Ever watch something while it’s happening?
Surprisingly it’s not something most of us say we do with any regularity.
Who watches a kettle reach it’s boiling point or takes the time to watch a cake rise in the oven?
I don’t. Mostly because I am more interested in the outcome or the finished product which would be a chocolate cake!
But I never stopped to consider just how the cake came into being.
Something happened whereby ingredients came together, heat was applied and then the good smelling lump was removed from the oven and icing was put on before I got to enjoy it.
In principle we are doing the same thing here at Treaty 2 and this provides us with a unique opportunity for us.
We get to facilitate and watch the process of defining and establishing a form of self-government from scratch.
One day at a time.
My grandmother used to do things, slow and steady until what she set out to do was done.
There was no skipping steps.
Didn’t matter if she was planting her garden, sewing a hole in her grandson’s jeans or preparing a meal.
It was a matter of process and patience.
Things got done and done properly.
Process is something that requires patience, something I didn’t have at the age when I saw her doing those things.
But I do have memories and in the years that followed, understanding that what she did and how she did it was what mattered because she knew the benefits of her work would last.
In hindsight, those things raised a family, taught patience and persistence and ultimately contributed to a greater community when her young left the farm.
These days we’re all concerned with the work we do, how important it is.
We have been taught to focus on the finished product, the reached goal, the achievement.
But what we lack is attention to detail in the formative stages of a project, report as being important.
At our meetings, a hall is rented, food is prepared, audio system is set up and we have our event.
The community comes together and we get insight as to where they are.
They will share those things, their frustrations, challenges and questions.
If they have questions, it is a wonderful thing because it means they are an engaged audience.
The story of what we will become is being shared with us.
I’m just glad I am now aware of the process because years from now I can say I was there during the creation of the Treaty based government in Treaty 2.
Last modified: April 15, 2019
