IMAGO ORIGINAL: Right Now It's Like This

One of the three tenets of Imago’s manifesto is this:

Accept what is and become accountable. We have choice in each and every moment, and we seize those choices, making ourselves our greatest and most profound instrument.

I believed it when I wrote it - and still do. Yet in this moment I’m feeling my fidelity to the very idea being challenged. Why, I wonder, do I have to accept and be accountable to situations which I didn’t create and which feel patently oppressive - and hurtful - to me? 

The ugly results of systemic of oppression, racism and classism show up in my life on the regular - as they do for so many I know. And it makes me ANGRY. Underneath the anger, I feel the pain. And then the question bubbles up: what does acceptance and accountability look like right now?

“Right now it’s like this.” This simple phrase, popularized by meditation teacher Vinny Ferraro, is like the ocean in a single drop of water. Sitting with what is, I can come to understand that acceptance and accountability do go hand in hand. But, importantly, that acceptance in that moment isn’t about the world - in that moment it’s about my survival and resilience. 

As Vinny so eloquently states: “Even though the mind threatens me with the idea that ‘it’s going to be like this forever,’ this phrase helps me call bullsh*t on that.” Because when I let it be, as it is right now - not in the future or the past - I can choose: both the stories I tell myself and what I choose to do next.

Download the wallpaper for mobile or desktop.

I’ve created a desktop wallpaper with the phrase to remind me moment by moment to do my best to just let it be. If you’d find it useful for yourself, you can grab the wallpaper here.

IMAGO ORIGINAL: Walking Out To Walk On

Photo Paul Ross via Smithsonian Magazine

A recent coaching client of mine quit his job, purchased an RV and moved to New Mexico. His reasons were many, but one of the big ones was this: as an environmentalist, he wanted to lessen his footprint (his ecologically sound, retrofitted RV becoming his new, permanent home), and be closer to people who recognize that global warming is happening now - not in the future - and that we need to learn new ways of being if we are to survive. He turned me on to Earthships, and the burgeoning movement to live differently in the Taos area.

Meg Wheatley would call my client’s choice “walking out to walk on” - or being willing to let go of outdated ways of thinking and working to make room and space for experimentation and new options to emerge. Her book of the same name, is full of stories to bolster bravery.

As Pema Chodron asks in her seminal book, When Things Fall Apart:

"The whole globe is shook up, so what are you going to do when things fall apart? You’re either going to become more fundamentalist and try to hold things together, or you’re going to forsake the old ambitions and goals and live life as an experiment, making it up as you go along."

What do you choose? I myself, more and more, see myself as walking out and walking on.

IMAGO ORIGINAL: Put Your Money Where Your Values Are

I don’t know about you, but my life isn’t complete without a good book. I love to share mutual recommendations with clients and friends. By the way - have you read Buttermilk Graffiti? If not, you need to. Any recommendations for me?

But I digress… I buy books to expand my world and make new connections. So, it comes as no surprise that among Imago’s biggest expenditures are books and office supplies. Enter the B Corporation Inclusive Economy Challenge.

An inclusive economy is one that creates opportunity for everyone to live with dignity, to support themselves and their families, and to make a contribution to their communities. Something I know you can get behind. And the Inclusive Economy Challenge is a call for Certified B Corps to create what we believe in. You can learn more by reading the 2017 Impact Report.

Photo by Beatriz Pérez Moya

Imago is participating in the Challenge this year, and one of our goals is to take a deep look at our supplier chain in order to purchase directly from women, minority and queer-owned businesses. We recently crowd-sourced a list of bookstores - please take a look at the full list here and support them!

Next we tackle office supplies - so if you know of any suppliers that meet our goals, please let me know.

IMAGO ORIGINAL: Real Talk

Time Magazine, February 2019

Real talk? I’ve spent more of my life than I would like to admit feeling stuck in some proverbial ‘middle.’ Wanting to live (and work) in spaces of expansiveness, beauty, and hope, and at the same time feeling like I'm not supposed to (and therefore struggle), for fear of being accused of being a  ‘white girl,’ ‘bougie,’ or ‘naïve.’
 
No doubt, there is much pain and suffering in the world that needs attending to. There is much to ‘fix,’ and we all need to show up. At the same time, I’ve watched more than a few of my friends, colleagues and clients become psychically and/or physically sick from holding so much community pain in their bodies through overwork, lack of sleep, stress, and organizing-related PTSD. Can you relate?

At the end of the day, art, hope and optimism have won out in my life – if for no other reason than I want to survive. But the truth is, I want to thrive, too.
 
“And so, working on this issue with the stellar team at TIME helped me to remember a simple truth: that prioritizing hope whenever possible is a brave and bold thing to do.”  ~Ava DuVernay
 
Time Magazine’s 2nd Annual special edition devoted to Optimism has been a breath of fresh air. Guest edited by none other than the incomparable Ava DuVernay, it is full of vibrant, compelling voices and stories, including When I Need Hope, I Look to the History of Black Brilliance, by Laverne Cox. You may be able to still find it on newsstands, but if not, click through for a great online offering.
 
What creates optimism for you in your world? I’d love to hear about it. Tell me.

IMAGO ORIGINAL: Perfectly Imperfect

Perfectionism is a brilliant way of lying to ourselves - pretending that we’re getting something done when we’re simply rearranging the deck chairs. It keeps us from getting our best work out the door and in immediate conversation with our environment – it keeps our work from being a living and breathing thing that is influenced and changed as it kinetically interacts, bumps, and connects with others.

Having an MVP (minimum viable product) means that engagement and alchemy trumps a fully baked idea, initiative or product.

Sometimes, of course, it’s no picnic. Starbuck’s #racetogether initiative has drawn huge criticism from many circles. It’s also created an unprecedented level of conversation between the company and its community. Though imperfect, Starbucks is becoming known as a company who is not shy of challenging conversations, and I for one respect that.

So, come on - what creation of yours is smothering under the expectation of perfection? What’s worth the risk? No more cutting grass with fingernail clippers.

Creation wins!

IMAGO ORIGINAL: Who Needs the Mask?

I want you to like - no, scratch that - LOVE me. There. I said it. I hope you don’t think less of me now that I’ve confessed. 
 
Because, really, isn’t that what we’re all - in one way or another - seeking? And, wow, what a complex web we weave to gain other’s approval, interest, acceptance. All in the name of being perceived as a “grown-up.”

I’m coming to realize, however, that despite all our wishful thinking, there are no real grown-ups. We’re all on a path of constant evolution. Some of us, though, are sure great at faking it. But, damn, faking is exhausting, and oh how liberating it can be to simply drop the mask.
 
If liberation and the freedom to do our best work is at stake, what’s the point of keeping up the facade? It’s a question well worth considering.
 
My challenge - and yours too, if you choose to accept it - is to shuttle the mask of perfection and expectation in favor of creative flow and living more deeply into my - our - body of work. I’ll show you my face and hope you’ll show me yours.

Here’s to not trying so hard and  - in a cruel twist of irony - having deeper impact.

IMAGO ORIGINAL: Only You

Too many things on your to-do list. Inbox zero? Elusive. Meetings: back to back. Someone’s crisis that isn’t really a crisis? Likely got one of those, too.

There may be many things vying for your attention - but only a precious few that actually deserve it - including things that you haven’t yet dared to name for fear of never being able to touch them.

Why?

Because there are only a few things on the list - or emails or meetings - that only you can do.Only you because of:

• Your position, role or decision-making power

• Your perspective

• Your skill set

• Your relationships and level of trust

• Your willingness to broach the tough stuff and name what you see from where you sit

The other stuff? It’s still there, and… delegation and empowering others to act without hoops is a beautiful thing.

Commit to stepping into the work that is really yours. Find ways to let the rest go.

IMAGO ORIGINAL: One of These Things Is Not Like the Other

Photo by Danielle MacInnes

THE BIG IDEA: within any community, no matter how dire the problem or how limited the resources, there are some folks who have already figured it out. Finding them and identifying what they do differently is the key. It’s called Positive Deviation, and it’s a potent concept for world-changers.

“Positive Deviants” help a community (or organization, or family) they are a part of to better understand itself: by contrasting expected norms with unexpected ones, a community can choose behaviors that create more of what it actually wants.

Case in point: In the 1990’s Jerry and Monique Sternin worked in Vietnam to alleviate child malnutrition. Over time they realized that even in the poorest villages, not all children were malnourished. Looking closer, they noticed that those children’s families had adopted certain practices that were different than others:

• Feeding kids even when they were ill with diarrhea (not the community norm)

• Supplementing their children’s diets with “low-status” foods that other families chose not to eat

• Feeding their kids more frequently during day

This gave the community a whole new set of options and questions to grapple with, malnutrition began to lessen,  and Positive Deviance as a theory base was born. There’s so much more to dig into, but the point in this moment:

Community self-awareness is essential and – when we move out of ‘expert’ and ‘best practice’ mode – the most natural, human approach in the world. We know ourselves best. And we don’t know others nearly as well as they know themselves. As influencers, then, the powerful question becomes:

How are you helping the people around you to know themselves better? More deeply? Contradictions, flaws and all?

IMAGO ORIGINAL: Not Necessarily In That Order…

We define the frame; we are natural storytellers. Think about it. In any conversation we’re a part of we help to articulate - or outright define:

• The issues being talked about – and the ones being avoided

• What the situation actually is

• Who the players are

• How large or narrow the playing field is

• What the call to action is

• Potential next steps and options

 
“A story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end… but not necessarily in that order.”  ~Jean Luc Godard

A good storyteller knows the frame is everything because it drives our motivation and steers our actions. A GREAT storyteller knows that there are infinite ways to combine the facts to create an equally infinite number of stories. And they do it.

Frame. Reframe. And again… again. Which frame - and therefore story - will be most useful to you in this moment? You get to choose.

IMAGO ORIGINAL: In Search of Kanso

Kanso: the Zen concept of simplicity. Dr. Koichi Kawana describes it this way: Simplicity means the achievement of maximum effect with minimum means.

“I wouldn’t give a nickel for the simplicity on this side of complexity. But I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity.” ~Einstein

Simplicity is what attracts me to inspired design. It is beautiful and moving, yes, but its brilliance is in complexity being whittled down to the essential, the important. I can breathe in its presence. And really good design solves multiple issues with one elegant solution; the complexity is clear the more closely you look, but you aren’t ambushed by it. I find that fascinating and immensely useful.

 Kanso, it seems to me, is likely the most important concept and skill needing cultivation in our modern world. Our ability to live lives of depth, authenticity, meaning and connection is highly dependent on our ability to sift through the immense amount of data thrown at us each and every day and “edit” our lives to make clear connections and track the important stuff. Notice that sentence doesn’t include all the stuff, but the 

important

stuff.

Einstein also wisely said: “Make everything as simple as possible but no simpler.”

This isn’t about ignoring the important the stuff we don’t like, or make it “too simple” in order to make things easy or more comfortable. Good design can’t ignore what’s inconvenient. But it serves no one to simply struggle in the web of complexity - making us innefectual, sick or worse. The challenge: to stop seeing everything as important, because it’s not.

Simple.