Turbulence
The statement undermined my naivete. "Rights need to be defended." Twenty years ago, I was interviewing a farmworker labor organizer for an article when his comment shook me. Until then, I had blindly assumed that once gained, advances were fixed and to be built upon, on to the next. A decade later, working on a land conservation project, I was less surprised when the need to "maintain and defend" protected areas was identified as a crucial activity. Between serving on a jury, being sick with the flu, incorporating a new business, and starting several new consulting projects, the year has started with a disorienting tumult. When, unlike every other time I've been summoned to jury duty, I was selected to serve on a case, my first reaction was disbelief. However, when the judge exclaimed "see you tomorrow at 9am" to the lot of us, acceptance was inevitable. Ok, I pondered, this is happening, what do I need to do? Working on social impact issues requires maintaining a split mindset, keeping both the trees and the forest in clear sight. Complexity is a given and naivete a detriment. Looking back, particularly from the context of present-day unravelings, I'm embarrassed by the assumptions I held. I still clearly remember the surprise I experienced, as if a new, painfully obvious feature had been pointed out on a landscape I thought I knew. I'm grateful for all these shatterings, they have taught me lessons not just about particular issues, but about larger power dynamics. Seeing and accepting, even before fully understanding, has become a critical skill that, starting out years ago, I had no idea I would ever need to develop.
