I have been agonising over a meeting I had yesterday. I was faced with a strong corporate mentality that, in my opinion, is seeking to dilute the work I do to an expedient formula to roll out quickly and then be forgotten. I was quiet, listening to their views and trying to find ways to make their ideas possible but feeling that they simply did not grasp the magnitude of this work. I was frustrated, at myself, for not speaking more emphatically about ways in which this may be offered, to give them a clearer view of what is a muddy and very challenging path to navigate. I know that this is not good business strategy, but that is the reality of these times and I know it is my responsibility to help them to see this. So many thoughts swirling in my brain as to how to have these important conversations and the virtue of unity is exactly the posture that I need as a guiding force. I realise that the elements of unity are foreign to many people and they have really not had to think about what it means outside of their immediate sphere of influence. Life has been great, prosperous with few material problems. How may eyes be opened to see that this is the problem? We are facing the ever increasing effects of a pandemic because we continue to look the other way, refusing to acknowledge the suffering and trials of others. I possess an innovative and unique approach to this work, one that I am still distilling and refining as I gain more experience. I need to remind myself of this and resist the temptation to diminish the effectiveness of my voice. In the face of such overwhelming push back, my default position is to retreat but I am in the room and I know that this is where I need to stay because I belong. I am hardwired by social conditioning to disbelieve this. Unity reminds me that in doing the work of a unifier requires strength and resilience that I have obtained and need to lean into. The obstacles are formidable and unyielding, but I cannot back down because the forces of unity are even stronger and I need to be the one chipping away at the barriers. This gives me confidence to wipe away my tears and carry on. There is an invisible army assisting me.
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