Dialogue San Diego: Building Your Dialogue Support

Sunday, May 10, 2020

Building Your Dialogue Support

Being "safe at home" during COVID-19 may mean less physical travel, but it doesn't necessarily mean that our minds and interactions are locked up! Human memory, imagination, and spirit are powerful -- allowing us to recall pre-COVID moments, set the tone for current responses, and co-create the future.

As an example: last fall we were in Astoria, Oregon, for the day. Walking along the waterfront, we passed a set of old wooden pylons that dotted the water. My imagination tried to see the pattern of the pier or docks that had been supported by these logs. Obviously, made by human hands, their previous purpose and usefulness had disintegrated until only these ancient pylons remain.

What supports do you hold onto?
(Astoria, Oregon)

Further along the waterfront, we came across a pier that was cordoned off. It looked like a recent fire had destroyed a portion of the pier: part of the pier was still walkable, but for safety reasons the whole area was considered unsafe.

Over a stretch of less than a mile, two areas of the waterway could not be used: ancient and more recent events had altered the usefulness of a once-thriving waterfront.

Have your supports changed over time?
(Astoria, Oregon)

Through our dialogue practices, we are encouraged to notice our Socially Constructed Realities (SCRs). These SCRs are thoughts, beliefs, customs and education that have supported individual or collective Ways of Being. These SCRs filter what we hear, how we react, and the people we accept.

What would it be like if we took an inventory of what supports our current Ways of Thinking?

What supports will you need for the future?
(Geisel Library, University of California, San Diego)

The work of noticing our SCRs does not place a value on what we learn about ourselves. Rather, when we take the time to question our ways of being or thinking, we are left with a choice:

How do I want to respond in the future?

As we grow and learn about ourselves and others, we are remembering who we were, accepting who we are, and imagining who we want to become. The human spirit supports us along the way: opening us to new ways of supporting future dreams and interactions.

Whether your community is staying secure at home or is gradually opening, let us consider how to keep everyone safe and healthy! A lesson many of our mothers taught us: staying connected and taking care of one another.