Building Dialogue

Helping you plan and facilitate difficult dialogues

Tag: metaphor series

  • from A Midwest Metaphor We reap what we sow. The seeds of hate, factionalism, and greed that affect our current politics were planted and allowed to grow, diminishing our hopes for peace and prosperity. But we can weed, and we can nurture the growth of the seeds that promote community. We can use dialogue to…

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  •   A Metaphor From The Midwest In our last post we identified a number of weeds that are growing in our civic soil, including inconsistency and incoherence, deflection, distortion, and denial.  So how do you weed? Whether you are a citizen or a facilitator, there are a number of tools you can use. Key tools…

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  • A Metaphor From The Midwest A weed is a plant that is growing where you don’t want it to grow. Many weeds are invasive and propagate quickly, crowding out or killing the plants that you do want. The seeds from which weeds spring can be buried in the soil, mixed with the seed that was…

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  • Plant The Seed

    A Metaphor From The Midwest Seeds are amazing – small, seemingly lifeless, yet capable of generating new growth and change. Although planting the seed is necessary for growth, it alone does not ensure growth. Actual growth takes time and depends on the interaction of many factors. For example, when choosing seeds to plant you need…

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  • Choose The Field

    A Metaphor From The Midwest When thinking ahead to the harvest, you first need to decide where you will plant the seeds you want to sow. To some extent you will be constrained by geography. As you assess the field you will also need to consider the suitability of the available land and climate for…

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