

The Story of Unity / NOW

1. Take some time for personal reflection and prepare what you are going to say (your 2 min story) 

2. Find a partner you haven’t worked with yet 

3. Share your story (2 mins)

  • Receive feedback and coaching from your partner (3 mins)

  • Swap roles

4. Find another partner you haven’t worked with and repeat step (3)

5. Find a third partner and repeat again

6. In the whole group, each of us will share our 2 minute story of UNITY NOW


Guidelines 

In this final part of the process, see how you can align your stories of ME, WE and UNITY to create a compelling, motivating story and opportunity to put your exploration of your bigger self into action.

Challenge: What is the specific challenge we face now? Why is it OUR challenge? 

Choice: What is the specific choice we need to make? Where can we get the courage from? 

Outcome: What can happen as a result of our choice? What hope can it give others? 

A story of “UNITY Now” is urgent, it requires dropping other things and paying attention, it is rooted in the values you celebrated in your story of ME and WE. What is truly important to you, to us, and what urgent action do we need to take now? This is not the story of tomorrow, this is what we’re going to do today. This is a strategy, an agenda, our plan. 

  1. What urgent challenge do you hope to inspire us to take action on? What stories communicate this challenge? What stories can you tell to make that call ‘real’ or ‘alive’?

  2. What will the future look like if we fail to act (the “nightmare”)? What could the future look like if we do act (the “dream”)? Paint pictures with vivid details.

  3. What is your vision of successful action? What stories can offer us a sense of hope?

  4. What choice will you call on this group to make if we are to meet this challenge successfully?

  5. What is your call to action for all leaders with the courage to care?

  6. How can we act together to achieve this outcome?

  7. What specific action might you call us to take? What are you asking us to commit to? How can we begin now, in this moment?

A story of UNITY also offers hope—not make believe hope, but real, plausible hope, often grounded in what others are already achieving, grounded in the courage of others’ actions, and in the strategic vision of what we can achieve together. At the intersection of the urgency and the promise of hope is a choice that must be made – to act, or not to act; to act in this way, or in that. Telling a good story of now requires the courage of imagination, or as Walter Brueggemann named it, ‘a prophetic imagination, in which you call attention both to the pain of the world and also to the possibility for a better future.’