Conver-Cultural

February 3, 2010 at 3:59 pm · Filed under Commentary, Life, Philosophy, Society

Some friends of mine run a gathering called Elements here in Chicago.  Their simple vision is that it is a worthwhile endeavor to facilitate conversations about the things that matter most.  These conversations happen periodically in gatherings at different venues around the city.  I wrote the following piece to describe the importance of gatherings like this, you can check out the Elements site, and the original post here.

What is it about “culture”? It is a living, breathing, ever changing aspect in each of our lives. The word itself has too many connotations to fully discuss here. It is widely used in both the micro [c]ulture sense and in the macro [C]ulture sense. In defining c[C]ulture we can fall victim to shallow generalizations on one extreme and narrow specificities on the other.

Business leaders often talk about creating healthy corporate culture, Religious leaders often talk about reaching “the” Culture, our neighborhoods have a culture, and so do our families, book clubs, and favorite watering holes. At Elements, we believe it is at the core of what it means to be human to long for these c[C]ulture[s] to be whole and life-giving places.

However we choose to understand/articulate/discuss it, one thing is true; each of us, by our very presence on the planet, by participating in the exchange of human interaction are shaping and being shaped by c[C]ulture[s] everyday. {An author named Andy Crouch coined this concept of human beings as culture-makers, to check out more click here.}

One of the most basic ways that we make culture is through our conversations. Read the rest of this entry »

Comments