I am a believer in what I call "radical emotional composting."
A young woman hid her pregnancy and travelled across the country to give birth and put her child up for adoption. She defied the rules of the time and breastfed her baby soon after her baby was born when no one was looking. A nurse caught her in the act and literally ripped her baby from her breast. Hours later the baby was placed in foster care where, along with other babies, they were severely neglected. This baby was me.
I have come to understand this early experience imprinted a kind of blueprint where I became like a magnet to bullies and predators throughout my life. Once I began to "dig for the gold" in my experience, I found ways to harness my sensitivity to my own and others sense of belonging and yearning for home. I created an initiative called Finding Home: How to Belong In A Changing World, and found profound joy in supporting diverse communities in their efforts to address their most pressing social issues. I do this by working with the people most impacted by any given social issue and support their voice, their dignity and their leadership. The more I did this work for others, the deeper my journey of healing unfolded.
Recently I was asked to give a TEDx Talk about the nuggets I have learned on building cultures of belonging from my personal experience and the 20 + years i have been supporting diverse communities in their efforts to address their most pressing social problems. The goal of the talk was to support others in their efforts to effect lasting change. What I didn't expect was the radical courage it took me to let myself be seen and the more profound healing that is taking place as a result.
I call this work of transforming painful experiences into a greater purpose "radical emotional composting" - it is not a one time effort, but lifelong. Every time i feel "pushed out" in some way, I have an opportunity to either shrink back and hide or draw on my radical courage, let myself be seen and propel myself forward.
I would love to hear from you about your experience of integrating the work of belonging in your work (and life) and the impact you see. For more details on looking at the world through a belonging lens and the nuts and bolts of building a culture of belonging, here is the link to the TEDx Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOiObEt3TPk&t=32s
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