by Satirat

Today I received a newsletter from the organization that served as the catalyst for this blog (see History) and so many other good things in my life — the American Youth Foundation (AYF).

The president, Anna-Kay Vorsteg, always includes an insightful letter that discusses the relevance of the ongoing efforts of the nonprofit organization in light of current affairs. 

The title of her letter in this issue gave me pause. It read,  “Diminishing Resources?” The question mark is so telling. In the letter, she discusses a problem-solving activity called Diminishing Resources that the AYF often uses in its leadership-development programs.

The goal of the activity is to challenge a group to adapt as their resources appear to diminish from plentiful to scarce.  Anna-Kay writes in her letter, “I have facilitated this activity many times and, in doing so, have observed that generally youth discover the solution more quickly than adults.”  

We grown-ups are so set in our ways of thinking. It’s hard for us to shake our preconceptions about things — but also our pessimism. Children are, by nature, the eternal optimists.  As parents, we are so busy leading these little people around. It would do us good, from time to time, to take their hands and let them introduce us to the bountiful world of possibility that they seem to know so well. 

But the good news is that, with enough determination, groups of all ages eventually solve the diminishing-resources problem. “In this game, as resources diminish, creative solutions are grown, dependency on others is increased, ideas and items are shared, and eventually spirits soar,” Anna-Kay says. 

Now this is where she makes the great leap between a small-group learning experience and the greater situation we find ourselves in as citizens of the world:

“As the value of the dollar drops and expenses rise, we all hear a cry to change behaviors and conserve resources. We all worry and wonder if we will have enough …. The task before us as a people, a nation, an organization are not insurmountable if we can surface and act upon new ideas. What are we not yet seeing? What could we change? How can we better work together and share resources? Which resources are untapped?”

I think that both as individuals and as a greater global community, we are still struggling to make that difficult transition between clinging to well-worn perceptions … and breaking out into a new way of seeing the world and our role in it. It is a difficult place to be in. The more that we insist that the old way is the only way — the more painful and prolonged the journey to a hopeful tomorrow will be. 

But as the case study at Merrowvista suggests, we are absolutely capable of thinking outside-of-the-box, if we just think long enough and hard enough –  and if we think together.