(1)-The Building Block
(2)-8 dimensions
(3)-5 life stages
(4)-4 layers of The Village
four perspectives on the Person
A Theory on Change
The Person
The block upon which all is built
The building block of society is the person. A community is just a group of persons who share something in common: space or arts for example. Often when we speak or think of people (persons) we speak of their group, ie, white, black, urban, suburban, rural, American or Nigerian. When we do this, we often lose sight of the person who becomes a member of the “group”. But of course, we are more complicated than that. As community development advocates, as human service providers, as community organizers, as neighbors we do well as we think of our groups (block clubs, renters, seniors, early life, etc, etc), to not lose sight of the individual person.
Beautiful and complicated, SAMSHA says we each have 8 dimensions of wellness.
These different parts (spiritual, emotional, financial, intellectual, occupational and physical) of a person develop and happen differently as we age through life. We call these “Life Stages”, we use a 5 stage model.
1. Spiritual— with a continually deepening understanding, connecting to our place in the Omnipotence and Omnicience of God – pastor Simmons definition (Expanding a sense of purpose and meaning in life, connected to the super, samsa definition )
2. Emotional—Coping effectively with life and creating satisfying relationships
3. Environmental—Good health by occupying pleasant, stimulating environments that support well-being
4. Financial—Satisfaction with current and future financial situations
5. Intellectual—Recognizing creative abilities and finding ways to expand knowledge and skills
5. Occupational—Personal satisfaction and enrichment from one’s work
7. Physical—Recognizing the need for and engaging in physical activety, healthy foods, and sleep
8. Social—Developing a sense of connection, belonging, and a well-developed support system
Life Stages
Early life (conception to 8)
School age (5-18)
Early Adult (18-38)
Mid Life (37-59)
Senior Life (60 and up)
Time forms a frame around our lives. We grow through the framework of time, passing through stages. As we progress through life’s stages the strategy, the emphasis, the things that matter most change. For example Those in early life (0-8) are not so concerned with social security as those in late life (60 and up).
We must honor these differences as we strive to work together on those things all ages require: Food Shelter Clothing and Hope.
As individual persons, we are impacted as we age by many forces in society. At the Brightmoor Alliance we call these all together “The Village”, ranging from our parents, siblings to the President, Congress and our social norms. see below.
The Village
The forces that lean on A Person from the personal to the macro systems of society
As individual persons, we influence ourselves. In addition, we are most directly influenced by the Micro dimension of the village: our family, church, close friends.
Above but not directly impacting us as individuals is the Macro dimension of the Village: Federal Government, Social Norms and Values, in between the Macro and the Micro and individual, is the Meso dimension.
The Meso layer is peculiar since it is an area of interations where the where the large social systems (Macro) and the institutions close to us (Micro) interact. Those interactions, the law and police for example, ripple down upon us, pushing and pulling. This layer of interactions and relationships is called the Meso layer. This view of society’s systems of influence is taken from Uri Bronfenbrenner.
So, to summarize, as our 8 dimension of self (the person) passes through the 5 stages of life we are pushed and pulled by the 4 layers of The Village.
No wonder building abundance is so hard, it all depends on which part of “us” we are seeking to impact. The Brightmoor Alliance wants to be part of building abundance in the strategic part that leads to abundance in all parts.
Next - A Strategy for Building Abundance:
The Framework
To summarize let us answer together these three questions in the timeframe of soon (within a year), near term (more a year less than 5 years) and much later more than 5 years.
With what do we live
when do we live
Where do we live
Let’s make a plan, then do what we do, GRIND.
What is a Framework?
1. an essential supporting structure of a building, vehicle, or object.
2. a basic structure underlying a system, concept, or text.
3.The boundaries within which something operates or exists
4. The studs and beams that hold a thing together, hold it uP
5. The ideas that make up a way of living
What is a possible strategic next step ?
The ideas about The Person above gives us a framework to discuss our future. It forms the ideas about how we think of people.
Not addressing the Spiritual we leave that for others, we believe that the first strategic focus is the economic framework in which a person lives. This is fundamental to impacting the other aspects of life. Second is time. Time has two parts, the Stage of Life in which we live and the other is how long will it take for a thing to be accomplished. The third is physical. First is what financial resources are secure in our lives, second where are we in our life’s stage, third is where do we live. Any framework intending to address abundance must focus on these three things to insure we are successful for building abundant food, shelter and clothing and Hope with ALL the people of Brightmoor.