We have a Solution-It’s a Start
We are all worn out! People are fatigued, exhausted, sleepless, anxious, distrustful, afraid, angry, and polarized. Our institutions are failing us. The guardrails we depend upon are collapsing. We are living with simmering tension. Our body politic has become mean and ugly. Our civil society seems broken.
Wildfires are reducing whole neighborhoods to ruble in hours. Coastal storms are washing out roads and homes to the ocean. Interior hurricanes, tornadoes, and rains are leaving communities devastated. Glaciers melt and send walls of water down on towns without warning. Ongoing war destroys people and places around the globe. Addiction to alcohol, drugs, or gambling shatter families and wreck whole communities. Families are torn apart by immigration policies. Our children suffer.
The billionaires and trillionaires keep advancing the development of artificial intelligence and open-source usage of their profit – driven products. At the same time, they warn that their product may have the ability to literally wipe out the human species within a decade. Meanwhile, people struggle to provide basic necessities, shelter, food, health care, and child care in an economy that is increasingly unstable. The gap between the haves and the have-nots grows ever wider. We often fail to see the humanity in one another.
There is a way out—a way to make deeply human connections. It begins with really seeing one another, telling our different stories, listening to each other, and creating an environment where understanding can flourish. In November communities in West Virginia will join others across the United States and around the world in community talking circles. We will meet in churches, libraries, colleges, community centers, and senior centers to share our thoughts, concerns, dreams and hopes for the people and places we share.
In the process, people will learn about and gain experience with talking circles as a form of a structured communication dynamic for discovering and deepening our relationships with one another — no matter our differences! We will sit in a circle. We will pass a talking piece from person to person. You may speak and share when you have the talking piece. Others will listen—listen deeply with an open mind and heart—leaving judgment behind. Something special happens in these circles. Perhaps it comes from the ancient roots of talking circles as a method of group process.
There is an inherent value in simply being heard. Talking circles promote that value. In talking circles respect for the dignity of every human being grows. Ideas flow forth. Trust builds. Talking and listening that takes place in the circle can change perspectives in ways both large and small.
Interested? Join a community talking circle near you. Information about where community talking circles will be held on November 16, 2026, will soon be available. Follow us! West Virginia Restorative Justice Project
Written by Debby Mchenry, Tucker County, WV
