22_ Culture Repair and Villages (1)
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Indiana University, Bloomington *
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400
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Communications
Date
Apr 3, 2024
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docx
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Uploaded by MateMonkeyMaster3369
1. What is culture repair? Because of repeated disappointments and lack of loving connections throughout our lives (especially our childhoods), we create alternative versions of ourselves (‘alter egos’) that do not align with our true beings. Sadly, due to society and assimilated family systems, this alter ego is normalized, and common among people, and no one acknowledges any wrongdoings. Accordingly, since no one is talking about these shared feelings, we internalize them. According to Jon Young, culture repair is acknowledging that our human instincts and longings that were supposed to happen, didn’t and that the current human family structures are flawed. Young also refers to culture repair as village building and through mentoring, people can awaken their true selves (awakening engagement with love and connection).
2. How do Manfred Max-Neef's hierarchy of needs relate to Jon Young's gifts of connection? How do we cultivate that connection, according to Jon Young?
Both the hierarchy of needs and the gifts of connection, when fulfilled and done correctly, help humans live satisfying and full lives. In other words, when one’s hierarchy
of needs is not fulfilled or one is not experiencing the gifts of connection, our lives can feel ‘off’ and we more often than not will be unhappy. Additionally, after comparing the gifts of connection with the hierarchy of needs, almost all of the characteristics could be used interchangeably (or ideally, simultaneously). For example, one of Max-Need’s needs is the need for affection and one of Young’s gifts is love. In my opinion, both affection and love have similar intentions and reasonings for being included within both parties' lists. Jon Young describes cultivating connection as moving from threads to a chord to ropes.
In other words, we cultivate this connection through building and strengthening meaningful bonds with those around us and nature itself. Additionally, Young states that
practicing applied mindfulness (and/or awakening our senses) is how we can start to cultivate connections with nature (and others!). 3. How does story-telling apply to connection? How does this relate to Care of People?
According to Jon Young, “If you don't develop the film of your experience it does not integrate.” In other words, telling others about your experiences will not only inform others but also, it will make your experiences better/more impactful for yourself. Additionally, the more you engage your senses when storytelling, the more integrated it will be for you (and makes the story even better for others). Relating to care of people, if you tell someone (who wants to hear) your story, they will likely want to tell you theirs. In his Ted Talk, Young describes the process of storytelling and emphasizes how the element of storytelling is largely absent in society today. Additionally, storytelling can be an opening to forming connections between people, ultimately leading to care. Overall, feeling heard and connecting with others is crucial for
healthy people, and through storytelling, the care of people is cultivated.
4. How could the principles (8-10) enhance the development of community and villages?
According to principle 8 “By putting the right things in the right place, relationships develop between them and they support each other.” Accordingly, designing a community in the right fashion and including areas that can be used by all/multi-
functional, will facilitate connection and ultimately enhance an area. Talking to/interacting with people and having meaningful connections is key to enhancing the development of a community as it allows for ideas to grow, spread, and be established. Principle 9: Use small and slow solutions -is also very important to enhancing a community or village's development. Being deliberate and intentional with a community's design/structure creates a stronger and more sustainable foundation which
results in resiliency. Also, when problems come to light, taking time to understand why the problem is happening and the best/most sustainable ways to fix it are key. Building a strong community/village is not a race and taking one’s time and being intentional with
solutions allows for longevity and less room for error. According to Principle 8: use and value diversity “Diversity reduces vulnerability to a variety of threats and takes advantage of the unique nature of the environment in which it resides.” This principle teaches us that relying on one/few systems/aspects of a design can lead to failure. For example, using poly crops instead of mono-crops not only
gives a community more crop yield options but also improves the environment (increased soil health, many plants benefit from each other, and there is less chance of full-scale crop failure). Also, every aspect of a design should be functional (and in best cases, have multiple uses/benefits). Overall, practicing principle 8 and having designs that are multifunctional and diverse creates resilience and lessens change/impact of hardship. 5. What steps could be taken to strengthen community culture in your neighborhood and begin to transition it to a village?
I would prioritize community resilience. On community resilience, Macnamara states that “connecting with our neighbors, and friends; sharing resources, tools, childcare, stories; and being a listening ear “ are all involved in the process. Currently, none of this
is present in my neighborhood, in fact, often people don’t even acknowledge each other.
Accordingly, I would prioritize people in my community meet by first, hosting a series of events (maybe a block party) to get people introduced and aware of each other. Also, in
the short term, opening up a community forum where we all have each other's numbers and maybe a small bio of ourselves could be helpful as well. Eventually, I would hope to
open a community area, such as a garden, interactive park, or communal outdoor kitchen area that encourages human interaction and connections. I feel that starting connections will lead to increased sharing, caring, and storytelling which in turn, makes our community stronger and gives us the foundations of village life. Once the connections are made, prioritizing resilience is key for establishing a village. Starting new systems and repairing old ones will be important as well. For example, hopefully, we would open a polyculture community garden and our yield could be sold or shared throughout the community. Overall, to transition my community, first, we would need to
establish connections and then, I feel the rest will be able to follow (establishing resilience and connections to the earth).
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