The painter Jack Vettriano shares a saying he was brought up with as a child in Fife: “Everyone is equal and no one is special.”

Seth Godin comments, ‘The cynic says that if everyone is special, no one is.’

Neither the Scottish saying or the cynic want you to flourish.

What we’re beginning to see at the beginning of this 21st Century is how every person can flourish is some special and unique way, so one of the things we have to be about is making space available for this to happen, environments for people to flourish.

I’ve told the story before, when I was asked the question, “What does it mean to be Human?”  Someone in the group asked this, offered back, “I am not Human, we are Human.”

I told this story to another group just a few days ago.  I’d been sharing how our particular group forms around this same question, “What does it mean to be Human?”  I went on to say that only as we listen to each other, and see through the eyes of each other, can we answer this question, can we express how we are Human.  As the evening went on, I enjoyed listening to buzz of the conversations happening around the table.  Each person was providing at least one Other the opportunity to explore who they are.

We have grown up with sayings like the one above, or the opinions of those who want to flourish themselves but haven’t the imagination for you to flourish.  We are controlled by all of this more the we know and we need to free each other.

When we get together and create spaces and environments for people to identify and explore creativity, joy, and purpose, we are part of a conspiracy to overthrow the things seeking to prevent  everyone from flourishing.