Gridlock has stymied countless organizations, governments and relationships. The unwavering...
Rise Up
We made it. Hallelujah. It’s the end of 2020. 1.5 million people have died worldwide due to COVID-19 complications. Equity came defiantly front and center forcing a mirror to be held up to each of us. Jobs were lost, hospitals were full, rents were past due and restaurants faced a hurdle the size of the Comcast Tower. And it’s not over yet. We lost Kobe, RBG, Chadwick and Alex. A sense of stability shaken to the core more times than we could count. But we’re here.
And what we know is that we can. With passionate optimism or desperate pleading, we searched “why” more times on Google in 2020 than any other word. We wanted to know, and knowing leads to learning. Learning leads to activation. And activation leads to purpose and passion. We can get back to these two elements even in the worst of times. We can.
We’ve done so after wars, bombings, plagues and economic ruin. We’ve responded through the tears with vibrancy and relevance. We matter and we want to flourish. Change may need to come or more attention may need to be paid. We look for ways to remind and rekindle. We stoke fires and make a meal out of crumbs. We can exhibit resiliency and brokenness concurrently. We can.
And we know that the road is not rosy. There is not an idyllic way to normalize pain, desperation or depravity, nor should there be. We face it, with tears, clenched fists and painful screams, but we face it. We rise despite. 2020 is not to define us; it’s to direct us in what we can do together. We can overturn systems, renew efforts and come together with kindness and conviction. We can expect the best out of one another as we expect in return. We can.
We hope, not for some fantasy, but for the reality of strong character fostering graciousness, understanding and compassion. We are not a people looking for a handout, but rather a people working to advance our condition, our position and our contribution. We can move beyond our pain without forgetting or losing what it’s done to us as we seek health and betterment. We can.
And while we hope for a better 2021, we know that we will likely face loss, death and uncertainty just as we’ve done in years previous. The situations and circumstances will vary and will require a renewed energy, but we can operate based upon our history of flexibility, camaraderie and courage. We can be brave in climbing over the hurdle and creating new opportunities while finding stability in a bleak landscape. We can see more than our eyes show us. We have done this before, and we can do it again. We can.
(I will be back in 2021 with more human resources, business management, talent acquisition and HR technology content. I wish you all a blessed holiday season and a renewed strength for the new year)
More pages
