Fall back: a time to reflect

Fall is a time to reflect on my priorities and relationships. Recently, I have been engaged in a ton of consulting focusing mostly on helping organizations connect authentically to missions of diversity, equity and inclusion. In my sessions I am very much aware of the different level’s folks are on. While some are just in the beginning stages of becoming aware of their privilege, others are grappling with how to make sense of white supremacy, searching for tools to engage others in conversations around race and equity in the work place. I hear executives ask me how have they lived for so long and never noticed how unaware they are of their implicit biases and, admittedly, commit micro aggressions on the daily. Clearly, society rewards success in the form of monetary gains not on the merits of how to hold folks accountable and come to an understanding of white supremacy and how and when privilege shows up. And then there are the folks of color, the Black and Brown folks who are in the action stage, they live the struggle and are tired of the processing and analyzing and just want action.

I make space for all with the intentional and explicit voicing that while we are all in this space together, our connections and relationship to this material are different. My task as a facilitator is to organically work with what shows up in the room and intentionally respond and explore questions participants ask in the form of both defensiveness and anger. I stand outside of myself.

Entering situations authentically and not making it about my agenda, being conscious of who and what is in the room and the energy that is felt, all comes with an intentional mindfulness and presence. My priority right now is to live more in this state of presence. Carl Jung said “those who look external dream, those who look internal awake.” The irony of this quote is that the more internal we look, the more mindful we become of the complexity of being and relationships and I would add, the kinder and gentler our world becomes. Happy Fall.