What Could Possibly Go Right? We live in an emergent reality. We’re creating the future all the time, or we’re being drawn into it. [I keep] my eye focused on love.
Anne Stadler, a passionate advocate for non-violence, a pioneer in open space technology, and a visionary TV producer, passed away on October 31, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. She leaves behind a legacy of compassion, innovation, and a deep commitment to creating positive change. From the start of the Charter of Compassion Anne was a guiding star. She served on the original board that birthed our non-profit, the Compassionate Action Network, and introduced the Charter to many new partners. At the age of 92 Anne continued to be a steward who never gave up on the turmoil we face in the world. In an interview she gave early in 2023 for spoke of what kept her going, remarking, “my eye has been on love.”
Anne spent decades doing good work both professionally and as a volunteer to seek solutions to world issues through nonviolence and alternative methods of conflict resolution, all in service of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s vision of the Beloved Community.
According to the King Center, the Beloved Community is one where “poverty, hunger and homelessness will not be tolerated because international standards of human decency will not allow it… international disputes will be resolved by peaceful conflict-resolution and reconciliation of adversaries, instead of military power. Love and trust will triumph over fear and hatred. Peace with justice will prevail over war and military conflict.”
Anne worked as an award winning producer for King-5 TV in Seattle, WA, for 17 years focusing on socially minded content and issues through a coalition known as People Power. Since then, she continued to work as a consultant and coach in community organizing, peace-building, and inspired leadership around the world including in India, Australia, Canada, the U.K., and the former USSR.
Listen to Anne in an interview she gave to Resilience May 18, 2023. In her presentation she explores (Episode 101) What Could Possibly Go Right.
- Learning what love is in your life, guiding and pulling us forward through even bleak times and problems
- Appreciating “all these little bubbling initiatives that people undertake out of love” that are creating change
- Realizing that “We live in an emergent reality. We’re creating the future all the time, or we’re being drawn into it.”
- Exploring the principles of Open Space for community building
