We were at a community event several years ago talking with a young couple who recently moved to our town.
We asked if they were enjoying living here and with little hesitation the woman told us the jury was still out. We asked what the town might need to make their experience better and she shrugged her shoulders and said there wasn’t much to do here.
A couple of years ago, I was visiting with a couple, probably in their 60s, who were new to town. They’d been here for a while but she wasn’t liking it because she found little to do. I suggested a few different groups and activities that I knew about in town but she shot down all of those suggestions, saying she wasn’t interested in any of that.
Neither individual offered anything in terms of what they’d like to see, nor did they ask how they could get new ideas started. They seemed happy to be unhappy. I don’t know if either couple is still living here but if so, I hope they have gotten involved somewhere and have a new perspective today, because it would be hard to live in a place you don’t like. Then again, I wonder if either would have been willing to put in the work to make anything different.
Our summer plans got changed the last two years so we decided to take day trips to places in the province we’d never been before, or ones we’d driven past but never taken time to explore. I loved it. From historic sites to quirky locales, there were places that made me wish our town had similar amenities.
When we are very familiar with a place one of two things can happen: either we fail to see the limitations, or we overlook what makes it special. It requires an honest inventory of where we are at, as well as recognizing what we have just beyond our front doors. Sometimes we become so comfortable with something we don't see all that is there.
Sometimes we aren’t aware of the ongoing efforts to make something different. Better. The danger is complacency and not striving to do what we can to make our community stronger – perhaps waiting for someone else to step up and do it.
I recall an anecdote that said you'll get a handful of people at best to come out to a community planning meeting, but the whole town will show up in the middle of the night to watch it burn down. Harsh, to be sure. But unless we put in the work to build strong communities, what do we expect is going to happen?
My hometown of Outlook is asking for input into formulating a strategic plan. It’s an opportunity to say what we think should happen in our town and this is not something we should take lightly. When elected officials ask for our input, let’s be sure we take them up on that. It’s a way to put our stamp on the community we want to continue to call home.
It doesn’t stop there. The mayor is keeping office hours on Meet with the Mayor Mondays to be available to listen to citizens. These mornings with the mayor have tremendous potential — if we see the opportunity in front of us. I hope people come not simply to talk about concerns, but even more so to bring ideas and their willingness and ambition to help make them happen.
I am going to go meet with the mayor. Based on great experiences we had in other Saskatchewan towns, there’s something I’d like to suggest —but also offer my help in seeing it through, if it’s something others feel is warranted. It may not be a project that packs a big punch, but every time we work toward making our community a little better, the effect is cumulative and the impact is huge. We can be involved far beyond the ballot box.
It’s easy to be pessimistic to justify dissatisfaction with where you live but it serves no purpose. It’s far better to bring ideas, initiative and optimism. So fill out surveys. Talk to representatives. Get involved. Consider for a moment how incredibly fortunate we are if we live in a community with retail outlets to buy essentials; access to education and health care; places of worship; and opportunities to pursue arts, culture and recreation. It’s up to us to decide what we are going to do with all that and recognize that what we find to complain about is an absolute dream scenario for many millions who would be so thankful for so much less. That’s my outlook.
