This is fifth and final part in a series on Connecting to Your Community, inspired by the Salon Discussion on the subject in March 2011. Below is an excerpt. For the full article, follow the link at the end.

Previously in this series: Learn to Share: A Primer | Part One: Setting the Stage | Part Two: Identifying Your Motives | Part Three: Becoming a Catalyst | Part Four: Developing Synergy

Making A Difference

HYPOTHESIS
The best way to balance our commodity-driven culture is to contribute to the community through the open exchange of knowledge, ideas and information.

Seeing the Forest for the Trees

It’s been two full years since that first meeting of the minds—that planted seed that grew and blossomed into the I Heart Art: Portland program. After two full years of hosting accessible professional development workshops, convening community salon discussions, and devising unique speed-networking events that reach into Portland’s vibrant community of makers, I look back and I smile to myself.

I get emails every now and then from people who have attended one or several of the events and programs that we put on, praising us for the amazing service that we bring to the community. They talk about finding the courage to take their creative business to the next level, finding a home for their creations to be sold and valued, and feeling like they’re not alone in trying to succeed at doing what they love.

Many of them itch to pay it forward, knowing that what they’ve received is valuable not just to them but to so many others around them, wanting to give back by volunteering at an event, teaching a workshop, or contributing a blog article. Every time I get one of these emails a smile spreads across my face like a proud parent. This is what we set out to do. We are making a difference.

When you become a contributing member of a community, it’s easy to get caught up in the logistics, the organization, or the stress that can build up around putting something like this out there into the world. The DIY culture unwittingly fosters a certain amount of martyrdom that can shroud your ability to see the forest for the trees.

But if you take the opportunity to step back and look outside, to pay attention to the people you are serving, you’ll start to notice gratitude being channeled back at you. There is nothing quite like that feeling in the world—it feeds the soul.

Read the full article on Isaac’s new blog, The Ambidextrous Brain.