Category Archives: Wade’s Journal

Reflections and reports on my personal life

Fellowship Church: “Intimate Direct Action”

Posted on by Wade Lee Hudson

Charles JohnsonRev. Yielbonzie Charles Johnson, a semi-retired Unitarian Universalist minister currently engaged in doctoral work on “The Transformation of Shame” at the Graduate Theological Union, presented the August 3 sermon at the Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples. He opened with a quote from Vincent Van Gogh letter to his brother Theo:

…It is better to be high-spirited, even though one makes more mistakes, than to be narrow-minded and all too prudent. It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love, is well done.

Johnson then riffed on the tension between “the one and the many” and urged the parishioners to “love many things” rather than allowing others to impose a single perspective on oneself, or trying to do the same to others.

He recounted how when Dr. Howard Thurman served as Dean of Chapel at Howard University in Washington, DC (from 1932 to 1944 before leaving to co-found Fellowship Church in San Francisco) students told him that they were expecting a “Moses” but that he seemed to be a “mystic.” Thurman replied, “Just remember. The inside and the outside are one.”

Johnson declared that our calling is to avoid “false guides” and “groupthink,” and “live a genuine life.” But, he asked, “How can you know if it is genuine? How do we seek a genuine life?” His response was to recommend “intimate direct action” by the following “Four Roads to Intimacy”:

The first road, he said, is to move away from “self-veiling,” or self-deception. Remove your masks, your social roles, and “know yourself better than anyone else.”

The second road is to aid the process of self-knowledge by utilizing “solitude” and introspection. One advantage of marriage, he said, is that it can “protect solitude.”

The third road is to establish strong “kinship,” or a sense of community. “We were made for belonging,” Johnson affirmed.

The fourth road is to experience “intimacy” or “the uncircumscribed engagement in the world,” without fear.

With this approach, he asserted, in his conclusion, we can resist the pressure from “the system” to impose “oneness.” We can “love many things,” knowing that others will say, “well done.”

I resonated strongly with Johnson’s sermon. It touched directly on what has become a major concern of mine: the need for deeper human connections. I would have welcomed more suggestions about how to achieve that goal.

On the back page, the program for the day included:

• The average attendance for July was 24 and average receipts each Sunday were $741.
• The next film to be shown in the Second Sunday Social Justice Film Series will be on Sunday August 10 after the social hour. We will be watching a chapter from Academy Award-winning director Oliver Stone’s widely acclaimed, 13-part Untold History of the United States. We hope you can join us.
• The program closed with a verse from Rumi:

Search, no matter what situation you are in.
O thirsty one, search for water constantly.
Finally, the time will come when you will reach the spring.

Birthday Reflections 2014

Posted on by Wade Lee Hudson

Many thanks to the more than twenty individuals who participated in the July 26 Open House celebration of my 70th birthday and the release of My Search for Deep Community: An Autobiography, as well as the many more who were unable to attend and sent me good wishes.

DSC02109Early on, prior to opening the first box of books, Rev. Glenda Hope offered a prayer of thanksgiving, while I hoped there were no major glitches in the manufacture of the books. There were none.

During the course of the day, most of the well-wishers took a book, along with a note explaining the kind of feedback I’m seeking at this time, and we primarily socialized informally, while occasionally looking at photos from my seven-month sojourn through the Dominican Republic, Arizona, and Lake Tahoe. The spread from Whole Foods Catering was largely scarfed up, as were my homemade split pea soup and sweet potato casserole (with pineapple juice and vanilla).

On three occasions, however, we engaged more formally in three exercises designed to elicit a deeper exchange than what normally occurs at such gatherings. My suggestion that we ask one individual twenty questions in order to get to know that individual more fully was modified to five questions, and seemed to elicit some valuable interaction. A “soul session” that involved people “speaking from the heart” and passing a “talking stone” to recognize the next speaker also led to some interesting conversation. And when some of the participants elaborated on “if you knew me ______” by filling in the blank, some informative personal information was shared. (I had learned that exercise at a Generation Waking Up event, but Phyllis Sakahara told us about a 2010 MTV reality-television show called If You Really Knew Me  that helped nurture empathy in high schools with that approach.)

I felt those three experiments were successful and helped enrich the entire event.

The “if you knew me” exercise made me realize more clearly that a major reason I wrote my autobiography is that I wanted to make it available to anyone who wants to know me more fully.

Late the next night David Marshall, a Berrett-Koehler Publishers (BK) vice-president who participated in the party, offered the following feedback on the book:

I’ve read enough of your book today to know that I recommend that you publish it to a wider audience sometime in the next twelve months, but I believe it needs a fair amount of manuscript shaping. It’s a great read, but the BIG IDEA of the book gets lost in the current structure. …If the goal is for the reader to know everything about you, then all the information you have included in this first version is relevant, but if the goal is to inspire your readers to search and find deep community in their own lives, then I think some of your chapters are extraneous….

Meanwhile, I would like you to consider [self-] publishing the next edition of your book as an Open Book Editions title. This would officially bring you into the BK author community, you will be invited to join the BK Authors Cooperative, which is a wonderful writers community, and as an OBE author, you would be qualified to attend our annual BK Authors Retreat, which I know you would love….

With that approach, BK would help promote the self-published book and if it did well, consider publishing it as one of their forty or so annual titles.

After reflecting on David’s comments, my current inclination is to seek co-authors for another, more focused book. The working title is What We Want: A Commitment to Compassion. The idea is that the co-authors would collectively write the opening chapter, a declaration, and individually write chapters elaborating on why they affirm that declaration. The declaration might invite readers to endorse the declaration, commit to certain initial actions, and pledge to participate in one or more larger projects if and when enough participation is elicited to launch those projects. My current draft of the declaration begins, “Chances are, you want what most people want. We want to:…”

But first I’ll wait for more feedback on My Search for Deep Community.

Among the many wonderful gifts I received at the party was an essay, “In Memoriam: Bob Dylan’s Modern Times” by Stephen Hazan Arnoff in the Spring 2007 Zeek. (Unfortunately I don’t remember who gave it to me; was it you, Dan Brook?) To see a slightly different online version, click here.

That essay’s analysis of Dylan’s work is relevant to the recent charges that Dylan plagiarizes. The piece argues that, as with Dylan, “a creative act in the ancient and medieval world was not an act of invention ex nihilio, but an act of re-imagination.” Dylan’s own comment on the charge of plagiarism was, “Those motherfuckers can go to hell.”

On a different point, the essay begins with a telling comment on apocalyptic thinking:

When Mikhal Gilmore of Rolling Stone asked Bob Dylan about the significance of the release of his album Love and Theft on September 11, 2001, Dylan offered a metaphor capturing the essence of his artistic vision: “I mean, you’re talking to a person that feels like he’s walking around in the ruins of Pompeii all the time. It’s always been that way for one reason or another.”

That quote reflects a stanza from the album:

They say times are hard, if you don’t believe it
You can just follow your nose
It don’t bother me – times are hard everywhere
We’ll just have to see how it goes

It’s no easy task to maintain a Zen-like detachment and avoid being seduced by the latest cable-news feeding frenzy focused on the latest manufactured crisis. For me, it helps to remember the more than 100,000 people who die prematurely every day due to economic oppression. Staying focused on the big picture and not being distracted by particular crises is difficult. But in the long run, facing reality is important.

In the meantime, I can only do what I can do (while taking care of myself).

Update on the Book

Posted on by Wade Lee Hudson

On July 6, nine months after beginning to write it, I submitted the final manuscript for My Search for Deep Community: An Autobiography, to the formatter. I feel good about it. It’s close to as good as I could have done by myself. I look forward to getting feedback about how to improve it and what to do with it.

The only person to have read the entire book, Bob Anschuetz, a retired English professor who provided line editing services for the book, has written the following for the back cover:

In this extraordinary autobiography, lifelong community organizer and social activist Wade Hudson traces his adventurous journey in search of an authentic life rooted in “deep community”—an association with others that combines activities aimed at fostering mutual support for personal growth with active efforts to create a more compassionate society dedicated to the common good. In detailing an amazing array of personal experiences, from community organizing…to involvement in the human-potential experiments of the 1960s counter-culture…to leadership roles in some of the most meaningful social movements of our times…to driving taxi for a living, Hudson shows that the capacities for compassion, caring and authenticity do not come easily. He portrays his own development with rigorous honesty, revealing the many sides of his personality, admitting his mistakes, and acknowledging the ways in which his experiences have changed him. These testimonies from the heart, and the personal struggles they reflect, produce a fascinating life story. They will also encourage readers to develop their own capacity to love themselves and others, and to live their lives more fully by working with others to help build a better world.

Tracy Atkins, who helped with the formatting, commented, “We have enjoyed working with you, and really like your book and what it stands for.  Great job and extraordinary life.”

Though those comments are encouraging, I have no idea what to expect with the book. All I know is that writing it was a great learning experience for me.

Concerning the cover, some 35 individuals gave me feedback to my “Which Cover?” post. I very much appreciate all of the input. It heartens me to see that so many of you care so much about the book.

About 60% of those favored Option B, the one with the yellow and purple background. That was my initial favorite as well. Some of the comments in favor of that option included:

  • I prefer the yellow and purplish cover, Wade…seems to me it represents a “higher learning.
  • Family and I think the bottom cover is a softer look.  Of course, these are all women, who picked the bottom cover. (four of us)!
  • Totally intuitive on my part, but it has a softer, more heart-centered feeling to it, ergo more reflective of the title.

The comments in favor of the “red/orange”option were longer and more substantive. Those comments included:

 “A” the red one . . being placed in the center of the cover instills strength and balance .. the colors are striking and in a book store will make you pick it up. The lower design has you placed ready to slip off that edge. Not so attention grabbing. Nice colors but NOT working well with you slipping off the edge ..in my humble opinion

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A is stronger than B because:

1.  It uses a strong, positive colour – a red or orange (true reds, such as crimson (bluish) and vermilion (yellowish) are best for this) – which lends you authority AND makes you more attractive to both men and women – so the psychs say!
2.  It places you centre-stage, where you should be for an auto-bio.
3.  It has you facing in the (conventional, left-to-right reading oriented Western sense) forward rather than backwards.

B gives the impression that you are sadly (blue tones in the violet sky) looking back over your life, perhaps about to cry in your beer that “It was better, back in the day”! 😉

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A gives the impression that you’re looking forward confidently to continued successes.

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I don’t know Wade.  If your autobiography is mostly addressing spiritual issues then B seems most appropriate. If it is more pragmatic or advice oriented then I would choose A. Spiritual books usually have the misty backgrounds and the bright red looks like a more earth bound manual type of a book.

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As to the cover choice, I myself had no trouble deciding on it quickly. Definitely, it’s the top one, both for the type and the layout. A great portrait, by the way. You look like a modern-day Walt Whitman. I would, however, like to see an added line of space between the book title and the top of your hat….

As an addendum to my earlier cover-choice message, my impression is that you SHOULD be looking into space, and not squarely at the reader. To me the book represents you as more of a visionary, or prophet–even a bit of a loner–attached to an uncommon cause (deep community), rather than as simply a good guy looking to make friends wherever they’re available.

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Regarding the cover layout, of the two I prefer A, in which  the position of your face invites people to open the book. Suggest a larger and less ornate font for “My Autobiography” – italic is still ok, but find a font that’s more legible, without the curlicues. Regarding background color, my preference would be to stay away from purple / pastels which to me suggest this is a new age or self-help book and do not convey strength the way a strong solid band of color does in A. For the solid band, orange would not be my first choice (perhaps a deep burgundy?) — in any case either color will likely work well to draw the eye and convey a sense of strength.

So I’m going with A, the red/orange option. Thanks again everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fellowship Church: July 6, 2014

Posted on by Wade Lee Hudson

On my way to worship at the Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples on Sunday, July 6, Rev. Dr. Kathryn L. Benton, Co-Minister and Rev. Dr. Dorsey O. Blake greeted me.
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While Board Chair Bryan Caston set up the recording and made notes for his Announcement.
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Readying the Spirit
Silent Meditation.
Prelude. Alexander Major played a beautiful prelude on the piano.
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Ingathering of Community
Expressing a Sense of Awe
Dr. Dorsey Blake opened the service with the opening lines from “A Garden Beyond Paradise” by Rumi:

Everything you see has its roots
in the unseen world.
The forms may change,
yet the essence remains the same.

Every wondrous sight will vanish,
every sweet word will fade.
But do not be disheartened,
The Source they come from is eternal—
growing, branching out,
giving new life and new joy.

Why do you weep?—
That Source is within you,
and this whole world
is springing up from it.

Music. The congregation sang “Énter, Rejoice, and Come In.” The lyrics included “Open your ears to the song,” “Open your hearts everyone,” and “Don’t be afraid of some change.” Then Dr. Blake coached the congregation to sing the first and fourth verses again, which led to a much livelier rendition!

Invoking the Presence. Dr. Benton read the following poem by Hildegard of Bingen:

Holy Spirit,
giving life to all life,
moving all creatures,
root of all things,
washing them clean,
wiping out their mistakes,
healing their wounds,
you are our true life,
luminous, wonderful,
awakening the heart
from its ancient sleep.

Practicing the Presence
Meditation. Hassaun Ali Jones-Bey reflected on the Fourth of July by riffing on the double meaning of the second syllable of the word “freedom,” which can be heard as “dumb.” He said, “I want to find a way of feeling free without feeling dumb. I would like free from dumb.” He then reflected on how we only have certain degrees of freedom. “There’s something called gravity that keeps me on the ground…. I really don’t want complete freedom…. These constraints, our inter-dependence, are what gives us free-from-dumb rather than free-and-dumb…. We are the founding fathers and founding mothers who have to make this idea of freedom come about…. May I wish you free-from-dumb and interdependence every day from now on. Blessings.

Music. The congregation sang “Nearer, My God, to Thee,” which includes the following lyrics:

Though like the wanderer,
The sun gone down,
Darkness be over me,
My rest a stone,
Yet in my dreams,
I’d be nearer, my God, to thee.

Prayer. Dr. Benton opened the prayer with an excerpt from “Be Melting Snow” by Rumi:

Lo, I am with you always means when you look for God,
God is in the look of your eyes,
in the thought of looking, nearer to you than your self,
or things that have happened to you
There’s no need to go outside.

Nearer to Thee, Great Spirit of this moment, of this place. We welcome your presence into the quietness of this place as we prepare for that moment of prayer. We center ourselves by breathing deeply the breath of life, bringing our heart to that breath. [Silence.] We find ourselves at the altar of the soul within and we pray. We long to be nearer to Thee in our thoughts as we strive to solve the challenges of our days. May we keep you near that we may not only think of ourselves but of all of your creatures, the insects, the birds, the reptiles, the other mammals. May we think also of the plants, the flowers, the trees, the grasses. And may we think also of the elements, water, earth, fire, air. May we remember the whole creation in our thoughts. We long to be nearer to Thee in our feelings, as we strive to love and not hate, as we turn our anger to a passion for all life. May we find on that altar of the soul your deep love for us. As we feel this love may we remember those who are suffering, those whose lives are nearer to us: [six names] and others we name here [silence]. And finally Great Spirit of this moment we long to be nearer to Thee in our actions bringing into our consideration the welfare of all creation, our fellow human beings, those that are homeless, those that are incarcerated, those living in poverty, those living in violence. We bring into our consideration the welfare of the animals, the plants, and the entire Earth. With each act, may we consider the consequences for all life. Nearer to Thee, O God, nearer to Thee than ourselves. There is no need to go outside. Amen.

Resting in the Presence
Music Meditation. Alexander Major

The Word. Dr. Dorsey Blake also reflected on the Fourth of July. First, he began by quoting from the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Then he offered this prayer, “Let the words of my mouth that proceed from the meditations of my heart find favor in the heart of the universe and in the heart of those gathered in this place today. Amen.”

Recalling how his grandmother had challenged the notion of “Independence Day” by declaring, “I don’t know why you young black people celebrate Independence Day,” Dr. Blake said, “That prompted me to think about what does it really mean, this Declaration of Independence?” He went on to reflect on how the colonists were revolting against abuses. After trying to resolve them, they were breaking away to form their own government and affirming wonderful ideals. But as Dr. King pointed out, no matter how noble those ideals, how can you pursue happiness if you don’t have a job?

Dr. Blake then quoted from a speech that Frederick Douglass gave on July 4, 1852.

Fellow citizens, pardon me, and allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here today? What have I or those I represent to do with your national independence? Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us? And am I, therefore, called upon to bring our humble offering to the national altar, and to confess the benefits, and express devout gratitude for the blessings resulting from your independence to us?…

What to the American slave is your Fourth of July? I answer, a day that reveals to him more than all other days of the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mock; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are to him mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy – a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation of the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of these United States at this very hour.

Go search where you will, roam through all the monarchies and despotisms of the Old World, travel through South America, search out every abuse and when you have found the last, lay your facts by the side of the everyday practices of this nation, and you will say with me that, for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival.

Many years later Dr. Thurman would say things very similar when he said the United States would end up being the most hated nation on Earth. Dr. Blake also reflected on Thurgood Marshall’s comment on the bicentennial of the Constitution when he said we should celebrate those who have continued to push for change to enhance human rights.

Today, in this country, even religions are oppressive. As Douglass said, “If you are going to have a slave master, don’t have a Christian one.”

Paul said you should always obey the law of the government. But when Jesus was asked the same question, he gave a different answer. In the midst of a popular revolt against “taxation without representation,” someone asked Jesus if he should pay taxes. Jesus replied by referring to the Roman coin, which had an image of Caesar on one side and an image of the High Priest on the other, and replied, “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.” Jesus refused to sell out those who were revolting by telling people they should pay those oppressive taxes. That challenge was also reflected in his Prayer which affirmed the Kingdom of God on Earth. He refused to sanction loyalty to Rome. He was therefore seen as a threat for good reason.

Yet, Frederick Douglass still had hope. “If he had hope, how can I not have hope?” The Declaration states that when humanity is faced with a long train of abuse, “It is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.” How many abuses have we experienced? Clearly we must act. “I am suggesting we not listen to Paul. He was wrong.” We need to proclaim “a new era. We are called to bring a new kind of community into being.”

Offering Our Gifts
Announcments. Bryan Caston.

Sending Forth
Music. “Love Will Guide Us.” Love will guide us, peace has tried us, hope inside us will lead the way on the road from greed to giving. Love will guide us through the hard night. If you cannot sing like angels, if you cannot speak before thousands, you can give from deep within you. You can change the world with your love.
Blessing. Dr. Dorsey Blake.
Postlude. Alexander Major.

After the service, the ministers greeted the parishioners, including Belva Davis, a local TV news anchor, long time Fellowship Church attender, and former associate of Dr. Howard Thurman and Sue Bailey Thurman.
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And I asked a parishioner if I could photograph the drawings she made during the service.

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Then I photographed the books on display for sale downstairs.

 

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Pressed for time, I only stayed briefly for the Social Hour, but I left with my spirit uplifted by a wonderful worship. Then at home, I noticed the following poem by Steven Biko on the back of Sunday’s program:

We regard our living together not as an unfortunate mishap
warranting endless competition among us
but as a deliberate act of God
to make us a community of brothers and sisters
jointly involved in the quest for a composite answer
to the varied problems of life.

NOTE: If you want a digital audio tape of this service, let me know and I can send it to you via wetransfer.com.

Transparency and Sensitivity: A Question

Posted on by Wade Lee Hudson

Self GiantsDear Subscribers:

On the one hand, I value honesty. On the other hand, however, if one is not careful with how one communicates, honesty can lead to others feeling hurt. I’m sure that on many occasions I’ve contributed to unnecessary suffering by being careless with how I express myself. With my autobiography, I hope to minimize such suffering by taking care when I report on my experiences with people who are still alive.
Following is a new section of the latest draft of the Preface that presents my plan in this regard. I would appreciate your feedback.

Thanks,
Wade

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As I anticipated, by fully sharing who I am openly and honestly, writing this autobiography has been liberating. The more transparent I am in disclosing myself, the easier I overcome fears associated with being honest. The more I bring secrets out of the closet, the less ashamed I am and the more I accept myself.

This transparent self-examination is also a political statement. Our society teaches us to fear being honest, both with others and with ourselves. From an early age, we learn to stop being spontaneous. Rather, we become secretive in order to gain rewards or avoid punishment. At times, withholding our feelings is necessary, but with most people in the modern world, it seems to me, it becomes a counter-productive habit and we even deceive ourselves. Rather than being authentic, many of us worry too much about what others think of us and modify our behavior to shape their reactions. We manipulate others, who manipulate us. We internalize the judgments of others and beat ourselves up with guilt, shame, and harsh judgments. Due to these dynamics, we fail to develop the self-confidence to be real, which undermines our ability to challenge illegitimate authority.

What we gain by being inauthentic is usually not worth the price we pay. There are exceptions, of course, like when we really need a job and our boss won’t accept honesty. But in general, the more integrity we maintain, the better. As a society the same applies. Suppressing authenticity undermines creativity and productivity.

Younger people may be developing a new culture. The openness reflected in the use of social media like Facebook is an encouraging sign. The value of honesty and “deep friendship” has been affirmed in a number of movies and TV shows recently, which is also heartening. One way or another, it seems to me, we need to learn how to nurture compassionate honesty.

This book aims to set an example that encourages others to honestly examine themselves, including their mistakes, and share their conclusions with others, even if only with a few trusted allies. The willingness and the ability to acknowledge mistakes is essential for growth.

Let us learn how to more frequently be real, stop playing games, remove the masks, shine lights into the dark corners, dig deeper for the truth, and follow our thoughts to their logical conclusion. Let us face reality and accept what we cannot change so we can more effectively change what we can change.

+++

Given these convictions, with this autobiography I tried to be open and transparent in reporting on what has been most important to me in my life, without divulging private information about others that was given to me in confidence. In addition, I’ve refrained from identifying individuals by name when I assumed that they would prefer not to be so identified. And I’ve tried to exclude incidental material that, due to held resentments, I was tempted to include in an effort to settle scores.

Discussing instances of conflict or disappointment concerning people who are still alive is a delicate matter. Even if one aims to be fair and accurate, the individuals involved can object to how the writer characterizes the situation or they can resent the matter being made public. I believe in transparency, but on the other hand, I wanted to be sensitive to the feelings of others and at least give them a chance to review and comment on material about them before it goes public, even if I didn’t identify them by name because in some cases some readers can deduce who I’m talking about even when I don’t name them.

So before making this edition available to the general public, I decided to offer a free copy (until the end of August 2014) to those individuals who are discussed in the book and ask their feedback, including whether or not they approve me distributing it more widely in its current form. I will then reflect on that feedback before deciding how to proceed.

Berrett-Koehler and My Final Push

Posted on by Wade Lee Hudson

High School BasseballBy Wade Lee Hudson

Inspired by recent communication with Berrett-Koehler Publishers (BK)  Vice-President, David Marshall, I may not post much here for the next two months. Instead I plan to concentrate as fully as possible on finishing the first edition of my self-published autobiography and making copies available free of charge at my 70th birthday party on July 26. I’ll also mail it to anyone who wants a copy and will be asking readers for feedback, including their opinion about whether I should seek a publisher who could help me improve it and distribute it more widely.

I want to make this book as good as possible. I’ve almost finished the first draft, with 35 chapters and 350 pages, and believe it’s pretty good. But there’s a long way to go for it to be very good. I could use help, especially in terms of how to shorten it.

My conversation with David began when he called to interview me as part of BK’s branding study. Though we did not discuss my book, my interaction with him and a proposed modification from Bob Anshuetz, my copy editor, have prompted me to coin a new title, Opposing the System to Save the World: My Story.

I’m moving toward that title because my phone call with David and his follow-up email reinforce my confidence that my analysis of our social system, as I expressed for example in “Transforming the System with Evolutionary Revolution,” is sensible. At least it’s worth serious consideration. Most of the expert “systems thinkers” from whom I’ve solicited feedback have not responded. But those who did, like on the Wiser Earth network that was inspired by Paul Kawken’s Blessed Unrest, have been supportive. Likewise, most of my peers from whom I’ve solicited feedback have been rather unresponsive. But those who have commented have been supportive.

I believe my analysis is original and important. I did not borrow it from anyone, but rather developed it in dialog with associates. Most recently, I summarized my thinking in the Preface to my autobiography. That section reads:

Our global society is a self-perpetuating social system of inter-related elements – namely, our institutions, our culture, and ourselves as individuals. No one element controls this system, which operates to concentrate wealth and power.

Most people who write about “the system” only talk about our political and economic institutions. But you and I reinforce the system every day in countless ways. Without our participation, the system would collapse. And our other major institutions, other than government and business, such as media and schools, reinforce the system in essential ways.

One reason that this systemic perspective is important is that it avoids scapegoating. Different people have many different scapegoats. Among those who want to pin down blame, there is no consensus about what element of the system to blame – because it can’t be done in a way that holds up to logical analysis. We are all responsible. But some people are compelled to direct their frustration and anger at something.

Avoiding scapegoating is important because if one does not scapegoat, it makes no sense to tap anger to attack “enemies,” or “opponents,” which does not work in the long run anyway.

Instead, we need a positive, creative vision with which we can inspire others and ourselves to be more active to help change the system by changing ourselves, our culture, and our institutions – and creating new structures that help us better serve humanity.

My conversation with David reassured me that I am not as alone as I sometimes feel with regard to this perspective. I don’t know if I have ever had a conversation with anyone with whom I felt so much that we were on the same wavelength.

But that experience did not surprise me, because the BK books I have read — Power and Love, Transformational Scenario Planning, True North Groups, and The Secret of Teams — have resonated with and clarified my thinking immensely, often prompting me to give copies to friends and colleagues. And the book I bought two weeks ago, Deepening Community, looks like another great one, as does one David recommended, Collective Visioning, by Linda Stout. David said, “She is a miracle worker who has helped underrepresented people throughout America discover and express their voices.”

The following list of upcoming books also indicates why I hold BK in such high regard:

A Peacock in the Land of Penguins, 4th edition by BJ Gallagher
With more than 365,000 copies sold and translations in 20 languages, BJ Gallagher’s pioneering book is a classic in the fields of creativity and diversity. Organizations around the world have used the book to improve team communication, effectiveness, and innovation. We all have a little bit of peacock inside of us!

Power Through Partnership by Betsy Polk and Maggie Ellis Chotas
Society erroneously trains us to believe that women do not partner well with other women. However, with extensive research, Polk and Chotas show that partnerships between women are even more effective because of shared values and experiences, and in this book they show us all how to do it.

The Confidence Myth by Helene Lerner
Research shows that women consistently undervalue their skills and readiness for challenging jobs, promotions, and assignments–while men have the opposite bias. How can women compete on this un-level playing field if they talk themselves out the game before they start? Helene Lerner tells women that confidence is overrated and what is really important is to step up and be a leader, ready or not.

Are You Intriguing? By Sam Horn
Our deepest yearning is to connect, yet many of us don’t know how. We’re taught how to read and write in school; but we’re not taught how to genuinely engage people and create mutually-rewarding interactions. We’re not taught how to earn people’s interest so they voluntarily give us their attention, friendship and business. People want to be intrigued and they want to be intrigued fast and this book provides NEW ways to do that.

Singletasking by Devora Zack
In any situation, doing one thing at a time is more effective than multitasking—yet why do we continually lapse into the habit of doing many things poorly all at once? What if you could do more things, more successfully by improving focus, eliminating distraction, and managing your environment? The answer is singletasking, whatever the question.

Leadership for a Fractured World by Dean Williams
Harvard University professor Dean Williams shares what he has learned from his decade of working with leaders around the world to bring about change in today’s complex, interdependent, conflicted, power-dispersed environments.

Dare to Serve: The Unexpected Power of the Leader Who Serves by Cheryl Bachelder
Thirty-five years ago, Robert Greenleaf introduced the concept of the servant leader who leads by putting the well-being of others first. While many have found the servant leadership concept intriguing, it has never gained a sure foothold inside of corporations. The concept has been marginalized and misunderstood. It has been simplistically and pejoratively cast as “nice-guy leadership” – perhaps best-suited to the non-profit arena, but certainly not a serious idea for driving public company performance. This book aims to set the record straight and is written by the CEO of Popeye’s, an international fast-food franchise.

So you may want to subscribe to the BK newsletter by clicking on this link.

And to learn more about BK and its early history, read the text of an excellent recent speech by its President and Founder, Steve Persanti, “Secrets of Berrett-Koehler’s Success.”

‘Til later, alligators.

Reflections from Ecotopia

Posted on by Wade Lee Hudson

Lake TahoeBy Wade Lee Hudson

I left Vegas in a positive frame of mind. Readers had recently sent me great feedback, movies and music had inspired me, a dream had enlightened me, I had won at blackjack, and I was headed back home to the lush green mountains of Northern California.

The most heartwarming email I had received was the following, whose subject was “Revive the failing bird,” a reference to my report on a dream that featured a near-dead bird that represented my self-identity as a community organizer:

Hi Mr. Hudson and greetings from Minnesota! Seeing your beautiful pictures from the Dominican Republic made my desire for a spring thaw even stronger. Eventually we will be able to see the ground again rather than layer upon layer of snow and ice…

My name is Amy Ledoux. I am 40 years old and am the mother of seven (three adopted as a single parent, two are my husband’s from his first marriage and, at the ages of 38 and 39, I gave birth to the last two little miracles who could have been nicknamed “surprise” and “are you kidding me???”) I have no idea how I began receiving your emails, but I have been reading them for years and I wanted to tell you that they have been a Godsend. I began losing my eyesight a few years ago from Fuch’s Dystrophy. I became quite confined to my house as my eye sight worsened. Last February I could no longer see the traffic lanes in front of me or distinguish the lights on a traffic pole, so I hung up my keys. In August I went to cross the street with my babies in a stroller in front of me and my mom pulled me back so that we wouldn’t get run over by the vehicle I did not see, so I no longer went for walks without an escort.

But, I was able to blow up the font of your emails and hold my cell phone right in front of my face and continue to read your emails. They were a great source of consistency, comfort, and a connection to the outside world.

In February of this year I had my first cornea transplant and my vision went from 20/200 to 20/25 in my left eye! Life is progressing and I am thankful for every moment of it! I am thankful that I can see the keyboard in front of me to write this email to you.

The reason that I am reaching out to you is in response to your writing about the seemingly dead bird in your dream. I may have a cause that could help revive the buzzard. I am forwarding an article that was published in the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch this past Sunday. It was sent to me by my good friend, Mike Tikkanen, who is the subject of the article. I think the rest speaks for itself. And, just so you know, I don’t know exactly how old Mike is but, I think we can safely say he has been buying the senior coffee at McDonalds for several decades!

Should you ever decide to make a stop in the Midwest on your U.S. tour, I hope that you make a pit stop in Wisconsin or Minnesota. I think we could arrange a get together of several open minded individuals and enjoy a good conversation in person.

Baby #2 is up and trying to rip off my glasses and grab the keyboard. Gotta go. I believe all of Mike’s contact info is in the article if you choose to follow-up with him.

Best,
Amy

She then included an article, “He hopes the public will soon notice the children he can’t ignore,” about Mike Tikkanen and his work with Kids At Risk Action (KARA) advocating for abused and neglected children.

I replied:

Dear Amy,

Wow. That’s incredible. It really warms my heart to hear your story and to know that my writings were so meaningful to you under those conditions. As is the case with many writers, I often write not knowing if anyone is really reading what I write. It’s great to know you were really reading!

Actually I’m familiar with Mike and hold his work in very high regard. May I post your email with a link to that article about him?

I have plenty of causes which inspire me. What is lacking is collaborators. Recently, it seems some partnerships may be forming with the Full Employment project and I just posted some encouraging feedback from Gary Pace on the Holistic Community Pledge.

We shall see. In the meantime, I’m enjoying working on my autobiography.

Thanks again and best of luck with the family!

Amy shared her email with Mike, who replied:

Wow Amy this is good news. As is your improving eyesight. Thank you so much for keeping us in your thoughts and helping us advance our Kids At Risk Action effort.

I am very familiar with Wade’s work and so glad you have made this connection and hope that he will make our information available to his readership. I believe he has a pretty big following.

Wade, Hello from your pals in MN. I so love the smallness of the planet when my friends connecting me back into their circles. Amy was KARA’s executive director for quite some time and has helped us become an organized advocacy group making hour long documentaries with Public TV stations (we are in negotiations this week) and presenting resolutions to our DFL convention this spring in hopes of making life better for at risk children. We are really excited about the possibilities this year and would greatly appreciate any attention you might give our efforts.

Keep on writing and organizing as it does tie us all together and keep raising awareness.

As an odd tidbit related to your dead bird in the attic, years ago (about 30) I owned a junkyard with 29 employees and it made me crazy. I don’t know if this dream prompted my bailing out of the business, but I suspect it plays in somewhere; I remember the anchor around my neck and what seemed like an entire night of (dreaming) trying to remove it. I much prefer my bodies flying dreams but have not been able to replay them recently.

My very best wishes to both of you,

MikeT

An email from Gary Pace in response to the draft Holistic Growth Pledge also heartened me. He said, “I think this looks really good, Wade. Simple, yet deep. Could be a good kernel to work around. Thanks for continuing to work with this thread of connection.”

In addition, Malcolm Hoover, had responded to that draft:

Wade, this is great. I would only add to this that I will identify and reach out to someone who I identify as a possible ally at least 3 times a year and try to build unity with that person and educate myself about their issue(s). For instance, for me it would be reaching out to the LGBTQ community and educating myself particularly on the issues of trans men. Thanks for including me.

I replied:

I’m glad to receive your response. Yes, I would think that each participant could add to it in her or his own way, as you have. My intent was to leave it open in that way, rather than trying to over-prescribe, and trust each person’s essential nature to guide them — if they pause to listen.

At times, I feel my efforts to facilitate deeper, more intimate dialog are a waste of time. But when very astute individuals such as Gary and Malcolm offer comments such as those, and Amy and Mike offers such words of support, I’m reassured that at least I’m not totally crazy. And then I reflect on examples such as the success of the True North Groups and how rewarding the “soul sessions” I initiated in Mexico were (they merely asked people to “talk from the heart,” with no predetermined agenda). So I persist with my obsession.

A number of films have reinforced my feeling that the lack of authenticity in the modern world is a widespread concern. The second “Hunger Games” affirmed the need for “deep friendship” rooted in honesty. “American Hustle” (what a great title; it sums up our culture) confronted the issue provocatively. And the incredible “Particle Fever” offered the perfect counterpoint to the hustling mentality: “The very things that are least important to our survival are the very things that make us human.” Einstein also said, “Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”

Last night a woman at a pizza parlor where I went to hear music told me why she likes living on Lake Tahoe’s West Shore. Life here is hard, she said, so people have to rely on each other, which is humbling. Being more humble, they are more “genuine,” she said.

“Particle Fever” also inspired me to stick with my resolve to nurture “deep community.” The relentless, decades-long pursuit of truth by those physicists was amazing. One never knows what the result will be. All success is built on a series of failures. But if the quest is righteous, it will provide enough reward in and of itself to stay on the path. The Holy Grail is not merely a myth.

On my last night in Vegas, the Tony Award-winning musical “Million Dollar Quartet” encouraged me to stick with my focus on “soul” and “speaking from the heart.” Loosely based on the accidental encounter of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis in the Sun Records studio shortly after each of them had “made it,” the musical tells the story of how Sun Records owner Sam Phillips believed in Black music and was determined to bring its liberating power to White audiences. Eventually his persistence paid off. Perhaps someday mine will as well.

The next morning I woke with the remnant of a powerful dream lodged in my mind. I quickly captured its message with this thought, “A key paradox: I want to save the world without being an evangelist.” This formulation was so strong it stuck with me and I posted it on Facebook, where it received interesting responses. Three people “liked” it, which is about average for me on Facebook these days, but three or four others raised objections, which prompted me to try to clarify my point with this statement:

Evangelists arrogantly assume they know something that others don’t know and need to convince them to do what the evangelists want them to do. In fact, most people already know what they need to know and believe what they need to believe, but don’t see a way to act effectively. One non-evangelical approach is to inspire others with the power of example and invite them to decide together how to collaborate to act on our universal values.

Those objections to my statement and many others over the years lead me to believe that most of my peers are locked into an old, top-down notion of leadership that is rapidly fading with younger people, who are more horizontal and collaborative. But young people don’t trust old people. So I am limited in my ability to find collaborators.

These reflections reinforce my tendency to stop trying to organize. If a strong team emerges with the Full Employment project (some signs are hopeful), I’ll stay involved with that effort. But mostly I’m just going to read, write, and dialog.

Driving to Lake Tahoe through Nevada, that dream fragment stuck with me and prompted me to compose in my head a new manifesto, titled “How to Save the World in X Simple Steps.” Alone with my own thoughts, I became excited about this statement, which could end up being a small booklet.

But then reality hit, symbolized by an unexpected snow storm that almost prevented me from arriving at my cabin. Being back in Ecotopia is comforting. I no longer have to endure women telling me they love my hair, or men patting me on the back and calling me “Einstein.”

But I’m no fan of snow and cold weather, so I’ll just hole up next to my heater and re-write, re-write, and re-write. The first draft of the autobiography is almost complete, but it’s coming in at about 350 pages, which is probably much too long, so I have my work cut out for me these next eight weeks before I return to my refurbished apartment, where I plan to offer folks a foot massage when they come to my second housewarming.

And then there’s my 70th birthday, July 26. It falls on a Saturday, So let’s party.

Launching “Wade’s Wire”

Posted on by Wade Lee Hudson

DSC00315Today I began publishing Wade’s Wire. This blog will be like Facebook in one respect. I will post “’what’s on my mind.” But unlike Facebook, readers can subscribe and receive posts via email. Or they can go to the site and see posts quickly and easily. In this way, people who don’t do Facebook or who miss my Facebook posts because of how Facebook works can more easily stay in touch.

Initially, posts on Wade’s Wire will be placed in the following categories:
• News/Opinion — Links and information about current events and op-ed columns
• Essays — Written by myself or others
• Photos/Videos
• Quotes
• Resources — Information about resources of potential interest to readers
• Wade’s Journal — Reflections and reports on my personal life

I’ll post to Wade’s Wire no more than three times a day.

You can subscribe now if you click here to visit the home page, enter your email address in the subscribe box, click Subscribe, and reply to the autoreply email you receive to verify that you want to subscribe.

And please consider letting me know what you think by submitting a comment on the site for the whole world to see.