Commitment

When you consider making a commitment to Peace and Power in your group, consider the following questions:

• Do we agree about our purpose?
• Do we want to equalize the balance of power among everyone in our group?
• Are we relatively free to determine our own ways of working together?
• Are we all committed to spending time together?
• Is everyone willing to pay attention to the group’s process?
• Do we seek meaningful change in ourselves and in the world at large?

Review the following examples of actions that flow from PEACE powers:

Power of Process –

• Giving yourself and everyone else in the  group time to attend to a concern
• Letting decisions emerge gradually, realizing that very few decisions are urgent.
• Inviting everyone in the group to express their ideas or concerns during the discussion.
• Acknowledging the things that happen that are consistent with the group’s values.

Power of Letting Go:

• Acknowledging but setting aside your  own vested interests, in order for others to express their interests.
• Supporting others who are new, or learning something new.
• Expressing your misgivings or concerns about a situation in the group, but letting the sense of the group prevail.

Power of the Whole:

• Placing your own individual needs and interests within the context of the group.
• Seeking ways to do things together to equalize power within the group.

Power of Collectivity:

• Taking into account the interests of every member of the group, including those who are not present.
• Making sure that every concern is carefully integrated into every decision.

Power of Solidarity:

• Addressing conflict openly and constructively, and, in so doing, working actively to strengthen the integrity of the group.
• Keeping the group’s principles of solidarity in conscious awareness as a basis for moving forward.
• Celebrating shared values and joys.

Power of Sharing:

• Taking responsibility for leadership and tasks, including things you enjoy doing as well as things you would rather not do but that need to be done.
• Encouraging others to join in passing tasks and skills along by assuming  tasks from others.

Power of Integration:

• Listening actively and deliberately to every concern or idea that others bring to the group, and taking active steps to understand and act on others’ points of view.
• Taking actions that encourage bringing things together, rather than polarizing them into opposing points of view.

Power of Nurturing:

• Treating others in ways that convey love and respect.
• Acknowledging that each individual’s experience has uniquely qualified her to be where she is at the present.
• Affirming and rejoicing in the knowledge that each person in the group has power, and power to choose how to use it.
• Using critical reflection to bring forth the best for every individual and the group.

Power of Distribution:  

• Taking actions to overcome imbalances in material resources among group members.
• Using resources that are available to the group as a means, not an end.
• Working to make resources that are available to the group accessible to all.

Power of Intuition:

• Taking the time to think, feel, and experience the fullness of a situation.
• Taking actions that seem risky when your instinct tells you to go ahead.
• Paying attention to the intuition of others and taking their sense of things                          seriously.

Power of Consciousness:

• Talking about the values on which you are building your actions so that everyone one can be fully aware of your intentions.
• Exploring with others awareness of feelings, situations, responses, and meanings in your experiences.

Power of Diversity:

• Carefully considering another point of  view when your immediate response is to reject it.
• Taking deliberate actions to keep yourself and the group open to welcoming others      who are different or new.
• Paying attention to subtle assumptions that may not hold true for everyone in the group.

Power of Responsibility:

• Keeping everyone in the group fully informed about anything in your personal life that might affect the group as a whole.
• Acting to make sure that nothing is mystified, that everything that concerns the group is equally accessible to every member.
• Actively checking in and closing in a spirit of contributing to the growth and development of the group.

Power of Creativity:

• Imagining possibilities that have not yet been tried.
• Drawing on everyone’s ideas to craft new solutions to persistent problems.
• Making better use of time, resources, and energy to accomplish what needs to be                    done.

Power of Trust:   

• Letting everyone know your intentions and what you plan to do next.
• Keeping your promises.
• Taking time to assure others of your commitment to your relationship.
• Disclosing your underlying values when you speak or act.