Rufus Woods, Joan Alway, Ben Fields, Nancy Warner (in the cool hat) and Maggie Coon (inset) ... Quest alums all ... at their recent Success Summit in North Central Washington
Rufus Woods, editor and publisher of The Wenatchee World, recently wrote in his newspaper about an auspicious day in his community.
But first, Rufus was on a rant.
Allowing ourselves to succumb to the social, political and economic malaise that infects our country is the single greatest limiting factor in building healthier communities.
Let’s be honest. Most news organizations, special interest groups and political figures devote an inordinate amount of energy wallowing in the long litany of seemingly insoluble problems and as a result a profound sense of defeatism and powerlessness has been created. If you watch the 24-hour news channels for more than a few minutes, you’re getting a mind-numbing dose of pessimism and cynicism. The FCC ought to require broadcast outlets to provide written warnings about the hazard to your mental health.
You go, Rufus! (My emphasis, btw.)
The good news is that in North Central Washington, we’ve discovered an antidote for the malaise.
Indeed, folks in Rufus’ community are working to reclaim the civic stage. A couple of days earlier, they’d organized a “Success Summit.” The idea was that celebrating and talking about successes will breed more successes. As Rufus put it …
We discovered the secret of getting out of the cycle of hopelessness. It’s by connecting with like-minded people to do something meaningful and profound for our communities.
It is that simple.
Rufus also told of how Maggie Coon was working with a group to create a center for arts and culture, agriculture, green technology and innovation. One tidbit that struck Rufus: “It’s not unheard of for opponents to carpool to public meetings.”
And this is just the beginning. Who knows where this will lead?
Stay tuned for Part 2 of this saga … in which we’ll discover how this bold journey was born in a Wenatchee coffee shop.
Jim
Related link: Read Rufus’ editorial on his paper’s web site. (But first, leave a comment below!)
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Great idea to share successes. If there is an issue (like hospital infections say) the media always focuses on the worst example and that makes us all fearful and depressed. They could say that there are problems but some hospitals are doing outstandingly well. We are here at XYZ to discover how they do it. Then we would feel inspired and hopeful. GRRR! It’s so obvious!