I just returned from co-leading a training for a group of almost 70 students, supervisors and program staff for a new Hillel campus leadership program called Ask Big Questions. It was one of the most inspiring weeks of my life.
Students sharing their stories with one another, learning to listen from the heart, to ask open and honest questions, exploring polarities and paradox, entering the delicate territory of conversations about diversity. And finally, practicing leading conversations with one another.
They challenged us, welcomed us, tested us and trusted us. There were many exquisite moments; on the first day, we read from "Letter to a Young Activist" by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, and hearing their voices read those lines brought tears to my eyes. They stood up and showed their souls.
Over the three days we were with the ABQ group, grace was in the room with us. Magic was in the room with us. Love was in the room with us. I am forever changed.
"One of the most important steps you can take to help calm the storm is to not allow yourself to be taken in a flurry of overwrought emotion or despair — thereby accidentally contributing to the swale and the swirl.
Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach…
One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times."
–excerpt from "Letter to a Young Activist"