We’ve been born into your world, not our own. We instinctively reach out to connect with you, to show you we care, but your reactions confuse us. When we speak, it’s as though the message we send gets flipped in the space between us, and what you hear and respond to is frightening. We must also protect ourselves. Is this a small misunderstanding, or will it irreparably damage our relationship? How will I be able to tell?

This happens in one form or another for years and so we learn our language is not quite right and no one seems to notice. We understand the situation now and we pivot. We must learn a new language so that we might understand the translation. We get it nearly perfect but will still get called out whenever we miss. So we keep trying. All the while, you don’t notice the language barrier, believe you are superior to us and are completely unaware of all the advantages of having been born in your own world.

But then something glorious happens… a jolt to the system that changes everything. It is destabilizing and exhilarating. Some only see devastation in a crisis; others opportunity, not to “make a buck,” but to “make good trouble.” It is our time now to lead and show the way to a more inclusive, more joyous future.

If you want to come along, you need to be genuinely curious and you need to want to listen, learn, and follow. We have done our time and now it is your turn to step aside for the sake of the future and all who may remain on the planet and their offspring. It is not the strong who survive, certainly not on their own. It is the well-connected, the humble leaders, those who would never choose the path that now lies before them and those they hold dear…

It’s our time and we are ready.

#CommunityCare