photo by Jens Johnsson courtesy Pexels
Reflections in 2019 from CLP alumni & kindred spirits in The Circle, on liberation, equity, co-creation, confronting bias & discrimination, authenticity, listening, inclusion & giving voice, connection & community, faith & prayer, building, compassion & empathy, altruism, assisting the hungry, truly *seeing* each other, belonging, healing, care of self & others, and love:
“…the pace and selfless way that I worked and gave to my family made me feel unsettled and off-balance. I realized I have to do a better job of taking care of myself, so that I can better take care of others and serve. So what I value today is different than what I valued in the past. Today I value self-care and having a much more balanced life. Every day I check-in and ask myself, am I living out my values?” –Liz Torres (Cohort 23) Interview
“I try to remind myself that God is on everyone’s side. My challenge is to make sure that I’m on God’s. I think of Dorothy Day, the founder of the Catholic Worker and a great, as yet un-canonized saint… she was more likely to be collecting clothes for families in poverty or giving up her own bed to an addict who had nowhere to go. She did not whip out prayer when it was advantageous. Her life was a prayer.” –Colleen Shaddox (Cohort 1) in The Current post Prayer is Not a Weapon
“…we must renew and reaffirm our uniquely American commitment as a nation of immigrants with zest, pride and humane values…” –Sylvester Salcedo (Cohort 23) in The Current post Against the Wall: What About Seaports, Coastlines, Airports – and Values?
“…Wu gave me a sense of belonging; it became my decoder ring for quickly identifying people I could relate with. It became a toolkit and metaphor for connection, community, a celebration of defiant living through struggle. Wu-Tang is truly a language. A culture. A mood. To this day, it is the closest community I hold in loving friendship – including folks I would never expect to have anything in common with – but we both love the Wu.” –Maza Rey (Cohort 23) in Creative post The World Needs More Wu-Tang
“…I get that the Governor, his team, the news media, and the legislature care deeply about tolls, marijuana legalization, losing Connecticut residents and municipal aid allocations… But what about our kids? The priorities that matter to our state’s vulnerable children once again are conspicuously absent from any vibrant discussions and sadly under the radar from any public attention. If we really wanted to have an honest discussion about what matters most to our silent generation, I have seven areas to focus our attention on…” –Martha Stone (Cohort 4) in The Current post What About the Kids?
“We have to talk more about values, we have to talk more about what it means to be a human being, and people who are marginalized because they’re a different skin color or they have a different religion. We have to start realizing what the consequences are of that discrimination. How it affects people, when people are isolated, and they’re feeling separate. We have to create a more holistic, communal feel.” –George Mumford in Recharge post Mindfulness on the Court – and Everywhere Else
“It is more than inclusion; it’s equity. It’s what we all actually need. It costs you more. It requires you to open the door wider, come closer, and re-think our whole relationship…” –Mandi Jackson (Cohort 18) in Creative post The Music We Make: Defining Equity in the Arts
“Whether our sense of morality has a religious foundation (i.e. the Ten Commandments), or a secular one (i.e. a belief in the democratic principles of freedom, justice, fairness, etc.), on the surface, most Americans abhor hurtful bias. But when we pay attention, we can see that we are all guilty.” –Gloria Graves Holmes, PhD (Cohort 7) in The Current post Let’s Talk About Race (Part 2) – ‘Nakedness’ and Confronting Personal Bias
“As the children of immigrants, we are living the life of freedom that my parents sought in this country. His activism reminds me every day that many minorities in the U.S. are facing injustices and living in fear. Struggling against conformity is my greatest challenge, so I truly admire my brother for living truthfully.” –Annie Lin (Cohort 19) Interview
“Throughout my life, I have been drawn to superheroes and the values that guide their engagement. DC Comics’ Super Friends were there to ‘Fight injustice, to right that which is wrong, and to serve all mankind!’ I found their commitment to these values inspiring, and often imagined a world in which people with power lived by such altruistic codes of conduct. As Marvel’s Spider-Man explained, ‘…with great power there must also come great responsibility…'” –Malwin Davila (Cohort 8) in Creative post Salsa and Super Powers
“It is a joyful experience being in a team, with the same value base and the same goal, working for the better of others. I think it’s my duty to share with others, whatever skills I might have.” Altruism, being generous, “gives you back a feeling of meaningfulness, that you are more than yourself… if you lose that, you lose part of yourself. We should, and must, we are obliged to look after the less fortunate in a respectful and un-profiting way.” –Dr. Mads Gilbert, Ep. 4 of Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Bridges post
“Building community has always been a core value of mine. It is more intentional than it used to be; today, it carries more meaning and purpose. For me, community is a place to belong. We all need a place to belong – so why not create that for others as well as embrace it for yourself? I often think about my role and responsibilities as a community member – am I doing my part? What can I do to make things better? Who do I need to connect to? And who needs to connect with me?” –Tyree Dickey (Cohort 8) Interview
“Listening. Specifically, listening before responding, with listening being more important to me than responding. Over the years this has risen higher and higher on my list of ways to live a good life.” –Deborah Fischer Teason (Cohort 21) Interview
“…it’s not about perfectionism. It’s not about reaching one singular destination that defines success. We get to define success, we get to redefine success, we get to dream, then we get to decide we can dream a bigger dream… liberation, from labels, from boxes we’ve been placed in.” –Elaine Welteroth, More Than Enough: Claiming Space For Who You Are (No Matter What They Say) Bridges post
“…I’m excited by the kinds of organizations that are really connecting with and giving voice… Letting people tell their stories, and inviting everyone to join and really create something together. The new book about the Parkland kids brought me to tears, they’re so passionate and not cynical. They’re intensely attached to what they’re fighting for.” –Andy Friedland (Cohort 23) Interview
“Our dojo provides us shelter from what increasingly feels like a storm; in that way, it is no different than those places of worship.” –Susan Nappi (Cohort 22) in Recharge post The Way of the Warrior
“One of the intentions I brought to the program and experience was to be authentically myself. To drop the expectation that I need to be anything but that. It sounds simple, maybe. But my experience has taught me otherwise… I wanted to clear the chatter of these stories written from past experiences and focus on what was before me: building community with my cohort. I wanted to be fully present.” –Julie Anderson (Cohort 24) in Recharge post The Power of Story
“…as I grow older, it has become more intentionally true. I’ve always believed in God and subscribed to formal religion. I’ve learned that there’s a difference between subscribing to a specific religion, whatever it is, and having a relationship with a higher power.” –Michael Haynes (Cohort 14) Interview
“We can do better than to focus on the bottom line at the expense of compassion and empathy. Leaders are rewarded for short-term results, not how they do their work or manage their teams. If you’re making money for the company, scoring touchdowns, having success at the box office, getting votes, and so on, bad behavior is overlooked…” –Veronica “Roni” Holcomb (Cohort 26) in The Current post Cranky About Leadership in America
“These stories highlight that ‘freedom’ to enter into this country is rarely free – in particular for people of color. Whether refugee or undocumented, there is a price that many have paid by the deeply distressing and disturbing experiences they have endured. This trauma is rarely addressed; it goes unnoticed and untreated. Then, add to that existing trauma, the fear of persecution.”-Maysa Akbar, PhD, ABPP (Cohort 14) in The Current post The Unheard, Unhealed Trauma of Immigration
“Why is there easy acceptance of government assistance for mortgage interest deduction or other tax rebates, but not for food and other basic needs? Why do so many assume that individuals receiving nutrition and other assistance aren’t working (when most are)? How, as a country, are we ok that there are so many hungry people here – including children in school… Getting angry is the beginning, not the end. There’s plenty we can do, through direct action and through policy change, to advance economic justice…” –Colleen Shaddox (Cohort 1) in The Current post Poverty Is Our National Policy: Introducing Broke
“People recognize that some other people are blind, but often don’t really *see* them. Many either think that it’s a huge stumbling block to their lives, or they don’t give it much thought at all – what kind of roadblocks they encounter. Many don’t know what kinds of little accommodations they can do for people who are blind. So here, today, I’d like to share some advice so we can all be better friends and allies…” –Anne Fortunato (Cohort 5) in The Current post Seeing Those Who Can’t See
“Always look for Love.” –Genese Clark (Cohort 13) in Creative post Following Your Heartstring
“It will take time, work, love, patience, persistence and a dogged insistence that we deserve a world where we all truly belong…” –Eric Rey (Cohort 13) in Recharge post Black Men Healing in Community
“…to me this is the highest level of enlightenment. It’s understanding that good and bad can happen all at the same time, and we choose which one to focus on. I choose love.” –Maysa Akbar, PhD, ABPP (Cohort 14) Interview
“…If we love ourselves and we love each other, if we love the very concept of loving, then everything else just falls into place. I’m not going to mistreat you. I’m going to go out of my way to make sure you have what you need, that you’re able to survive, with the confidence that you’re doing the same. And with the knowledge that that doesn’t really matter; it’s not about what you do, it’s about what I do. How I engage, how I live into the relationship, how I treat others. It all comes back to love.” –Kevin ‘RevKev’ Ewing (Cohort 8) Interview
“…In a culture that profits off of us separating from ourselves at a fundamental level, to love oneself is possibly one of the most radical things a person can do…” –Rachel Liu (Cohort 22) in Creative post Bloodroot Sessions: The alchemy of self love
“This country is in need of deep healing. We’re in a transformational moment in national history and earth history, so whichever way we move is going to absolutely define us.” –Joy Harjo, Poet Laureate of the U.S., Bridges post
Curated by The Circle’s Creative Director & Editor, Lara Herscovitch (Cohort 10). To reach Lara directly: thecircle@clpnewhaven.org or Lara@LaraHerscovitch.com