Observation: Social Cross Roads

I don't know about you, but I am very much interested in the well being of others around me, and often I find myself deeply concerned about the trends I observe. Most recently I've been making a point to listen and ask more questions about how people feel, even the most resilient folks I know. What I continue to hear is, "I'm not ok and I don't know why." I also hear, "I'm just a little lost on what the point of all of it is anymore." I hear from my daughter and her friends the same sentiment and they're in their 20's. I hear this from people all over the world, regardless of where they work or live. I too struggle with this sense that it's not something wrong with my mood or disposition its just something changed and I can't put my finger on it. When reflecting I consider 2.5 years of high stress, tumultuous and globally volatile world we live in.

For a long time we not only saw people dying around the globe and next door, but we saw the political arena become so dramatic and polarized that families broke apart. Threat was coming from all sides and what little sense of security we had, anchored in what few places we could find it. Our children lost 2 years of social development and wars of various kinds erupted.

No wonder we all feel off, misdirected, uncertain, or just defeated. I hear wise professionals from various industries admit they're flat out of options to inspire their folks, tired of waiting for things to get better around them and have begun taking more ownership in building or inventing solutions that are enduring and largely impactful. I hear more and more comments this year admitting it's now on us all and that's hard to digest at times. No organization, entity or individual is going to swoop in and help because the issues are macro and some of the structures our nations built aren't in a position or even capable to do it all. More and more organizations are, and should work together rather than in silo or competition of one another. And I don't mean for profit, I mean for people and planet. I know the conversations I have I intently focus on what can we do, how can we make small impactful changes and trust the ripples of that will have enduring positive outcomes. I know not all of us are there yet too. I do hope more of us listen to one another, support the needs of others without judging a person's value on their way of thinking or politics. If you see someone in need and are able to smile, talk to or help, Do! If you see a co-worker running a little flat, offer to listen, help or network them with others who can help. Slowly these actions will aid in healing collectively. We know this because we have seen it work after other global disasters. We saw it in ourselves on occasion when folks stepped in to help us.

Neighbors,please build connections, schools please share what is working, business please share the responsibility and people please rebuild your tribes.

We do our best work together, we overcome the big seemingly impossible obstacles together.