What is a Good Life?

What is a Good Life? #100 - Living In Mutual Solidarity with Cormac Russell

Dec 10, 2024

In this enlightening conversation, Cormac Russell, a social explorer and author, shares his extensive experience in community development across 35 countries. He reflects on the importance of shifting from 'doing' to 'being', emphasizing genuine solidarity over misguided self-help efforts. Cormac challenges the idea of individualism, advocating for recognizing the interconnectedness of communities. He also encourages listeners to channel their emotions into meaningful actions, ultimately awakening to the deeper value of community connections.

01:10:14

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Episode guests

Cormac Russell

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Quick takeaways

Cormac Russell emphasizes community development through a focus on being rather than doing, fostering deeper connections among community members.

He advocates for recognizing individual interconnectedness, suggesting personal growth is rooted in collective engagement and shared experiences.

Russell challenges traditional helping narratives, urging a shift towards asset-based approaches that prioritize empathy, solidarity, and community strengths.

Deep dives

Exploration of Community Development

Cormac Russell emphasizes the significance of community development through a lens of being rather than doing. His journey began with a quest to find a more meaningful way to engage with people, driven by an understanding that help should not come from a place of trying to 'fix' others. He advocates for community-based approaches, where the focus shifts from deficits to the assets that exist within neighborhoods. This shift not only empowers individuals but enriches the community as a whole, allowing for deeper, more personal connections among its members.

Intro

4min

The Journey of Purpose and Belonging

15min

Discovering the Value of Community and Helping Others

4min

The Complexity of Help

10min

Awakening to Community Awareness

31min

The Role of Associational Life in Social Change

3min

Exploring Connections: The Essence of a Good Life

5min

On the 100th episode of What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Cormac Russell. Cormac is a social explorer, an author and a much sought-after speaker. He is the Founding Director of Nurture Development and a member of the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) Institute, at DePaul University, Chicago. Over the last 25 years, Cormac’s work has demonstrated an enduring impact in 35 countries around the world. He has trained communities, agencies, NGOs and governments in ABCD and other community-based approaches in Africa, Asia, Australia/Oceania, Europe and North America.

His most recent books are The Connected Community- Discovering the Health, Wealth, and Power of Neighborhoods (Coauthor John McKnight) and Rekindling Democracy – A Professional’s Guide to Working in Citizen Space. Cormac’s TEDx talk is really beautiful and can be viewed here.

In this glorious conversation, Cormac shares his journey into community development, marked by a focus on being over doing. We discuss the thresholds and limits of self-help, the problem with trying to fix others, and ways of making sense of the world. Cormac suggests that the world is not getting worse, but becoming clearer, and emphasises how to channel our emotions into meaningful action.

I found Cormac to be deeply insightful and rooted in his being. This conversation offers perspectives to help make sense of the world while encouraging us to reflect on our roles—not just in relation to humans, but as members of an interconnected, living, breathing Earth.

For further content and information check out the following:
- Cormac's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cormacrussell/
- Nurture Development website: https://www.nurturedevelopment.org/who-we-are/cormac-russell/
- His most recent book: https://wipfandstock.com/9781725253636/rekindling-democracy/

- For the What is a Good Life? podcast's YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@whatisagoodlife/videos
- My newsletter: https://www.whatisagood.life/
- My LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mccartney-14b0161b4/

Contact me at mark@whatisagood.life if you'd like to explore your own lines of self-inquiry through 1-on-1 coaching, take part in my weekly free silent conversations, discuss experiences I create to stimulate greater trust, communication, and connection, amongst your leadership teams, or you simply want to get in touch.

00:00 Introduction
03:45 Exploring vocations

08:25 Focus on being rather than doing

15:18 Being both rooted and free

18:35 Attraction to people helping others

22:25 What is help?

26:45 Thresholds within self-help and helping

31:32 Hidden persuaders

37:06 The path of making sense in the world

42:15 Doing life together in mutual solidarity

47:35 The problem with trying to help or fix

52:45 Getting a sense of our intentions

57:45 The world is getting clearer not worse

1:06:45 What is a good life for Cormac?

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