I chatted recently with a woman who serves as both the soccer coach and the Girl Scout leader for her 11-year-old daughter. She told me of a group exercise that is popular today called “the Human Knot,” that involves randomly joining hands and then, without letting go of each other, talk with each other to become disentangled. The Scouts had no trouble straightening themselves out, but the soccer team, which included many of the same girls, “took forever” to solve the puzzle. The girls noticed the difference and were impressed.

We are such an interesting animal! When we work together on a project we deem worthy, we are capable of great good, but we can also let our competitive nature overcome our communal instincts. It is a choice, and we make many of them every day. Having a good leader makes a difference, but we are free people and can choose to quiet our egos for the good of the community.

Context is important. Having watched visitors at Isle Royale National Park for over 50 years, I believe public land can bring out the best in us. Honest communication is facilitated by shared weather and space; sometimes we need to laugh at ourselves, and sometimes we need to ask for help. Surrounded and infused by the healing nature of Nature, we can sense, for a brief moment, that humans are part of the beauty.

“All God’s critters got a place in the choir.” In the orchestra of creation, humans seem to be the percussion section, and our oblivious bing-banging has made quite a hash of things. Every section in the orchestra, especially the percussion section, must listen to the others in order to create beautiful music.

The City of Houghton has an opportunity to build, in the space that was the parking deck, places for people to sit together, look out at the water and up to the Hancock hill, and make a new friend or two. Understanding how we can be either competitive or cooperative is part of the solution, and we could all use more practice sharing our ideas and listening to each other. Honest conversations are more likely to happen when we look outward and upward together — what a marvelous opportunity our waterfront now provides!

Carolyn C. Peterson

Houghton