Taking action from care
Words can be powerful vehicles to communicate but they also can be incredibly inadequate. The past few weeks the words I have attempted to weave together have felt insufficient. But one word keeps popping up in my head. This word is care.
This word reminds me of a meditation retreat run by Tara Brach that I attended in January 2017. It was a time when many, including myself, felt scared about the world and the direction of our country. On the last day of the retreat, I asked a question about how we were supposed to move forward in this climate of fear. Tara wisely suggested sitting with the anger, the outrage and the fear until you got to the care. And then to act from that care. I remember this advice felt profound at the time. Though not always easy, focusing on the care allowed me to take small actions in the same world that existed before the retreat, from a different place.
With the recent events in the Middle East, so many of us are fearful, angry, outraged and grief-stricken and have the urgency to act. And we must act. But I wonder if it is possible to take this action from a place of care.
We are not programmed to think that care is strong enough. We have been led to believe it is weak, feminine and naive to care and let others know of our care. It reminds me of my failed dating strategy of my twenties (don’t ever let them know you care!) and my hesitancy at times to share my writing. But I have come to realize that care takes enormous strength. Especially when it can be summoned in the face of so much fear and devastation.
Care in action can take many forms. Recently, I have been doing Lunch Pods with teams who work in supportive housing and I have been in awe of the strength of their caring and how it fuels their work and lives. In addition, a few weeks ago I was reminded of the power of care at an action forum called Building Connected Communities. There I met people from all over the world who care so deeply about our collective well-being. The research presented at the forum only reinforced the need to expand our circle of care, with so many people feeling isolated and disconnected at this time.
Even now, I find that learning about what other people care about is a pathway to understanding their beliefs and actions. Everyone cares about something. Find that and you may just begin to understand them a little bit better.
Lastly, it is important to remember that care is not just for other people, it is also for ourselves. We all must do what we need to care for ourselves at this moment of crisis. This way, we are better able to take action and care for others.
A few things to mention...
I was recently on The Joy Factory: The Art of Happiness at Work Podcast
I have been facilitating a program with teams that includes doing some cooking together before we sit down to a shared meal and discussion. With the holidays upon us, sign up here if you are interested in doing a Holiday Lunch Pod with your team!