Living Room Conversation: Community & Belonging

Living Room Conversations offer a simple, structured way to practice communicating across differences while building understanding and relationships. We’ll meet in small groups to discuss various topics each month where the goal will be to take turns sharing, learning and being curious over debating or convincing others. No preparation is required, although you are invited to come with an open mind.

THIS MONTH’S TOPIC: Community & Belonging

Many people sense that something is broken in society and feel overwhelmed about what to do about it. However, there have been many times as a country when people looked past their surface differences and came together as neighbors to support each other.

This month, we’ll explore what might be behind today’s rising sense of isolation, loneliness and mistrust and what each of us can do to weave a strong and vibrant community.

Here’s our general flow:

Introductions and Conversation Agreements on how we’ll engage

Question Rounds:

Round 1: Get to Know Each Other

Round 2: Community and Belonging

-Is it easy or hard for you to connect with others who were raised differently, or live and think differently than you?

-What have you seen getting in the way of that from happening?

-Are there people in your community you feel close to? What makes you feel close?

-Describe a time, if ever, when you saw your neighborhood come together to have fun or face a common challenge.

-What do you think could be done to help bring your community together?

-What connection, if any, do you see between what is happening in our nation and what is happening in our neighborhoods or communities?

Afterwards we will debrief and discover what next steps we can take forward in building a stronger, more vibrant community.

This event will be held in a private residence in North Austin, near Walnut Creek Park. Please RSVP for address.

Learn more about Living Room Conversations’ open-source project at LivingRoomConversations.org