Aspirations in an Upside-Down World

At a time when the world seems upside down, and we feel isolated or even alone, we need to reawaken to who we are, reground ourselves, and be clear about what we want to achieve in our communities. In this energizing and hopeful episode of Harwood Half Hour, Rich Harwood discusses three questions we can each engage with to discover our shared hopes for a better tomorrow and practical ideas to get in motion in the new year.

Episode Transcript

00:05

Intro: From the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, welcome to the Harwood Half Hour. The podcast that helps you turn outward and step forward. Find new ways to transform your work, your community, and your life with our founder and your host, Rich Harwood.

00:17

You know we're living through a tough time right now as we all know. We just went through the replay of the January 6th insurrection, we're dealing with Covid and all the variants, we are experiencing political gridlock everywhere in heated and acrimonious debates. And amid all this, for today's session, in preparation for it, I asked many of you, "What are your aspirations for your community?" And I just want to start by talking about some of these aspirations to help frame what we'll talk about today.

00:47

Some of you said that you have aspirations to increase community activities for your youth, something I hear in a lot of communities where we are working today. Some of you talked about the aspiration to address violence, drug overdose, and child abuse. Some of you have aspirations for our country and our communities, for your community, to become less divisive. Some of you said we need to learn how to listen to one another and how to determine and find and discover what we hold in common so that we can figure out a path forward. And some of you talked about the fact that we need to rediscover our humanity in one another and nurture the humanity in each other. And lastly one of you said we need a new kind of clarity about who we are and what we are about. Even though I've been doing this work now for over 30 years, I still become heartened and inspired when I hear you and others and folks all across our country talk about their aspirations.

01:51

Now we all have these aspirations. They're all within us and between us and among us, but as you know, sometimes, and particularly right now, well they can get caked over, they can feel diminished. We can feel deflated in our aspirations. I don't know about you but so much about what I hear from folks today who are doing the hard work in communities is how tired they are, how depleted they feel, how much burnout there is. And you know, we can't deny these things because to deny them is to pretend and to pretend is not to square up with reality. And to not square up with reality is to actually not know where we are and who we are and what's happening around us and well, what's happening within us, right?

02:42

So amid these challenges, welcome to this special edition of Harwood Half Hour which is intended to help us reawaken who we are, to reground ourselves in these tough, turbulent times. And to be clear about what we seek to achieve in our communities. And this is so important. It's vital, it's critical, it's essential for all of us to be able to do this in order for each of us, for you importantly, to be able to step forward and be able to make a real difference in your community. Thanks for being here, so glad that we are back together. It's so good to be with you and you know, it's so important that we're coming together right now, in this time, so that we can support one another. And so that we can find hope in what we do and we can find hope in who we seek to become.

03:39

Now, as I launch into today's episode, just a few words about how you can get the most out of it. I need you to do some things for me. Actually, I need you to do some things for yourself in order to get the most out of this episode. So right here, right now, I just want you to take a moment and take a deep breath. Try to clear your mind for the next few minutes so that you can be present, so that you can be here, so that you can be awake. Give yourself permission, just for the next few minutes. Give yourself the permission to be in this space. Not thinking about something else, not worrying about something else, but just to be in this space with us, with me, with others who are listening today. And here's the thing, what I ask of you is this. Open yourself up and be here and engage with me and engage with yourself. So, are you ready?

04:50

Okay so let me start with a brief story. As I was thinking about today, this story came into my mind. The other day I was on the phone talking to one of the best leaders I know in the country. And when they picked up the phone, this wasn't a Zoom call. We actually used our phones. When they picked up the phone on the other end, I asked, "How are you doing?" And this person, who is usually incredibly outgoing, usually incredibly gregarious, incredibly extroverted. But in this call they said to me, in a particularly quiet voice, a particularly diminished voice, at times I could barely hear them. They said to me that they felt down. That they had become depleted. They told me that they were even ready to leave their job, a job that they had loved, that they do love. They even told me that they are even ready to sell their house and move away from the community where they're working. To just be done with everything, to turn their back and walk away. The work that this person does has become too much for them. It's become too hard, it's become too demanding. And during this call, which just happened two days ago, this person who I've known for years, apologized to me and said they were sorry that they couldn't engage in a better way, that they couldn't help solve the problem that we needed to solve on this call, on that day. Which was to help an extremely hard hit community find some way to find some hope to move forward.

06:33

Now you might be coming into this space feeling like this person I was talking to the other day. I suspect some of you are coming into this space feeling depleted. Some of you might feel deflated. Some of you might feel frustrated and angry. Some of you might feel that you're pushing a rock up a big hill and the progress that you make, somehow, when you wake up the next day is gone, that it's two steps forward and one step back. Or even maybe sometimes one step forward and two steps back. Some of you may even feel resigned to what's happening around us like there's nothing we actually can do to make a difference. But here's what I also know, I know that notwithstanding these challenges, notwithstanding how you feel, notwithstanding how this person I talked to the other day feels, I know that they and you have somewhere inside of you a light that is still shining. A light that is still shining that is rooted in these aspirations that you still hold. Because you believe now, on this day, at this time, in the moment that we are living through right now, that you believe now more than ever before that we need to get on a more just a more fair, a more equitable, a more inclusive and hopeful path forward. I know you believe that, I know you still believe that notwithstanding all the challenges we face. Notwithstanding all the noise and confusion that we hear, and that we feel. I know you still feel that way. And the question is: So what can you do to keep moving forward in a hopeful way? What can you do to stay on this path? Not to fall off it, maybe to slow down a bit, maybe to not make so many demands on yourself. But how can you still stay on this path and still create hope for others and for yourself? And so today, I'm making an entreaty to you to walk with me, to walk with each other. And I want to give you three steps you can take to set yourself, and us, on a stronger, more hopeful path so that you can keep doing the work that you feel called to do. That I know that you're called to do. That I know you don't want to turn your back on. Just like this person I talked to in this hard hit community that was looking for hope. They're going to keep going. They're going to keep going.

09:16

And so I'm asking you to consider three questions today. These are questions that you may have heard me ask in the past. These three questions that I'm going to ask you today to think about and work on? Well, they're keepers, they're game changers. They're really basics. They are the basics that we need to make sure that we are square with in order to deal with reality, to keep moving forward, and to seek to create greater hope. Not just for ourselves or people we know, but for all people in our communities. So let me just tell you what these three questions are quickly and then I want to go through each one, one by one. "What do you stand for?" is number one. Two, "What are your aspirations for your community?" And three, "How can you get in motion to make good on these?" So I want to go through each one, one by one, and talk about them and talk about what I'm asking you to do and how you can use these. Ready?

10:23

Okay here we go. So the first question, "What do you stand for?" Now, maybe the best way to do this question, to think about this question, is to sit in a comfortable place, to find a comfortable place. Maybe your favorite chair in your home, your favorite room, maybe your favorite place outside in a field or on a hill, maybe your favorite coffee shop, maybe some place in your office, some hideaway, or in a corner. Wherever it may be, the place where you feel really comfortable, go to that place. And when you're in that place and you're comfortable, I want you to close your eyes and rather than go in search of the answer of what you stand for—don't go and search for it—just close your eyes in this comfortable place and breathe and let the answer come to you. It will come to you. Just let this come to you. Just listen to or listen for that inner voice that you have, that you know is in you. That sometimes may have gotten pushed away, that sometimes in this crazy time we live in may be diminished. That maybe in this time when you're running so fast and running so hard and you're so tired, sometimes this inner voice can be hard to hear. But I'm asking, just sit in this comfortable place and close your eyes and make room for this inner voice to be heard, to come to you. The one that whispers to you. The one that you trust. The one that you know. What do you stand for? And when the answer comes to you, which may be just a word or a phrase, or a couple of words or phrases, I want you to open your eyes and I want you to write down what you found, what you discovered, what you're going to claim. What maybe you're going to reclaim. I want you to write it down, okay? Write it down. Are you still with me?

12:29

So if the first question that I want you to think about is "What do you stand for?" The second question is "What are your aspirations for your community?" Now, this is a little different. To do this, you don't need to sit in a comfortable place and close your eyes and listen for that inner voice. For this, I need you to stand up. I need you to turn outward. I need you to have your community in your line of sight because this is a question about your community. Right? That's your reference point. And I want you to think about, given where we are today, given where your community is today, what are your aspirations for your community? And all I want you to do is just come up with three or four. You can come up with more but ultimately I want you to narrow it down to just three or four, or even just two or three, so that you have focus, that you feel grounded, that you know what these aspirations are. And then, when you get them, when you find these two or three or three or four aspirations, and you've narrowed your list down to those that are most important and most valuable to you, again, right beneath where you wrote what you stand for, I want you to write down what these aspirations are for your community. So the first question is, "What do you stand for?" Write it down. The second question is "What are your aspirations for your community?" Make sure you're turned outward, that you have your community in your line of sight, find these two or three aspirations that are most important, most valuable, write them down.

14:06

And then here's the third question, "How can you get in motion to make good on these?" How can you get in motion to make good on these. You know, we all think that we have to change the world. We all think it's up to us. We all feel this heavy burden resting on our shoulders. And this burden can diminish us, it can make us feel small. It can make us turn away because we don't think that the contribution that we can make is large enough. Now as many of you know, I'm a person of faith. In my faith, in a lot of faiths, there is this idea, this notion, this saying, this adage. This teaching. Which goes like this, if you change one person's life, you change the world. If you change one person's life, you change the world. To me, this means that whatever you do, whatever it is that you contribute, whatever contribution you make is worthy of being done. It's worthy of being recognized. It's worthy of being honored. It's worthy of shining a light on. It's worthy of being lifted up so others can see it. Nothing that you do is too small, particularly now. Nothing that you do is too inconsequential. Nothing that you do is too diminished. In fact, no matter what you do, no matter how large or small it is, it is a step forward. And what we need now more than ever in our lives, in your life, in my life, in our collective lives, shared lives, is we need people to step forward so we can gain some sense of hope. That we can at least move in a more hopeful direction, maybe a more inclusive direction, maybe a more fair and equitable and just direction. We don't need to change the world, we just need to take a step forward. You don't need to change the world, you just need to take a step forward.

16:34

So here's what I want you to do. I just want you to find the two concrete steps that you can take in your sphere of influence and that you can get in motion on. Just two. Just two. Find out where you can get started on these aspirations. Find out where you can get started on what you stand for. The key thing here is to make sure that you're turned outward and that you've identified what these are. And then, here's the thing I need you to get in motion. Take the step forward and do it. Take the step forward and do it. And know that by taking a step forward and by doing it, you are making a contribution to making a new trajectory of hope. Or put another way, if you save one life you are saving the world. Just keep that in mind. And when you get these two concrete things, what am I going to ask you to do? Write them down. Right? So you've written down what you stand for, you've written down the two or three aspirations for your community. Now I want you to write down the two concrete steps that you can do to step forward and get in motion and do it.

17:46

Now here's the last thing I'm going to ask you to do. As I said before you can do this on your own and you should start this on your own. It's a really important thing to do. But here is something else I want to urge you to do. Find someone else, find a couple of other people, maybe folks you work with, maybe folks you go to church or mosque or synagogue with, maybe folks you know in your neighborhood. Maybe your best friends, maybe folks you've known for years. Just find two other folks. Have them do this on their own as well and then get together and talk about what your answers are, what your responses are. More importantly, talk about what you care about and what you're going to do to step forward and get in motion and do it. This will help you be seen and heard. It will help you feel accepted and validated. It will help you feel affirmed. It will help you feel part of something larger than yourself. And it will help the others that you bring together feel the same thing. There is nothing we need now more than ever than to not feel isolated and alone on our own. So when you do this on your own, write down the two other people you're going to call to get to do this who then you're going to join up with either by phone or on Zoom or in person, with a mask, and talk about these things.

19:16

So let me just conclude by offering a couple of other thoughts to wrap things up. The world today is crying out. If we listen closely enough, we can hear it and sometimes we don't have to listen all that closely. You can hear people crying out. We can hear ourselves crying out for us to reimagine and recreate who we are as a nation, who we are as communities. And we need to reimagine and recreate, in some cases, our own lives about how we are going to move forward. As I just mentioned, none of us can do this alone. We need each other. There is no single action that will change everything. here is no single leader or organization or group that can do this on their own. The change that we yearn for, we each need to take a step forward and we need to come together and take shared action and shared responsibility together. And here's the thing, we can do this. We can get started to renew and reclaim our connection to one another and, importantly, our sense of possibility and hope as we move forward. To do this though, and the reason for this special episode, is that especially at times like this, at all times, but especially times like this, we need to be clear on where we are seeking to go and who we are seeking to lead and serve. And only then can we be clear on how to reach our aspirations and fill the breaches in our society. And I know, God knows, but I know that there are deep breaches in our society. We're about to release a new report in mid-February that I hope you look for, where we held sixteen conversations all across the country in the last handful of months. And where people tell us how deeply disoriented people feel, how deeply confused they feel, how deeply alone and isolated we all feel, and what we can do now to build a path forward where we feel a sense of possibility and hope. So look for that report. But here's the thing for today. Today, our charge, your charge, is simply to reawaken who we are as individuals. To reground ourselves and to be clear about what we want to achieve in our communities. If not you, then who? And if not now, well, then when? Each of us, we can each do this. You can do this. We each need to do this.

21:54

And so I just want to thank you. Thank you for joining me today. Thank you for joining another episode of Harwood Half Hour. Thanks for engaging. If this episode spoke to you, if this episode had meaning for you, if somehow this episode resonated for you, share it. Share it with someone you know. Share it with someone who might benefit from it. Share it with someone who might be able to use it. Share it with someone who you might join together and go through these three questions with, together. In the meantime, look out for our new report in mid-February. It's entitled, "Civic Virus: Why Polarization is a Misdiagnosis." And also in the meantime, go to our website. There are a lot of resources there that you can use. There's lots of information that you can download, reports and tools. And just know always that the Institute is here to support you and to help your work move forward. And to help you create a stronger, more just, more equitable, fair, more inclusive, hopeful society. Not just for some of us. But for all of us. And so that each of us and all of us can reach our God-given potential and can be part of co-creating America's promise moving forward. Thanks for joining me. I look forward to seeing you on our next episode.

23:20

Outro: Thanks for listening to this episode of Harwood Half Hour. To find more ways you can step forward, you can visit our website at theharwoodinstitute.org. If you enjoyed this podcast please subscribe and leave us a review. That helps us deliver quality content to you and helps others find this podcast. That's all for now. We'll see you on the next episode of Harwood Half Hour.