Questions are Harvesters of Wisdom
I have the honor of being part of the H. E. B. Foundation’s Narrative Change cohort, a 15-month program consisting of about 15 people. Through learning resources, immersion experiences, roundtable discussions, reflective workshops, walking tours, and meals together, we engage with San Antonio’s history and current realities of social, racial, and economic inequity.
At one of our first meetings, we were asked a different kind of question in a world where we are against so much: what kind of city are we for? This Appreciative Inquiry question focused our thoughts on what needs to be created instead of what needs to be fixed. The purpose of an Appreciative Inquiry question is to uncover and bring out the best in a person, situation, or organization.
Our responses were collected and compiled into a beautifully printed and formatted document that is both inspirational and informative
The formatting of this document makes it difficult, if not impossible, to read as we would read an essay. Instead, it encourages the practice of bibliomancy, a form of divination where guidance is sought by selecting a random passage from a sacred text, such as the Bible, and interpreting its meaning in relation to a specific question or situation. We may wonder, why did our eye fall on that one sentence?
Each sentence can be meditated upon. The entire document can become a meditation, as the text is embossed in a way that allows us to sit quietly, with closed eyes, and feel each sentence instead of just reading it.
The document was created at no small expense of time and money by the generosity of the H.E.B. Foundation. I’m sure the document will occupy a special place in all of our homes as a reminder of the transformational experience of the narrative Change Cohort.
The wisdom in this document was harvested from a well-crafted question. We create our lives by the questions we ask. Maybe we should be more thoughtful about the questions we ask.