Finding Joy
For me I take joy in riding my bike, gardening with the family, and listing to opera, all simple, everyday things.
I was speaking a bit about this topic with Will Jacobs, my good friend and co-author of Rock, Paper, Scissors: The Instant Leadership Solution last week. The conversation went something like this.
Fred: Hi Will, here is he latest article from the RPS.Academy, what do you think.
Will: It is good, but why are you speaking about how to cope with the coronavirus. Everyone is talking about this on all media channels as well as LinkedIn. How are we any different.
Fred: True, but this is the darkest time in our generation, how can we not talk about it.
Will: OK, then find something positive to discuss.
I took searching for something positive as a challenge for this week.
An then I heard this on the radio...
I am a National Public Radio junky. This week my favorite NPR program, On Point, had on Adrienne Maree Brown for a conversation regarding Finding Joy During The Coronavirus Crisis.
It is an inspiring radio program and I would recommend you listen to this episode with someone you care about.
Listing to this story made me curious about the work of Adrienne Maree Brown. After spending some time on her website and on Goodreads, I found the following quote that really inspired me:
“E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G—is connected. The soil needs rain, organic matter, air, worms and life in order to do what it needs to do to give and receive life. Each element is an essential component. “Organizing takes humility and selflessness and patience and rhythm while our ultimate goal of liberation will take many expert components. Some of us build and fight for land, healthy bodies, healthy relationships, clean air, water, homes, safety, dignity, and humanizing education. Others of us fight for food and political prisoners and abolition and environmental justice. Our work is intersectional and multifaceted. Nature teaches us that our work has to be nuanced and steadfast. And more than anything, that we need each other—at our highest natural glory—in order to get free.”
― Adrienne Maree Brown, Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds
This caused me to reflect on the interconnectedness of the work we all do and the power of what we can do together, at work, in our communities and at a societal level.
Adding Emergent Strategy to my reading list is step one. Then attempting to connect Brown’s ideas towards the work I do with the RPS.Academy is step two.
How are you finding joy in these challenging days?