photo courtesy Pexels
Reflections from throughout the year on what – and who – keeps us going:
“More and more, people are trying to figure out ways that we could cooperate and work together, build together. Because at the end of the day, we were built for cooperation. We were built to work together and live together… We had a system in Dominica called koudmen – it’s a French word for cooperation – everybody would come to my house one day, help me paint, or grow my vegetables, whatever. Next week we go to somebody else’s house, and so on and so forth.” –Gamaliel Gammy Moses (Cohort 16), Re-Building Intergenerational Connection
“Meaningful change is simple and complicated. So, I add to my mother’s ‘sister be nice,’ a phrase often used by my father: ‘let’s just start where we are.’ Let us smile, present in this moment, take a deep and steady breath, roll up our sleeves, go about being the world we wish to live into. Like the late John Lewis reflected about many times, let us create Good Trouble!” –Esther Armmand (Cohort 4), The Unbroken Line of Disenfranchisement (Part 3)
“It’s a mental exercise, then, to quiet the negative self-talk and remind myself that showing myself grace and compassion is a radical act of self-love. It all comes back to that.” –Hannah Milliken (Cohort 31), How Self-Love Made Me Move
“It all falls into the miracle category, where we are with technology.” –Cornell Wright (Cohort 3), Heed the Herald
“I learned how ‘meaningful work’ is fundamental in so many ways, and has the potential to enhance a person’s life. I saw the way work contributes to a person’s feeling of value, and its impact on youth, families, and communities.” –Danielle Chiaraluce (Cohort 5), Neurodiverse Youth & Employment Equity
“But this time… I also saw it differently. I felt it differently. I experienced it differently. And the resentments started fading away…” –Kevin Ewing (Cohort 8), The Way of Forgiveness
“This poem — ‘Me You’ — means a lot to me as I continue to create belonging in the multitude of spaces I inhabit in this increasingly interconnected world, as well as for so many others I am friends with or mentor to.” –Anita Sharif-Hyder (Cohort 27), Me You
“Our lens and question is simple: ‘Where is good food going to waste, and how can we get it to people who need it?’ Sharing food and sharing space and being in community.” –Lori Martin (Cohort 19), Recovering & Sharing Food
“When I say regenerative, I really do mean like biodynamic farming. People are trying to create systems that regenerate, so we’re not having to add negative chemicals or do things in an inhumane way because the system itself is insufficient to the task… I feel like with racial justice work or social justice work, we need regeneration. We need regenerative systems that enlighten us, that challenge us, and that love us.” –Dr. Amanda Kemp (Cohort 16) Interview
“I’ve taken a page out of his book, realizing that I don’t have to be molded to everyone’s whims. If a cat can do it, so can I.” –Ann-Gela Holloway (Cohort 24), Learning About Life From My Cat
“One big, collective leadership challenge is supporting our community in developing its own voice and vision – what we want to become.” –Bill Graustein Interview
“…it’s all perspective too, as we step into this real creative part of our adult lives. To be able to see it from a higher vantage point, the scope of it, is very fulfilling to the soul.” –Nancy Roldán Johnson (Cohort 10) Interview
“Some of the old folks at my church have this saying, ‘You know, sweetie, just stay in your lane, stay in your lane.’ You get upset because you want to do it all – just stay in your lane.” –Dorthula “Dottie” Green (Cohort 5) Interview
“…We then asked a second prompt, and filmed each person writing their answer on a chalkboard — the list below includes some of them. What if we were still ___________: Thinking of the vulnerable. Listening to learn. Loving. Forgiving. Overcoming fear. Listening to the rising sun. Elevating one another. Not sitting in traffic. Turning towards each other. Spending more time in nature. Kinder. Grateful.” –Lara Herscovitch (Cohort 10), Singing From Italian Balconies
“I believe hope is inspired by love; true inspiration happens when you aren’t trying to inspire. That’s why demonstrations, expressions of love are so important, as they will speak for you.” –Erik Clemons (Cohort 8)
“…I am here today because of her and the many women who mentored me, who stayed by me, and who saw the magic in me that I didn’t see in myself.” –Marina Rodriguez (Cohort 22) Interview
“It gives me hope that we who are driven by connection are coming together, connecting with others and building bridges of understanding.” –Jezrie Marcano-Courtney (Cohort 30) Interview
“Over the last year, I’ve been really surprised and inspired by the depth of the structural work being done. Deep discussions on institutionalized sexism, racism, and really trying to get at the root of these issues.” –Dr. Angela Frusciante (Cohort 16) Interview
Curated by The Circle’s creative director & editor, Lara Herscovitch. To reach Lara directly: thecircle@clpnewhaven.org or Lara@LaraHerscovitch.com