Well the thing is, it's becoming so clear how in sharing our stories, those most personal of feelings, the ones we sometimes find difficult or uncomfortable sharing with others, are the very ones that bring us such profound healing and connectivity... it's in those most special and meaningful spaces that we find the healing, the truth, the things that allow us to see ourselves in each other...
And those are the elements of true community building... the lasting stuff that relationships are built on, those kinds of bonds that are strong, lasting and as flexible as a spider web in a storm.
So much seems to be happening right now in the micro and macrocosm world around us, sometimes it feels difficult to keep up with all the changes that are happening. And yet all that change produces relatively little difference in the big picture, in the long term.
One of the interesting parts of living in a diverse urban area is that if or when one encounters the opportunity to share stories between cultures, the roots of many of our historical and contemporary experiences reveal uncanny likeness in experience and impact.
This month I was honored to work with the Broward County Public School Board on an intensely impactful art project encouraging anonymous personal reflections around the process of achieving equity in diversity. A magnificent question for our particular geographic and demographic locale where no majority cultural, ethnic or racial group exists... here in the present, we are a reflection of the future.
It was so beautiful and also jarring to see a snapshot of what our educators and administrators may not be able or willing to share verbally as a matter of daily or even periodic conversation. They were deeply personal "thought selfies" with identifying characteristics absent.
TRUTH. FREEDOM. EQUITY. In Action.
The process of co-facilitating the collaborative creation of the thought-quilt was quite spectacular in itself. The practice of engaging in art making, placing one's thoughts into action, the bravery of stating one's truth... each was incredibly varied in the approach, the level of comfort, and the amount of time each collaborator was willing to invest - if even they invested at all.
The end results of the collaborative work...well - the results in-process, or to-date... speak for themselves in attesting to the beauty, integrity and strength that is possible when we are able to share willingly, with our hearts open....
