March Libation
Colemon & Associates (C&A) is happy to share our Monthly Libation to fellow practitioners, supports, and community at large. You may know that a libation is a pouring of a liquid as an offering. Our intention is to offer reflections, inspiration, and resources to feed and nourish our work and practices from three primary perspectives:
1. What We Are Feeling (Heart)
2. What We Are Thinking (Head)
3. What We Are Practicing (Loving and Intentional Action)
What We Are Feeling (Heart)
We feel the shift and promise of spring coming. We feel held and loved by the natural world from blossoms to morning mist. We are looking, desperately sometimes, for flashes of goodness in the small, day to day demands of our lives. We are disciplining ourselves to engage in kind hello’s and “no, after you” at the grocery store and the post office. We are sometimes taking the long way home. Rather than the freeway, we are opting to drive along the waterfront or stop at the park just slow down and breathe in the steadiness of nature. How immovable and reliable the seasons are! The animals are resolute in preparing for the changes that come with the season. Surely there is a lesson in that for us.
We feel like keeping it real, like acknowledging the paradox of hope and sadness that can happen in just an hour of our day. We are weary of the disingenuous calls to “be our full selves.” We resonated with this recent article from Time that talked about how being authentic may have become just another performance. The authors writers, “In a world where every interaction has the potential to be recorded, scrutinized, or reshared, authenticity has become less about who we are and more about how we are perceived.” Oof, y’all. That one hit home.
We want to name the importance of cultivating workplace cultures that really hold spaces for their team members to be real, name their truths, and even tap out when doing so will support their well-being. Because why bother with ice breakers and celebrations when the complexities of our everyday bumps and bruises aren’t welcome or appreciated? This Harvard Business Review article offers some questions leaders can ask to attempt a more “real” way to see how their staff are doing. More specifically, it underscores the importance of cultivating these points of connection in remote work environments.
What does the spring mean to you? What memories of spring can offer you joy? What day to day rituals can you slow down and savor in service to your peace? Can you make space to connect with your team about the magic of spring and how it may or may not be moving in their lives?
What We Are Thinking/Reading (Head)
We are thinking about the importance of re-framing our relationship to conflict. We are reading and re-reading the work of Kazu Haga, a trainer and practitioner of nonviolence and restorative justice. Haga is a core member of the Ahimsa Collective, and author of Healing Resistance: A Radically Different Response to Harm as well as the upcoming book, Fierce Vulnerability: Healing from Trauma, Emerging from Collapse. Haga’s work calls us to look at the possibility and criticality of conflict. He offers way for us to make conflict generative, and see it as an opportunity to expand and enrich our relationship to one another? Quoting Malidoma Somé, Haga said, “Conflict is the spirit of a relationship asking to deepen.” We recognize that we can’t apply this across every context, especially in this time of volatile and polarized change. However, it is calling us to take stock of those relationships that are core to who we are, that align with our values, and call us forth to be our fullest, most vibrant selves despite the darkness that is often rising around us. These relationships can be in our personal lives or our workplaces.
The concept of generative conflict is certainly not new, and leaders can find a wealth of reflection and scholarship on the topic. There are also some great and accessible resources such as this post from The Peaceful Leaders Academy that breaks down the core elements of generative conflict and why it can be useful in change work. Coach Emily Roh offers a really wonderful reflection on generative conflict on her blog here about choosing to call in a friend, and the way that leaning into the discomfort of disagreement can actually be an effective practice toward our individual liberation.
What is your relationship to conflict, particularly across race and difference? Does your relationship to conflict need to shift to make and be the change you want? What do you need to let go of to be in a healthier relationship with conflict or disagreements across race and difference?
What We Are Practicing (Loving and Intentional Action)
As we support our client partners and colleagues in responding to the cuts in DEI funding and programming, we are practicing embracing beginner’s mindset by discovering and engaging in conversations and learning as participants rather than facilitators and so-called “experts.” While we are confident in and remain equipped to provide consultation and support that drives innovation and bold leadership, we recognize that we must also give ourselves permission to RECEIVE information and be in community and learning spaces with other change agents, wisdom keepers, and DEI practitioners. We are making consistent time on our calendars for hearing from other experts and leaders in our field. One particularly effective way to do this is through podcasts and videos. These offer us incredible fodder for our creativity, but also the knowing that we are not alone in our work and our challenges.
Here's a few we have on repeat:
· This conversation between Sah d’Simone and Lama Rod Owens on responding versus reacting.
· This critical lesson on remembering featuring Alexis Pauline Gumbs, hosted by Prentis Hemphill.
· This entire series, The Baldwin 100, that celebrates the life and legacy of James Baldwin through interviews with scholars, writers, and creatives.
· A powerful talk from Kimberly Snyder on the concept of heart coherence, and the pathways to healing our hearts.
How might you embrace a beginner’s mindset? What might you gain by allowing yourself to sit back, receive, learn, and wonder? What are the juicy conversations inspiring you right now?
We hope you enjoyed this month’s offering. Please share with those in your network who might enjoy it. Please follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn to stay informed of our upcoming work and/or events, and to keep receiving the Monthly Libation. If you are looking for organizational development consultation, support, or coaching, you can find out more about our work on our website or email us at info@colemonassociates.org.
Stay safe. Take care of yourselves. Take care of each other.
C&A Team
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