Collectively and individually we are all going through a defining moment – the COVID-19 Pandemic. The pandemic has highlighted the inequities in our society, particularly those around economics and race. There are many lessons we are learning from this world-wide event, and it is going to take courage to fully implement them.
What else is courage? (What underpins courage, where is it drawn from was the topic of this previous blog post.) What can we take from courage that will move us forward as we implement the structural changes that are needed for everyone to thrive?
Rage is part of Courage
The word rage stems from the root word rabies. The dictionary definitions include:
- violent, uncontrollable anger
- the violent action of a natural agency
- a vehement desire or passion
- an instance of aggressive behaviour or violent anger caused by a stressful or frustrating situation
- a widespread temporary enthusiasm or fashion
- intense feeling, especially prophetic, poetic or martial enthusiasm or ardor.
I’ve been thinking and writing in my journal about courage as it relates to rage, and to our current situations. As inequities have become more apparent there is rage (intense feelings, anger). Perhaps we need this rage in the form of a vehement desire or passion for change to occur. What we don’t want is for this rage and the desire to make changes in our structures and institutions to be a temporary phenomenon. We want it to spur real changes on every level.
It seems to me that strong emotions such as rage can incite acts of courage. We need courage to persist and to stay the course in insisting on change. We need courage to say this is enough, or this isn’t working.
Next design
As an artist, writing in my journal and then designing a mat is how I process and figure out my next steps. My next design in the Courage series is still at the sketch book stage. I have chosen the words ‘Speaking up’, ‘Persist’, Change’ to write on the mat itself, in addition to the title ‘Cou’rage’ 2′. This is a new direction for my designs and it seems fitting for a mat about courage and structural change.
So far I have chosen the colours yellow (to represent the solar plexus chakra and rage), turquoise (throat chakra, speaking up) and red (root chakra, persistence, strong foundation). There will probably also be purple for the crown chakra, to represent the wisdom we need to implement meaningful change.
Creative team building
I help teams design their next steps. Depending on the issue at hand, this could be how to improve the group’s sense of connection, how to define the goals and objectives of the team or how to better support team members. The end product includes a custom wall-hanging. The process includes facilitated discussions using creative journaling and sketching and a hands on activity to arrive at a design that reflects what the team needs to thrive.
Get in touch with any questions or comments when the time is right for me to work with your team.
