Creating a Connected Ecosystem
One of the most important lessons I have learned over the last ten years is this: No one organization can renew our society. The challenges we face are too large and too interconnected. Everything is connected. That means renewal must be connected as well. Over the last several years, Paths to Understanding has increasingly found…
What Happens When Neighbors Meet?
A few weeks ago, more than 70 people gathered for the public celebration of Let’s Go Together in Skagit County. Over the previous months, they had participated in conversations, shared meals, visited one another’s communities, and asked human questions. Christians, Muslims, Jews, Indigenous, people of many cultures and backgrounds, people of many ecoinomic situations, longtime…
Small Organization. Growing Impact.
A question I often hear is: “Can a small organization really make a difference in a moment like this?” It is a fair question. The challenges facing our communities can feel overwhelming. Distrust is growing. Loneliness is widespread. Many Americans are increasingly skeptical of people outside their own groups. The forces that divide us often…
Ten Years In
Terry Kyllo at the Love in A Time of Fear event in Lynnwood, WA.
Why I’m Going to Brazil
This October, I have the opportunity to join a small delegation of civic, bridge-building, and democracy leaders traveling to Brazil through a project called the Brazilian Blueprint, organized by Stories Change Power I want to share why I believe this matters for the work of Paths to Understanding — and why I hope some of…
The Moral and Relational Crisis Beneath American Division
One of the deepest questions many activists, organizers, faith leaders, and community leaders ask today is this: Why don’t people seem to care anymore? After violence, cruelty, corruption, or public dishonesty, many people feel exhausted and bewildered. It can seem as though empathy itself is disappearing. Some conclude that America is in a moral crisis.…
Leadership After Radical Individualism
Over the last 60 years, radical individualism has reshaped not only our society, but also how many leaders imagine leadership itself. It has taught us to focus almost entirely on our own group. Our own congregation.Our own organization.Our own audience.Our own success or survival. And in some ways, this made sense. Many groups have faced…
We Cannot Heal Society With the Tools That Burned It Down
The attack on a mosque in California is heartbreaking. It is also terrifyingly familiar. After violence against Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, Indigenous people, Black churches, immigrants, LGBTQ people, as well as violence against those considered conservative, we often hear the same question: “How could this happen?” The answer is always complicated. But some patterns are becoming…
Leading When You Don’t Have All the Answers
Many leaders feel pressure to have answers. But in this moment, something else is true: We don’t have all the tools we need. And we don’t yet know all the questions we should be asking. This Is Adaptive Work As Ronald Heifetz teaches, some challenges are technical. We know the problem.We know the solution. But…