What Happens When We Take Stock Before Making Decisions?
Hi folks! I’m Amber.
The RAMP! Asset Mapping exercise was about creating the conditions for better thinking together and leads us to the next RAMP Skill Building Workshop Apr 25, 2026: Social Enterprise Expert Shaun Loney sharing his insights with us about using our assets in a values base, financially sustainable way. We hope you will join us as we explore real ways to build UU spaces!
Recently, Unitarian Universalists from across Canada came together for a RAMP! Asset Mapping workshop to learn how to assess opportunities using the MAPS framework.
The focus was to take a step back and notice what’s actually present before moving forward with a decision.
Using the MAPS Framework (Moment, Assets, Purpose, and Surroundings) participants worked through a delightful low stakes scenario to practice taking stock of real world situations and help them evaluate opportunities at a deeper level.
As one participant put it:
“I’m amazed how much this one exercise could reveal about who we are – our values, our purpose. There’s freedom gained by taking that intentional pause.”
Starting with the Moment
The group named the moment they’re in with a sense that something is changing, but not yet fully defined.
People asked:
- Is this a crisis, or an invitation to reimagine?
- Are we reacting to change, or shaping it?
There was also a strong awareness that care matters, emphasizing the importance of pausing and supporting those impacted by change.
“I immediately thought about how to support people through big transitions.”
Seeing What We Already Have
At first, people named the obvious assets: tools, funding, infrastructure, logistics. But quickly, the focus expanded.
They began to recognize:
- Emotional capacity and care
- Trust and relationships
- Shared joy and imagination
- Cultural practices and storytelling
- Knowledge, legacy, and reputation
New possibilities also surfaced – things like multicultural collaboration and alternative economic models.
One of the biggest insights was this: many of the most valuable assets are often invisible.
Participants felt that shift in real time:
“Many voices enrich.”
“All the perspectives informing one another.”
Exploring Purpose
When it came to purpose, there wasn’t a single answer, and that was part of the point.
Participants named different directions, depending on the Community Archetype they viewed the scenario through:
- Creating joy and meaning
- Supporting care and belonging
- Adapting and creating new offerings
- Sharing leadership and responsibility
- Contributing to something larger
At the same time, there were real questions:
- Does our original purpose still hold?
- Is it something to preserve, or something that can evolve?
This revealed a core tension: holding onto what exists while also being open to transformation.
And it required people to notice their own assumptions:
“I noticed how I can get trapped in my own lens.”
“It helped me reconsider the status quo.”
“Alternative perspectives were really helpful.”
Looking Beyond Ourselves
The conversation expanded outward to consider surroundings.
Participants reflected on:
- The needs of the wider community
- Opportunities for partnership
- The importance of listening rather than assuming
There was also attention to cultural relevance and the broader systems shaping their work.
A key realization was that this work doesn’t happen in isolation but rather a larger ecosystem of relationships and communities.
The Role of Imagination
One thing that stood out across the session was how central imagination was to the process.
Participants named it directly:
“Power of imagination.”
“Thinking out of the box.”
“Practical, creative, imagining.”
Rather than separating creativity from strategy, the exercise showed how imagination helps people see new possibilities and connections.
“Such creative ideas!”
What Emerged Across It All
Across every part of the exercise, a few themes stood out.
A shift from scarcity to possibility
People began reframing loss as opportunity, and constraints as openings for creativity.
Care and change need to happen together
There was a clear desire to support people emotionally while also staying open to new directions.
Power and leadership are shifting
Participants explored more shared and lateral approaches to leadership, and questioned how decisions are made.
At the same time, participants named the real complexity of the work:
“The challenge of bringing all the contributions together into a plan of action.”
The Bigger Insight
When people are given space to pause, think together, and explore openly, something shifts.
Participants described the experience as:
Engaging. Thought-provoking. Revealing. Creative. Hopeful.
“I came feeling curious, I leave feeling uplifted.”
“What a gift to know we don’t have to know everything.”
“Hopeful for collective creativity.”
And perhaps just as importantly, it felt different from what many expected:
“It was nothing like any asset mapping exercise I’ve experienced – so much more expansive and cooperative.”
Amber Bellemare April 2026
I’m a long-time Unitarian Universalist (UU). My involvement started as a young adult and continued into adulthood. I love my UU community and have created lifelong friendships. That said, several aspects of who I am have sometimes made me feel excluded. So it has been deeply personal and meaningful to lead these inclusion efforts. In everything I do, I aim to show up with vulnerability and encourage others to do the same. I have seen vulnerability transform hearts and minds! I am confident the difficult work of changing ourselves and our institutions can be made much easier when we come with an open heart.
In this blog, I’ll continue blending the heart work with the head work required to transform our lives and the systems we co-create. Whether you’ve connected with me through workshops, forums, or coaching sessions—or are new to this work—this space is for all who are invested in building a more just and inclusive world.
Wherever you are, and in whatever work you do to bring joy and inclusivity into the world, I look forward to continuing the journey with you.
Before you go, say “hi” in the comments. We’d love to know who you are and what you hope to gain from this blog.
The CUC Blog, the Canadian Unitarian Council’s new blog, is a forum for sharing ideas, tools, and resources with people and organizations who want to create a more loving, just, and equitable world.
Amber Bellemare is the truth healing and reconciliation program coordinator for the Canadian Unitarian Council.
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