Dear Editor,
Some believe that coming together is impossible. I, on the other hand, know that it is possible. In fact, it is imperative for the future.
I am not speaking about coming together when all the problems are solved, but coming together right now, by taking simple actions on a daily basis to help restore some of the trust that has been lost.
In my work, I have found that the reason most people don't come together is that they are afraid. We simply don't trust each other. This is not a Jamaican challenge it affects the whole world.
It's funny how many times I have heard "Trust me, man" in Jamaica. In order to feel trust, real trust, you must feel safe. You can't have one without the other; it can't just be a manner of speech. Do we trust those in our homes and neighbourhoods? Do we feel trust with our friends and the country at large? Do the grills that surround our homes make us feel safer?
Through my years travelling and living in many parts of this island, I find fear and distrust at monumental proportions. We spend much of our waking lives protecting ourselves from each other. How can we come together if we don't trust and feel safe?
We all want to be safe. The energy that is bound up in this lack of trust is enormous and robs us of our true power.
Let us take a look at the times when we do come together and there is a temporary feeling of trust; when we root for our athletes for instance. That's because we share a common goal and everything that seem to separate us disappear. When the team wins, everybody wins. That is what it is all about. But how do we create teamwork in this country?
It is the simple things in life that we do and don't do on a daily basis that keep us from "coming-together" as a team. By taking care of the little things, the bigger problems sometimes take care of themselves.
Simple actions that we can take on a daily basis to build trust, safety, and respect and stimulate coming together are to greet each other when we pass in the streets or in a building. When driving, allow another vehicle to pass ahead of you. If someone allows you to go ahead of them in traffic, then beep your horn to return your appreciation. It is a simple action, but it could become contagious.
Open a door for someone. Guide a senior citizen or a child across the street. Pick up a piece of garbage and throw it into a bin. Can you imagine if each person on this island picked up one piece of garbage a day and threw it into a bin? Think of all the simple actions that can communicate that we are "coming-together" as a team, that we respect each other and we care. We are all in this together.
I challenge you as individuals, communities, churches, and companies to focus for one day on open, honest communication from the heart. Let it flow, and let's see what happens.
If you are responding to these possibilities with anything but enthusiasm, ask yourself why? Why would you not want to become a member of the Jamaican Team? Why not try this approach? Nothing else has worked.
Let Jamaica become a model for the world of social transformation.
One love.
Dino DeFilippi
Kingston 10
#teamjamaica
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Some believe that coming together is impossible. I, on the other hand, know that it is possible. In fact, it is imperative for the future.
I am not speaking about coming together when all the problems are solved, but coming together right now, by taking simple actions on a daily basis to help restore some of the trust that has been lost.
In my work, I have found that the reason most people don't come together is that they are afraid. We simply don't trust each other. This is not a Jamaican challenge it affects the whole world.
It's funny how many times I have heard "Trust me, man" in Jamaica. In order to feel trust, real trust, you must feel safe. You can't have one without the other; it can't just be a manner of speech. Do we trust those in our homes and neighbourhoods? Do we feel trust with our friends and the country at large? Do the grills that surround our homes make us feel safer?
Through my years travelling and living in many parts of this island, I find fear and distrust at monumental proportions. We spend much of our waking lives protecting ourselves from each other. How can we come together if we don't trust and feel safe?
We all want to be safe. The energy that is bound up in this lack of trust is enormous and robs us of our true power.
Let us take a look at the times when we do come together and there is a temporary feeling of trust; when we root for our athletes for instance. That's because we share a common goal and everything that seem to separate us disappear. When the team wins, everybody wins. That is what it is all about. But how do we create teamwork in this country?
It is the simple things in life that we do and don't do on a daily basis that keep us from "coming-together" as a team. By taking care of the little things, the bigger problems sometimes take care of themselves.
Simple actions that we can take on a daily basis to build trust, safety, and respect and stimulate coming together are to greet each other when we pass in the streets or in a building. When driving, allow another vehicle to pass ahead of you. If someone allows you to go ahead of them in traffic, then beep your horn to return your appreciation. It is a simple action, but it could become contagious.
Open a door for someone. Guide a senior citizen or a child across the street. Pick up a piece of garbage and throw it into a bin. Can you imagine if each person on this island picked up one piece of garbage a day and threw it into a bin? Think of all the simple actions that can communicate that we are "coming-together" as a team, that we respect each other and we care. We are all in this together.
I challenge you as individuals, communities, churches, and companies to focus for one day on open, honest communication from the heart. Let it flow, and let's see what happens.
If you are responding to these possibilities with anything but enthusiasm, ask yourself why? Why would you not want to become a member of the Jamaican Team? Why not try this approach? Nothing else has worked.
Let Jamaica become a model for the world of social transformation.
One love.
Dino DeFilippi
Kingston 10
#teamjamaica
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