This blog is one of my commitments to being woke -- putting my uncertainty and vulnerability out there in a democratized public place on behalf of others who don't have voice, time, safety or clarity....yet. I risk being ignored, scrutinized, minimized, patronized, rationalized, theorized, and of course criticized. Still, that risk is deeply relative and I still have privilege.
Divign Thinking, as a name, reflects what we can do to grow in our own self-leadership taking ourselves on a process of feeling/thinking/listening/asking/discerning/disrupting/creating/ collaborating and making meaning of what and who we are called to be. When in doubt, I have to start at the beginning. When I discover that there is something I don't understand because I wasn't aware, I imagine being down for the count in weakness, sadness, powerlessness, hopelessness. I have been down for the count. Have you? If you have, then you know like I do that what you were brought up to believe. It is never the whole truth. In fact many of us were confused/hurt/rebellious about what we were taught was right and wrong. And quietly, I say with fragility, what was often wrong was very wrong. What was often presented as truth was then negated by actions. Sometimes those actions were violent. And presently, I say with risk and humility, there is way too much that is still very, very wrong and violent that adults teach the children explicitly or by omission. When asked why I blog, I ask, "why does anyone blog?" When asked, "how do you know you're right about something?" My answer is, "I don't. Since I only know my own experience, I am compelled and obligated to accept feedback and model learning with humility, curiosity and courage." It is hard to receive feedback in a non-defensive way. It is hard to provide feedback in a non-defensive way. If I have any clarity and confidence in my faith and values, I have come to be open to to the pain of my experiences and failures. I have a long way to go in reconciling pain I have caused and failures I have defended. It's hard and sometimes rough, raw and real. It's an unearned gift to learn what I don't know, once again. What do you do to reach towards wokeness?
1 Comment
Susan Lilja
4/15/2017 10:11:41 am
I observe. I try to keep my mind open and flexible and curious. I breathe and I pray to continue to reopen my heart. I feel. I feel. I feel. I ask. I try. I ponder. I fall. I fail. I forgive. I release. I surrender.
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Anne Principe
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