In a few short hours this afternoon, Nexus was quickly wrapped up
with final reflections, embarking questions, commitments as we go our
separate ways, exchange of contact information, and still some
confusion and disarray as to what the purpose of the gathering was and
what our outcome was, if there was one.
This is the most notable
theme of the afternoon's concluding activities. Among the various
desires, articulations, and commitments there are fascinating
dichotomies and a wide variety of perspectives. People will certainly
leave talking about these questions, and perhaps that is the best
outcome of all, regardless of how individuals felt it went.
When asked what we wanted the Nexus to be, people responded with a variety of desires:
- a resource to learn
- an agent to face social and environmental justice and transformation
- a time and place for everyone to be together, including by distance communication
- a place for new practitioners to come and mentor and be mentored
- a venue to balance the voices of different perspectives
- a cross-disciplinary educational forum
- an opportunity for partnering and collaborating
- exploring and inventing new techniques
- an incorporation of a vehicle for getting this field out on a national stage
- a bridge between practitioners, businesses, and activists
Clearly, there was a lot going on here - above and below the surface.
Personal commitments people made, and those to which others agreed to pursue included:
- networking peace networks
- fostering mentorship
- continuing conversations about the underlying patterns of these methods
- ensuring this event is financially and otherwise accessible
- working to include diverse voices
- being the networker of information for this group on climate change issues
- engaging youth and working to transform public school systems
- planning the Nexus II
- starting new events
- and more - check out Conference Central!
For
those of you who were not able to physically be at the Nexus, there
will be myriad of forums for you to participate, online and otherwise.
Stay tuned on Conference Central and plug yourself in!
I
did not gather a sense of completion from the group this afternoon.
Rather, it is clear that there is a lot of work yet to be done, both in
reflecting on this Nexus and planning the next and in how we each continue our practice and study from here.
Rich
conversations have begun, however, and as Ivan described, the desire
for some kind of shared meaning within this practice seems to be deeply
rooted in all of them.