I read an interesting article today on the subject of 危机 or Wéijī, which we Westerners like to translate as “crisis” and “opportunity.” In his conclusion Govert van Ginkel confronts us with some pretty fundamental questions — not about the ‘how’ of the current crisis[mfn]this is the easy, red-herring thought option which typically keeps news channels filled, and about which we don’t know all the real facts/circumstances and we feel we couldn’t individually change anyway[/mfn] but — about our willingness to invest the extra quality-time that we’ve so tragically been given, to ask: “how we interact when it [crisis] happens, how we limit damage, and what our shared values are in our society. Is the economy more important than people or do we make and create the color of our economy together?” Will it be business as usual when this crisis passes or dare we take the “opportunity” to do things differently/more effectively/better from now on?
I trust our thinking around community participation is provoked (even into action) by this blog and the fascinating video example mentioned therein.
