Monday, February 14, 2022

The Importance of Planning

 I was reading from the Universal House of Justice the other day, when I ran across the following:

(...A sustained entry by troops) cannot be achieved by a mere series of spasmodic, uncoordinated exertions, no matter how enthusiastic. Confidence; unity of vision; systematic, realistic, but audacious planning; acceptance of the fact that mistakes will be made, and willingness to learn from these mistakes; and, above all, reliance on the guidance and sustaining confirmations of Bahá’u’lláh will advance this process. (Ridvan 153, to the Baha'is of Europe)

Interesting. And what an incredible list to study, especially as we get ready to embark on the first of a series of plans coming up later this year.

You may recall in the letter to the Counsellor's conference, dated 30 December 2021, we read the most advanced clusters are seeing "the mobilization of a sizeable number of Bahá’ís who are creatively and intelligently applying the Plan’s framework for action to the reality of their own circumstances wherever in the cluster they live." We also read that the friends in these areas "must be able to read their own reality and ask: what, in light of the possibilities and requirements at hand, would be fitting objectives to pursue in the coming cycle or series of cycles?"

Going back to that first quote, the one to the Baha'is of Europe, I just want to take a look at those requisites a little bit more. They listed five things that would "advance this process".

1. Confidence -  Well, that makes sense. After all, if we don't believe we can do something, we will not put all our effort into it.

2. Unity of vision - Hmm. That's an intriguing one. I have seen communities where some people believed this meant that everyone needed to do the same thing. Well, that's uniformity of action, not unity of vision. In fact, if we go back to the Ridvan 1990 message, we read "A unity in diversity of actions is called for, a condition in which different individuals will concentrate on different activities, appreciating the salutary effect of the aggregate on the growth and development of the Faith, because each person cannot do everything and all persons cannot do the same thing. This understanding is important to the maturity which, by the many demands being made upon it, the community is being forced to attain." A unity of vision would encompass the long range goal, and require an appreciation of the varied steps needed to achieve it. It would allow each person to play to their strength, lending the greatest share they could to the achievement of the goals.

3. Systematic, realistic, but audacious planning - Ok. This is probably my favorite. But to really appreciate it, I find that I need to break it up into its component parts.

First, we need to be systematic in our planning. This means that we need a plan, and we need to be methodical in the development of said plan. Given that our plans are outlined for us by the World Centre, we pretty much have this down. And given that we have been guided to look at the various cycles of growth, each roughly 3 months in duration and based around the natural activities in our community, we are doing fairly well in this, provided we actually take note of those natural cycles in our community. When we ignore that, our vision tends to be more inward looking, rather than outward focused. I have seen more than a few communities stumble in this when they plan their cycles around an arbitrary calendar, usually the Baha'i calendar, which only a handful of people in a given community follow. But when they truly begin to focus their attention on the greater community, and learn to recognize the natural cycles there, they flourish.

From what I have seen in my own community, for example, this tends to revolve around the school year. New activities start in September, when the children begin their school year. Community centres have their fall activities starting. Dance studios begin their sessions. Many extra-curricular sports teams start their seasons, too. Three months later, in December, the children are getting ready for their winter break, and they have to register for a whole new set of after-school activities. Then, in March, they change over to their spring activities, which also last about three months. Finally, when the school year ends in June, everyone registers for their summer activities. Three month cycles. And if we try to begin our children's classes outside this cycle, say in October, which would lead to January three months later and then on to Ridvan, most of the children are already busy, having already started their fall activities.

The second step here, though, is that our plans need to be realistic. We may be systematic, but if we are not realistic very little will come of it. The reason that most plans fail is not because the people involved are unaware of the lofty goals, or lack enthusiasm, but because they do not see the next practical step that they can take. This is where realism comes into play. If the next proposed step is too far, or outside their vision, most people will not even try to take it.

The third part, though, is that we need to be audacious. We may be realistic, but if we only take tiny, cautious steps, we will never achieve the great strides necessary to bring about a change of culture. Audacious not only means bold and daring, but also implies that we are not restricted to the old way of doing things. It suggests being original, trying new things, which leads us to the next part.

4. Acceptance of the fact that mistakes will be made, and willingness to learn from these mistakes - We will make mistakes. This is a given. If we are audacious and daring, we can be certain that we will sometimes fall on our face. But hey, falling on our face implies forward movement. The trick, though, is to learn. Over and over in the recent messages, we read about the culture of learning, a dozen times in the 30 December message alone. "...(T)he friends should be occupied", they write in but one instance, "in an ongoing process of learning about what is most effective in the place where they are." Making mistakes is inevitable, and we should embrace that.

Many people are afraid of making mistakes, though, for it lays open our vulnerability. But you know what? This is also how we earn trust. When we recognize our own vulnerability and put ourselves out there anyways, people tend to trust us more than if we only show strength, and do only that which is safe. It exposes us, and shows that we trust those around us to help us if we fall. It reminds us to be humble and shows others that we are human, too. It means that even though the Writings have all the answers, we do not pretend to know those answers. It proves we are willing to allow others to help us learn how to find and apply them.

When we make mistakes, and strive to learn from them, we discover new things, see nuances we may have missed earlier. It can make the invisible visible. It can more easily show us where the problems may lie, and help us to overcome them more quickly. Mistakes can help us see more creative solutions, and reveal new insights. They tell us about our skill levels and help us see what is, and what is not, possible at any given time. They also help us prioritize, and recognize the new priorities as circumstances change.

Mistakes help us learn to ask more effective questions, and questions are so important that we even have a month named after them. Effective questions lead to more effective answers.

5. Above all, reliance on the guidance and sustaining confirmations of Bahá’u’lláh will advance this process - "Above all". No, really. "Above all". We are not the ones doing this. Everything we do is completely at the mercy of Baha'u'llah. It is our blessing to be able to serve, and we should never forget this.


So now, as I begin to make my own personal plans, and as I consult with those around me on our community plans, I feel this guidance may help us be a bit more focused. It also seems that with these points in mind, we may all feel a little more comfortable challenging ourselves. After all, as the Universal House of Justice said to the Counsellors back on 9 January 2001, "Fear of failure finds no place. Mutual support, commitment to learning, and appreciation of diversity of action are the prevailing norms" in the community we hope to build.

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