Time to read: 1 min, 16 seconds
Singing vigil in Minneapolis last weekend
Before I say anything about current events in Minnesota, here are a few important things for you to know.
- I am not a political pundit. Although I read extensively and listen to many experts, politics is not my area of expertise. Other people do this work well.
- I don't have answers. If I did, I'd be a political pundit. :-)
- My lens is personal responsibility, ownership, humans, and process. I help humans become more effective humans. To me, effective means connected, responsible, honest, transparent and kind (that is a short list).
- I believe in the possibility of world peace... if we humans would just get out of our own and each other's way. That's why I do this work.
- I have a lot to say. It's gonna take a few weeks.
I appreciate all of you who reached back to last week's newsletter with notes of solidarity, expressions of overwhelm, and questions. I'm going to take things in bite-sized pieces. Here is what I want to say today:
We are not at the end of this story.
We are still in the middle. We are in the middle of events in Minnesota, our nation, this administration, world history, and human existence. Part of (perhaps a big part) of this administration's current actions are to create despair and powerlessness. Or to create overwhelm so you can't pay attention to one.more.thing.
When it all feels like too much, overwhelm and despair follow. This is true in politics, work, and family life.
This is not the end. The story is being written every day by humans who stand sentry outside schools to protect students, drive their neighbors to work, protest brutality and aggression, and show up in their daily lives to tend, care, love, and spread joy. You are not powerless. You always have agency. No action, prayer, or connection is too small.
I've said this many times over the years of writing this newsletter. You matter. The energy you bring to your life and work matters. What you do matters. And all of this matters even more now.
Email me anytime. Many of you learned last week that I reply to every email, and sometimes you get a big download to your serious question. I'm always happy to hear from you.
Love to you!