How to Build a Supportive Community and Break Down Barriers
Building A Supportive Community | We All Have Something to Learn From Each Other | Planting Seeds of Kindness and Raising Community Builders
Editorial By:
This week our theme is unity. How many culturally diverse friends do you have? Are you open to worldly cultural celebrations and acceptance of how people globally think and feel? How do you think people on the other side of the earth feel about you? It is time to break down the walls.
When we practice acceptance of others we put them at ease. We all have so much to learn from each other. I used to walk through the inner city streets of Cincinnati. Most people would not do that because it is considered a dangerous area. There are beautiful wall murals to see in the area, I never felt threatened. In fact when I said hello to people sitting on doorsteps they were a bit surprised, but very friendly in return.
Recently, I met two neighbors who were born in India. When they saw me wearing a Ganesh shirt it made them feel open to talking to me. Ganesh is a Hindu Diety that I have a lot of respect for. We are now great friends. During Diwali, the Celebration of victory of light over dark, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance, they both brought me traditional Indian sweets. They expressed how grateful they are to have an American friend who is knowledgeable about their culture.
I have many gay and lesbian friends and they are amazing people. Forget the labels and get to know they as humans and beautiful souls. Whether it is acceptance of the LGBTQ community, or people of other races and religions, life is better when we unite and practice acceptance and respect for one another. The world needs more love and it starts with each of us individually.
Together
by Gabriella
Today is the day,
When I think of you as part of my day.
Some might say we are different,
I would say we are the same.
Some might say we can not unite,
I would say show them all might.
Love matters the most in my day.
One main human language I would say.
No one can argue the love we can feel.
No boundaries and colors of race
Can divide between the love in my heart.
I care not for those who feel different,
I can love you the same even if you do not.
Focusing on my heart, I can feel great love,
We are all children of this earth,
We can all feel love.
Holding the hand out toward another,
Hearing the joy and struggle they encounter.
Sharing stories, fun, and laughter,
A great value I can conquer.
Today is the day,
When I think of you as part of my day.
I think the same every single day.
I am part of you,
You are part of me,
We are all part of a big human family.
Unity works, simply and fine.
Uphold the values of any divine.
Spirits and angels will lead our way.
May today be simply the way,
When we unite and carry our way.
11/8/2024 GK
Building A Supportive Community
By:
Life isn’t as hard as many humans make it. Our thinking, or mindset can determine our fate or destiny. I like to live simple, so I find easy ways to live and give what I want for myself. I just give what I want.
I want love. I give it. I want kindness, I give it. I want honesty, I give it. I want patience, understanding, forgiveness, peace, consideration, and all things that will allow me to live and be what I want to be.
I don’t like or want hatred. I know its danger and consequences, so I don’t give, share, or add it to our world. I don’t want cruelty, I don’t give or share it. I don’t like pain, I don’t share it. Humans want a world where everything works accordingly and everyone can understand the needs of others. A world where understanding, empathy, peace, love, etc, lives in every heart.
Our world isn’t made that way. Cultures, mindsets, needs, wants, likes, dislikes, and other issues help to create conflicts. How we react to these conflicts will help or hinder us and our generation, because we are connected in invisible ways.
I love kindness, thoughtfulness, understanding, and everything it takes to create a peaceful and calm environment, that will allow my creative innovative imagination to flow, heal, inspire, encourage, motivate, and help everyone.
To build a supportive community I give the good that I want without regard to race, sex, age, culture, and religion to everyone. Everyone wants kindness. Yes, it’s that simple. You won’t get it back from the ones you give it to many of the time. When you need help, life, kindness, love, understanding, and the good you do, will send an angel to help you.
Good is in every heart, and good actions and intentions have an amazing way of attracting positive vibes and energy. Good vibes will find good vibes. Good intentions will lure good intentions in. Yes, balance must have a say, and in the end, good pays back more dividends than bad. When you live a good life, others around you will know and start to imitate you. Your decisions will be like a fruit tree that feeds and heals your community. Start living good, then your kindness will pull others in and soon everyone will start helping each other.
How we live can break down barriers around us. The invisible ones too. Kindness has the power to change hearts, minds, intentions, and decisions, while altering fate and destiny, positively changing our world. I break down barriers by just being kind to everyone. Kindness has the power to unite us too.
We All Have Something to Learn From Each Other
By:
Creating a family that practices acceptance and welcomes all races, religions, and people globally is rewarding. There are many ways to participate in breaking down barriers and creating acceptance both locally and globally.
Schools and Families
When my son was in grade school, his school was incredibly diverse. It was very cool that the Cafeteria hung a flag to represent the country that each student was from. It taught my son a lot about being inclusive and accepting. He often asked to have his friends over for play dates. I was thrilled that he had a friend from India, Korea, Vietnam, and China. I sometimes joked that they could form their own U.N.
My son loves to eat all kinds of ethnic foods because he was exposed when he visited each friend. And that was the real deal: incredible food rather than the Americanized version. He also learned a few words in each language.
Travel
Traveling is another great way to learn and also educate kids about other people, places, and cultures. I took my children to Europe, and they enjoyed each of the countries we visited. My son, at age seven, met a French boy his age in Provance. They spoke different languages but bonded over football or soccer, as we say in America. The owner of the hotel and father of the boy was so grateful because he explained that his son is often lonely. Children are wonderfully friendly and adaptable. They even find ways around language barriers.
We break down borders by accepting others and enjoying learning from their cultural practices. Encouraging children to have a diverse group of friends is a wonderful way to teach them inclusiveness.
When we accept others, they are more receptive to us as well.
Final Thoughts
Even in our neighborhood, I build a supportive community by hosting game nights and dinner parties for a diverse group of wonderful friends. Community is about building an accepting group of people who can count on each other, create support, and inspire each other to be the best version of ourselves possible. We all have something to learn from each other; when we embrace that, the world-loving energy meter rises.
My Experience
By:
- The PossibilistMy first understanding was that there was more than just my neighbors on “Storybook” Lane, where my parents bought a home when I was seven. There were a lot of kids who didn’t look or speak like me, but that wasn’t the clue.
My father had collected National Geographic Magazines since he was seventeen. When he bought that home, he was twenty-nine and going to school at night. He built an office where he could study, and he used many of those maps to wallpaper the walls of his office with those same maps at various angles.
My parents divorced, and I received custody of my dad’s office, where I slept and did my schoolwork. It’s where my curiosity about people first began. I would spend hours standing or lying and looking at the maps. Sometimes, I was on a ladder to see the maps closer to the ceiling. I wondered if the kids looked like my friends and me. What do they eat? What does their home look like? Where do they go to school? What chores does their mom make them do? How do people live? Do they speak the same language?
Fast Forward…
At sixty years old, I was CEO of a not-for-profit in fifty-five countries. Before we started the company, I had already traveled more than twenty times around the world on business. It not only allowed me to gain a better sense of who DR Rawson is but also to gain a better sense of who DR Rawson is globally.
At that time, I often said when meeting groups of people that I was born in America, but I was global by nature. I came to realize that we all have different issues, different jobs, and even different religious beliefs, exactly like every other home on the street where I live today. But we are all the same. We become better people by living the same essential 25 Character Traits, such as kindness, respect, gratitude, joy, and twenty-one others.
Annelise Lords is correct. Give to achieve what you want. If you want love, give it. If you want peace and understanding, give it. Give what you want the world to be. Give what you want your world to be in order to achieve global, local, community, business, or family unity.
Planting Seeds of Kindness and Raising Community Builders
By:
I’ve always been adept at working together and helping each other as humans. As a parent, I've decided to teach my kids about building a supportive community. I remember when my middle child came home upset because a new classmate was being left out at recess. He didn’t understand why his classmates couldn’t include him. I asked him if he was willing to include the other kid. He had mentioned that he wanted to, just didn’t want to be left out as well. That left me thinking.
Instead of just telling my boy to be nice, we brainstormed ways he could include the new kid, not necessarily when they were all in class. The next day, he invited him to play soccer with his friends. It was a small act, but it bonded them and thus made a big difference. Later, we asked his parents to join us on a hike in the mountains. Since then, we took with us hiking a few more classmates of our boys. We included more kids with the same passion for nature.
I realized that kids need some guidance from us to become community builders themselves. Kids love to be involved and communicate, usually. Or to just be taken into consideration without being judged. Who doesn’t like this, honestly?
To teach kids about breaking down barriers though, we need to keep it simple. It’s more about modeling it and showing it through our actions. We can keep talking about kindness, our values, and respect for everyone.
For example, when we're outside, it’s a fun game to point out how people help each other. Maybe you see someone holding a door open or helping with groceries. Tell your kids, "See how nice that is? We can do that too!" These are little things, they all mean offering a little kindness. Let them practice being helpful at home or with neighbors.
We often try to set up playdates with kids from different backgrounds or nationalities. When kids ask about differences, it means they notice, and they get curious. We need to answer honestly but focus on what people have in common. We could say, "Yes, their family speaks a different language at home, too, just like us. We also have different favorite foods and hobbies. Isn't it cool to learn about new things from others?"
It all starts at home. When we teach our kids to be kind, caring, and open-minded, we're planting the seeds for a world where everyone feels welcome, united through kindness, through community. It would be nice to celebrate what makes us different and what brings us together. Every little act of kindness counts!
Thank you for reading! Please share your ideas in the comments or let’s discuss this even further in the chat.
Affirmation: “I am excited to learn about other cultures and welcome a diversity in my life.”
Quote “It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.” ~Audre Lorde
Gabriella: “Break barriers: One small step at a time.”
Libby: “The more diverse my friends and acquaintances, the more enhanced my life becomes.”
Gabby: “We're planting the seeds for a world where everyone feels welcome, united through kindness, through community.”
DR: “Community begins with respect.”
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All of these comments show a great deal of wisdom and sensitivity. What happens when we live in parts of the country (or world) where we don’t encounter others of different cultures is we insulate ourselves. It takes courage to reach out of our comfort zone.
Thank you for this wonderful bulletin from DEP about breaking barriers and building a supportive community, which is the need of the hour.
Well done and keep up the good work, DEP team.