Lack of understanding and clarity in writing

[Jim]

Your 'biggest challenge' may be getting rid of all the jargon and 10 dollar words, and just speak (and write) in a way that begins to approach normal human conversation.

[Stefan Pasti]

Thanks for your comment, Jim. I have received other similar comments in the past.

I have had a more conversational “voice” in my writings, in the past, so I know what is lacking. And I do know it is not there now. What happened was I saw challenges I thought others were not seeing, and I saw potential I thought others were not seeing, and I took the risk of exploring these “outside the box” areas, thinking that I would surely find many others doing the same.

I really have thought, many times, of the rich conversations which would result—not just for me, but for many others—if many people were working together on Community Visioning Initiatives—and not just to revitalize the economy, but to solve more deeply rooted problems in our selves, in our cultures, and in our environment. And I have thought of the stories which would arise from such work. In the telling of those stories, many new, revitalized “voices” would have come to life. I will surely believe that every day for the rest of my life.

At the same time, for years I have been concerned about the overly conceptual writing—feeling, even painfully at times, that such writing surely was a limiting factor. And yet, I thought, it is right that I try, because at least by trying I could reach others who were better writers than myself, and who could give these ideas the “voice” they deserve. I never thought that my writing would obscure the good ideas and potential as much as it apparently has.

I offer my heartfelt apologies to readers who have made sincere efforts to read my posts and documents, only to have experiences so negative they wouldn’t even leave critical feedback. It’s heartbreaking.

I have done soul searching in the past on this subject, but it is clear I need to do more. Maybe the peacebuilding and community revitalization potential I see is potential that can only be actualized by others, and I should look in other fields of activity for the ways I can contribute best.

I’ll see if I feel that same way two months from now.

Thanks for being straightforward and honest. I really value straightforward and honest comments.

[Stefan Pasti]

It is now nearly 5 months since I posted the above reply about how I was considering doing some soul searching, and looking in other fields of activity for the ways I can contribute the best.

And I did do some exploring: I volunteered as an assistant teacher for a 10 week ESL course being offered by a local church. I thought I might explore the possibility of working as a teacher for ESL students, either here in the U.S., or in another country.

I had many good experiences in that class, and as a result of exploring the Internet to find resources for the students, I created a ESL Resource Website (at www.ellresources-leesburg.net ).

However, as a result of creating that website, I got many new ideas about re-presenting the potential of Community Visioning Initiatives, and Community Teaching and Learning Centers. Those many new ideas have resulted in two new companion websites, (at www.cviclearinghouse.net and www.ctlcclearinghouse.net ) and four new documents (accessible at the websites).

One introduction to the two clearinghouse websites is in the Open Discussion section of this IPCR Discussion Forum (see "Turning Challenges into Inspiring Experiences").

Although the criticisms of my writing may still be valid, it may turn out that these new websites bring forward more collaboration, and assist in bringing my more conversational voice back into my writing. Anyway, it seems that, for now, the result of my soul searching has been the re-presentation of the most inspiring concepts of the IPCR Initiative, in a new website format.

I'll comment again here in two or three months on how that new effort in working out.