How Does a Chance Process Succeed?- Mindfulness and Empathy are the Key Drivers: Ulrike Reinhard

For ten years I worked in Janwaar, a small village in rural Madhya Pradesh. I built a skatepark which had a huge impact: It changed the mindset of the villagers and gave them a new identity. Today, Janwaar is no longer a faceless village – it is an internationally known skateboarding hub where kids have taken their future in their own hands.

Each and every kid in Janwaar is skateboarding. They’ve won multiple medals at the National Championships and represented India at the World Championships in Nanjing, China. Not only are they sport champions, they also championed in fulfilling their dreams and they don’t shy away to pursue them – even when their parents and the community are not ready to join them.

All this became possible not only because of the skatepark. I’m convinced, my way of acting played a crucial role:

My engagement was always based on mindfulness and empathy.

At times this was very challenging and surely I didn’t always succeed, but I can say, I always tried my level best.

Being mindful, especially when you want to drive change in a foreign place, means:

You “forget” everything what has conditioned your mind so far including your cultural background.
You ignore all the “noise” in your mind which is reflecting your conditioning; your mind should be “naked”.
So that you are able to see what really is and not what your mind wants to see you.
Only then you are fully aware of what is happening in this very moment in this very place. You are present.
You soak it all in and you listen and appreciate any contributions.
You are not judgemental (this is good, this is bad, I know better … ).
And you don’t have any expectations of what a possible way forward might be. You don’t have fixed plans.

This procedure doesn’t mean that you lack a vision (my vision was always very clear) – it means that you are completely OPEN of how, when and what you will achieve on the way.

It is an organic process – and not a steady straight line up towards the goal. It creates common understanding, respect and trust. In other words: it embeds lots and lots of empathy.

Back to Janwaar: Mindfulness and empathy allowed us to create these solutions TOGETHER. In turn it became easy for the villagers to take ownership of what they have co-created. Because it were THEIR decisions and solutions. This is why they still take care of the skatepark. They continue the work even though I have left .

And this is REAL change.

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About The Guest Author: Ulrike Reinhard is a German publisher, author, digital nomad and futurist. She is best known for her skatepark in Madhya Pradesh, Janwaar Castle. Reinhard has also been editor of WE Magazine and has written for Think Quarterly. All her work is related to network theory with the Internet at its core, focusing on interactions and the co-creation processes within a network.