As expats we live in a secure compound with high walls, inside those walls we have grass, trees, flowers, beauty and order.

Many local families live in their own high walled “compounds” with their extended families.  And although I have never been behind those walls I have heard of their gardens.

Outside of all of our walls is the city we all share.  Most of the city is full of trash, partially developed buildings, blowing sand, broken sidewalks – if there are sidewalks at all; narrow streets and tiny parking lots that don’t accommodate all of the cars, and random unmatched street lights that don’t begin to illuminate the dark.

A few weeks ago I met with some local women and they encouraged me to check out a city that is 101 kilometers (62.75 miles) away.

This past weekend, my husband and I rode there on our Harley with several other couples.

Before we left one of the women commented about how much she likes the city we were driving to.  When I asked why she said, “it is just like the movies at night, it is all lit up…”

So as we drove into this neighboring city my eyes were wide open…

As I looked specifically for light sources I noticed several things:

• Uniform street lights, positioned at regular intervals everywhere.
• Winding whole sidewalks positioned below those lights.
• Flower beds and grass planted along those walkways.
• Many residential compounds had lower walls than those in our city and some had no walls at all!
• And there was so little trash I don’t remember seeing any.

The rest of the ride home I compared the two cities.

The city I live in has a spirit of, [Tweet “”It’s all about me and mine” compared to a spirit of, “It’s about ALL of us.””]

A lack of a vision compared to a shared vision.

Chaos compared to order.

Anxiety compared to peace.

Darkness compared to light.

All causing me to wonder about the behind the scenes stories:

• Who are the titled leaders in both cities?
• Why does one city have a shared vision and one does not?
• If all of the people from this city enjoy the vision order, and peace they experience in that city so much, what are they doing to change this city?

Think about your neighborhood, your city, your workplace, your school, and your house of worship…

Before any human contact is made and any words are spoken what do people see, feel and experience?

Is there a strong vision that is pulling people together in such a way that complete strangers instantly see it and feel it?

If not, what will you do to change that?

A year later we returned to that place.  And once again I was greatly impacted by what we experienced.

Read more about that visit here:  The Impact of Vision without Ownership