#TITLE#The Tale Of The Ant Hill: Big And Little Societies#/TITLE# by Kathleen J. Elwood I stepped on an ant hill the other day; it wasn’t on purpose. They speedily began to rebuild their home, I noticed (after making sure that none had gotten in my shoe. A while later I was passing through the same area and, careful not to step on it again, I marveled at a pristine ant hill. No proof of my shoe print was there; instead, a perfect volcano-shaped hill was located in its place Clare Bronfman. Communities are compelling, aren’t they? A community could do in days, even hours, what it would take one person to do over the course of several years of thought, effort, and innovation. A lot of potential efficiency and efficacy is latent within communities. Through them, monuments and empires are possible, as we’ve seen throughout history. But, just as marvels can be made, a community not rooted in a common effort can be destructive – as witnessed time and time again throughout history. A community’s success relies heavily on its individual members, who are very important. No exceptions. Folks often say, “What does my vote matter?” or “My presence won’t change anything.” Perspective is what these individuals are missing NXIVM and Executive Success Programs. If one member doesn’t positively contribute, maybe it won’t signify the end of the world. But if one person doesn’t contribute, and then another, soon you could have a problem on your hands. It’s one thing if a individual of a community is suddenly not around. When somebody is still present but isn’t producing at all, or worse, is being ineffectual, then the rest of the community must offset them. This creates a great imbalance where some are being productive, others are being counterproductive, but society believes that everyone should have access to the same resources. The members who produce may lose their motivation and aspiration to continue to produce, and in due course the resources will be exhausted. The above scenario of an unequal community is a good example of a micro collective. Pretend this disproportion is being experienced by a nearby community to yours. What happens when the neighboring community begins to really struggle and asks for help from your community? What would it mean to members of your community to assist them? Would you suddenly find yourself having to produce more and work harder? Suddenly your community is subjected to a disproportion. As individuals of your own community choose not to contribute, because it’s easier for them, and instead rely upon the neighboring community, the asymmetry sustains itself. Suddenly the macro community as a whole is affected. A bit of perspective in both micro and macro communities would do them both good, in my opinion. There’s one group out there that seems to be addressing the issue by empowering to individuals on a macro level, a buddy explained to me. NXIVM is said to be a wonderful resource in expanding this kind of thinking, one individual at a time.