Here’s What You Can Do, Loving Leader

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Hearing the news often makes me shake my head. I wonder, grieve, and sometimes rant. 

"I wish I could DO something," I think, “about the hurt, fragmentation, and meanness in the world.” I want to help shift things but feel overwhelmed and powerless. You too?

But then I remember.

These behaviors all around us have their roots in trauma, whether a single horrible event or a chronic never-ending grinding away, marking the soul. Rejection, neglect, bias, bullying, invisibility - these harms plant seeds that take root and grow. Fear becomes an identity, a way of being. And it lashes out.

I think about insignificance and how pernicious it is.

Every single human just wants to be seen, to matter, to belong. It is traumatizing to be invisible.

And as I ponder this, I remember there IS a change that I can bring, that you can bring too, Loving Leader. 

We have people on our teams. We have peers. We have people we cross paths with each day, each week. They all want to know that someone sees them, that they matter, that they belong. 

You and I, we can plant seeds of significance, respect, and dignity in their lives. We can see them, notice them, and appreciate them. We can share human moments of belonging.  

It sounds simple. Actually it is simple. And it is powerful. 

When we feel like ranting or grieving, when tensions are high and everyone seems to be spiraling downward, we can get busy!

We can dry our tears, shake off the oppression, and plant loving seeds in the people around us. 

See, notice, appreciate. Create belonging.

This is our response to the news. This is our assignment!