Lifelong Learning

She wants one flag. One culture. One story. But whose? And who decided she gets to tell it?

New piece—kindness as the sharpest tool in the room.

Link here: https://digranger.substack.com/p/the-thing-about-monoculture

When Conflict Becomes the Story

I was reminded yesterday of group dynamics.

Whenever people come together around something they care about, there comes a moment when differences emerge.

Different ideas.
Different experiences.
Different visions of what should happen next.

It's uncomfortable.

Sometimes it feels like something has gone wrong.

Yet I found myself thinking about Bruce Tuckman's model of group development: Forming. Storming. Norming. Performing.

Most people love the idea of performing.

Few enjoy storming.

Storming is where we discover we don't all see the world the same way.

It can feel messy.
It can feel frustrating.
It can even feel like failure.

But perhaps it is simply evidence that something real is beginning.

As I reflected on the day, I kept coming back to two thoughts:

Conflict was trying to become the story.

Listening remained the purpose.

Whether in community groups, workplaces, families or friendships, perhaps the challenge isn't avoiding disagreement.

Perhaps it's remembering why we came together in the first place.

I tried something this morning.

I looked out my window—at the jarrah tree, the pub, the cars in the car park—and tried to imagine what it would look like—how it would feel—if it were bombed.

I couldn’t hold the image. My mind kept correcting it back to normal.

That stayed with me.

I wrote about that distance—between decisions and consequences, between what we see and what we can actually hold.

If you feel like reading, it’s here: 👇

I Tried to Imagine My Neighbourhood Bombed I couldn’t hold the image—that's the problem ...