In the dark days of January:

* Keep trying for the process
* It’s supposed to be hard.
* Set aside to do this work; why are we doing it?
* Maintaining intentionality in the work.
* Constant thinking about what’s up for debate.
* Is the process everything?
* Finding democracy in the way we treat people.

It was a good opening circle.

My colleagues were brilliant. Here’s mine:

A system where all participants are committed to goals developed in common, where all participants are committed to civility and respect in encouraging and honoring all voices, where consensus is a goal but not a necessity, where authority emerges out of the work the group has done together, and where the work of the community is a constant, evolving process.