In my life, there is one thing I am certain of: every few months, my wife will move around all of the furniture in our house and I will be annoyed. I am mostly annoyed because she doesn’t ask me if she can move everything around. If she did ask, she knows that I would say “no.” My wife is nothing if not practical.
However, after a few weeks I always come to the same conclusion: she is right. The furniture is better this way… though, in the moment, I couldn’t see it.
“Vital Conversations” (organized by the Bowen Island Community Foundation [BICF]) works on essentially the same principle. It’s an event that has one goal: finding out what kind of a community Bowen Islanders want and what are the most important parts of that ideal community.
Vital Conversations is a meeting of the minds on Bowen. It’s a thoughtful conversation rather than an intense debate. It’s the e-mail you would’ve sent if you’d waited a day or two to cool off. It’s choosing to be kind rather than needing to be right.
For the 2023 edition of Vital Conversations, we want to hear from as many islanders as possible. An online survey has been created for one purpose: to find out what you think. What’s important to you? What does Bowen Island do best? Where does it need improvement?
When the community has shown us what it values, the BICF writes a Vital Conversations Report. The Report showcases and prioritizes Bowen Island’s community values. In turn, these values are considered when the BICF makes funding decisions about new community projects and initiatives. BICF is humbled that many organizations consult Vital Conversations reports when undertaking community improving projects.
While some of us don’t want our furniture moved around at all, we might change our minds if we really thought and reflected about what would be better.
Help us find what’s better.
Share your reflections: https://www.surveymonkey.ca/r/MRQPT8N
