Today's post is my rumination on an article written by John McKnight, one of the co-founders of the "Abundant Community" mmovement. (See: www.abundantcommunity.com/home/getting_started/community_capacities_and_community_necessities.html)
In Mr. McKnight's "call to action" are the seeds to improve our communal and thus our individual health, wellness and wholeness (HW2). He has seven points for the movement towards abundant community which include: Neighborhoods as the primary source of health; determining the safety and security of our neighborhoods; environmental care; building resilient local economies; production of our food; locally raising our children; caring for all in our communities.
In my opinion, the keystone is the first point - recognizing that "our neighborhoods are the primary source of our health". The article quotes a statistic that medical care acocunts for "less than 10% of what will allow us to be healthy". That's an amazing statistic, but there is agreement on this point. Thus, investments in increasing the size and scope of hospitals, medical homes, etc will not significantly change the health of communities nor individuals. Investment in community health initiatives, however, have the potential to significantly improve not only our health, but our wellness and wholeness.
This is what the public charity, Possibilities Journey, Inc, is all about. We are in the business of leveraging the local resources in communities (e.g., faith communities, non-profits, government) to do more than any could do alone. I encourage you to go to our website to see what we're all about (www.possjrny.org).
I leave you with this thought...what could you do by next Tuesday to take on one of the seven items listed above to begin to create abundant community where you live? I'd love to hear what you decide to do.
Peace and wholeness,
Dan
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