Even in community, there is conflict. Our Communities of Health (CoH) work is not immune to this. In large and small cities around the country, our work plays out in personal, interpersonal, and systemic relationships. And, as our psychologist friend Lou Cox, PhD, reminds us: “Human systems are made up of imperfect people, i.e., us … people developed in some ways, and undeveloped in others. They are created in our own collective image, and reflect our best and our worst.”

Most of the conflicts we’ve encountered (and, by definition, been part of creating) have been resolved in ways that allow the work to flow forward. Indeed, in many cases, stepping into conflict and seeing our way through together has changed the path in profoundly better ways, for those of us directly involved and by extension for the many intended to benefit from our work.

Not resolving conflict, or refusing to see it in the first place, can be poisonous, particularly for a team intending to create healthier communities. We cannot bring to others what we are unwilling to acknowledge, confront and heal in our own relationships.

The practices for seeing and freeing ourselves from conflict have existed for thousands of years. They are simple and sincere forms of dialogue. Inclusive, ongoing and deeply reflective. (We practice these forms of dialogue in our CoH gatherings, and from time to time will offer ideas here — so please share yours with us.)

A particular quality of dialogue, what Dr. Lou Cox calls “conscious conversation“, is necessary for any meaningful shift in relationship or system. Without it, we play at the surface; we may do great things together for a time, but if we have not agreed how we will handle conflict — or if we tell ourselves we can simply “skate over” it — we may get derailed at the first signal that all is not as harmonious as we thought. In our CoH work, a team of would-be-interveners not consciously communicating would harbor the very seeds of disconnect we seek to remedy in broken communities.

Rather, when we see ourselves and our relationships as ongoing practice fields for the work, we can begin to see together that what creates conflict is a kind of fear. We can name it as such. And in this understanding we find commonality, we find hope, and a way forward together. We come to see that this matters in every relationship that we extend into the larger communities, systems and world we are connected to.

Thanks to Mary Pierce Brosmer for this post, and in particular for her question, asked here in the context of the health reform dialog: What kinds of spaces make a different quality of language, and learning together possible? We’d like to hear your thoughts. Comment (below) or send us a post.

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Creating spaces series:  Discussing health care reform

By Mary Pierce Brosmer – August 11, 2009

If you don’t know the kind of person I am

and I don’t know the kind of person you are

a pattern that others made may prevail in the world

and following the wrong god home we may miss our star.

—William Stafford from “A Ritual to Read to One Another”

“In a neighborhood served by 26 liquor stores but only one grocery, a community group is peddling fresh fruits and vegetables like ice cream. Five days a week, the Peaches & Greens truck winds its way through the streets as a loudspeaker plays R&B… Experts call Detroit a food desert: More than half of its residents must travel at least twice as far to reach the nearest grocery store as they do to a fast-food restaurant or convenience store. Other cities also are struggling with obesity, diabetes and other illnesses tied to diets high in calories and sugar. They’re trying a variety of ways to solve the problem…” — The Associated Press story continues.

How long are we willing to invest in something before we expect a return?

James Marks and Paula Braveman consider this question in the context of the health reform debate and the Congressional Budget Office policy that excludes health investments unless they pay back within 10 years.

The “ROI question” comes back again and again. For some reason, we are habituated to it. And maybe that’s the opening to a healthy conversation.

Good nutrition is essential to good health.  Yet, obstacles to eating healthy – unhealthy food environments, lack of resources to purchase nutritious food regularly and lack of healthy food options in the community – represent major challenges for some to choose and maintain healthy eating habits.  Join the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build a Healthier America on August 10 for a discussion about promoting health by improving access to healthy foods in the places where we live, learn, work and play.  Webinar: Monday, August 10, 2009, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET.

Our homes and our communities have enormous impact on our health. On August 4, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build a Healthier America will host a webinar focusing on the Commission’s recommendations related to creating healthy communities. Tuesday, August 4, 2009, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET. RSVP here.

Excerpted from Theresa Hermary’s “Focus on Overall Health,” Vernon Morning Star, August 1, 2009:

It’s estimated that the health care system itself is responsible for less than 25 percent of what makes us healthy. Where we live, work and play determines the other 75 percent… In order to improve and maintain health over the long-term, we need to look beyond the health system and instead at how society is organized.

 

Imagine a prescription for health which included: affordable and accessible housing for everyone; fair wages and safe workplaces; and affordable, high quality daycare and education.

 

Achieving this vision may seem like a dream, but a growing number of communities are beginning to see how they can be a part of this change.