New Perspectives

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I remember asking someone what the best part of retirement was for him, and his response was “no more meetings!” 

There have been a number of times through the past two to three weeks that I have remembered that comment as I have made my way through a number of meetings.  Some colleagues of mine really enjoy meetings.  They look forward to them.  They are energized by the interaction.  They are stimulated and in many ways thrive in meetings.

 Others I know dread meetings.  The thought of getting together with a group of people to discuss, organize, plan or review makes them tense, bored or indifferent.  The reality of meetings can be the ticket for some to never get involved.  Perhaps it is the potential for conflict too.  Some experiences of meetings can give good reason to avoid them.

It may seem like a simplistic question to ask but recently I found myself asking, what is a meeting?

Is there a meeting at a meeting? 

That is to say, is there a coming together?  Do we have an encounter with someone?  Is there space created to allow for difference?  Is it possible to then meet each other?  To really engage in the act of building community.  To foster a unity in diversity.  To grow in the same garden, share the same soil and be different plants.

To meet is to encounter difference and to trust that this difference is not scandalous.  To trust that this difference is not divisive but an invitation toward community. 

In the end, if meetings are not a step toward building community within our differences, then we have not truly had a meeting.

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Tuesday, January 25, 2011