Open Sesame

Ready or not here comes the future! Where will we be 15 years from now? And what can we do about it if anything?

Probably not much. It’s going to happen one way or the other anyway. We cannot stop it from unfolding. All we can do is affect how it unfolds, and then only maybe.

That is why proponents of long term planning have worked hard to help others see the future.  Well, see in a way they find palatable! In other words, what is important that we don’t want to see erased by future developments? That sounds like an easy task to accomplish but it is not! Think about it for a bit. What is it about your community that you love and would hate to see disappear? Is it a feeling? A physical asset like a river or lake or beautiful mountain? Or is it a spirit of community, or togetherness, or special unity that a lot of people know about and support? These elements are often soft and hard to see let alone define.

Yet it must be done if we are to protect what we don’t want to lose.

Unlike mythical Brigadoon we cannot hide it away in hundred-year-old-mists safe to reappear for a day a century later unchanged. No; we live real lives where change is a constant and we adapt to it little by little.

At some point we logical people need to face facts and reality. We can do that by defining what it is about our community or region that we like and pledge to keep the good while discarding the less savory. Sounds like a plan! But it is much more difficult to do than to speak of.

For me I have these hopes and dreams for my perfect community:

-Neighbors care about neighbors and interact positively in their lives

-Neat and tidy streets and landscapes are present throughout town

-Intergeneration involvement keeps all residents aware of different age groups and their value to the other age groups

-Schools that help kids discover themselves and grow their own identify and hopes and dreams for the future

-Community that appreciates beauty in its many forms – arts, don’t you know! Dance, visual arts, performing arts, music, design, color, proportion – you name it and the village appreciates and uses the art surrounding us

-Governance that is civil and intelligent. We talk with each other and become comfortable with the issues in a logical way so we can make decisions easily and openly. If a decision proves to be poor, change our actions and correct the decision!

-Value each other and not blame them for what they say, do or look like. Love and cherish all of our community. It enriches us; we enrich it. It is a mutual enterprise!

If we can recognize the above positive elements of our community and safeguard each of them, I feel certain our community will prosper. We will build shops, businesses and service agencies that are quality and responsive to our needs. They will be successful and build a viable local economy. We will be able to support our own way of life and town.

And we will be proud and happy of our own environs. Like a family. Love each other. Respect each other. Accept all of our differences. Recognize value and worth among us all.

Sound utopian? Yes, I suppose it does. But why work for the opposite? Why not the best we are capable of? Besides, the requisite journey sounds like it would be fun!

Care to come along?

November 1, 2012