Reflections on the Ground by Steven J. Lawrence
I’ve been thinking a lot about the current political discourse on the national level, and the proliferation of the ego-centered leadership style across the spectrum of political, professional, and social subcultures. This has always been an important issue, because when we look around us, there are more leaders than we sometimes realize. When we consider, for example, a…
Servant Leadership can also be called socially responsible leadership, caring leadership, or even steward leadership. Boiled down to its essence, this is a leadership philosophy that makes caring about people the most important thing. It would be difficult to argue that leaders should not care about people. But, while most critics would agree that caring leaders are needed in…
This morning, I awoke with a vivid recollection of numerous moments throughout my life. It didn’t feel like what the Buddhists call “monkey mind,” the onslaught of chaotic, rapid disconnected thoughts that cause agitation or coagulate into a rigid storyline. It felt more like the simultaneous visitation of life moments beyond time and space. Hard…
Over the past six months, I’ve been developing an approach to educational consulting, that I think has made me a better teacher. One client in particular has given me an opportunity to see stories in a whole new way, as we have worked together for two months building a theatre arts curriculum geared towards middle school…
Recently, I joined the Board of Directors of a non-profit called ESAC, which funds adult education programs across the city, works to prevent homelessness, and helps senior citizens avoid foreclosures on their homes.Today we had a meeting that was so inspiring I could barely contain myself. We were talking about expanding adult education programs, and…
I miss graduate school. The UMASS Boston program’s training in pedagogy was excellent, but the dual degree also focused on organizational change and dialogue, which I fell in love with. The following list is a guide for managing the political aspects of effective management and community organizing. It was developed during my graduate work, and…
Good evening. I discovered an article written by William Powell, the author of “The Anarchist’s Cookbook.” The title is “I wrote the Anarchist Cookbook in 1969. Now I see its premise as flawed”. Powell argues for his book to taken out of publication and urges us to understand that “violence can’t be used to prevent…
An important idea suddenly struck me. It happened just last night after a conflict-resolution process, in which I served as mediator… and only weeks after the sudden death of a person very dear to me. Last night, at the end of one of these meetings, I came to the conclusion that the essence of a healthy community is…
Good afternoon. I’ve read this quote from Kurt Vonnegut before. The arts in my own life, of late, has been a potent meaning-maker… aside from good people and their kind acts. What I love most about my current projects is their inherent collaborative nature. Working in the studio on recordings with my co-producer is like…
Good morning. I’m grateful for the humanity I’ve seen from a lot of good people over the past several weeks, and wanted to re-post some thoughts I posted yesterday on Facebook. I’ve noticed that people who feel genuine gratitude can’t help but to extend their well-being to others, using whatever resources at their disposal… whether…