Each of us, every day, creates the culture we live in. YOU can create Civity. Here are some ideas and tips you can draw from to make it happen.
Growing a civity culture calls for concrete, do-able everyday interactions that everyone can undertake. As with meditation and yoga, civity invites participants to make intentional relationship-building a personal practice – accessible to people in their everyday personal and professional lives.
The essence of civity is bringing respect and empathy to our interactions with other people – especially people we don’t know very well.
➤ You can practice civity anywhere, anytime, with anybody.
➤ The more you practice civity, the easier and more natural it becomes.
➤ Practicing civity is fun!
Remember:
➤ Be intentional about seeing the other person as a person
➤ Be authentic and engage with your heart
➤ Put difference on the table to move past fear to openness
It’s possible to connect with people we might view as “other” simply as fellow members of our community.
To Do Civity Yourself:
➤ Watch a Video: If you’re just beginning your civity journey, a great way to start is with this 8-minute online interactive video Civity Storytelling: Expanding the Pool of People Who Matter, as featured in the Stanford Megastudy
➤ DIYcivity in Your Everyday Life: If you want to try civity out in your everyday life, check out these great ideas for DIYcivity with friends and family, in the workplace, or in your community.
➤ Go Deeper with Civity Brushes and Civity Conversations: Practicing civity can take place in a fleeting encounter or in a focused one-on-one conversation – and anywhere in between. Here are some Tips for Practicing Civity – both casual Civity Brushes and deeper Civity Conversations.
➤ Seed Civity” for Other People: You can also “seed civity” by giving other people the experience of connecting, especially connecting across difference. If you lead or facilitate gatherings, take a look at these simple (and quick) ways to create civity connection. Or share the Civity Storytelling intervention before or during a group or community conversation.
Deepen your practice by learning more about various aspects of civity.
Here are additional DIYcivity resources.