Igniting a compassion evolution
Well, I did a thing. Something I never thought that I would do: hosting a live podcast. The Compassion Project launched today. Its a podcast and show that explores trauma as it exists within our world, our organizations, our communities, and how we can begin to overcome it. There is so much to explore, and we need to begin to take some steps into understanding that ignoring the trauma is not helping us as human beings. Here's a link if you care to listen - https://fb.watch/tqoxumrrnl/
We must first recognize that trauma in and of itself is not limited to a big event. It is also repeated and prolonged small events and/or an exposure to varied and multiple that are interpersonal in nature. There are those among us who are experiencing all three.
At the macro level, we have seen:
The COVID 19 measures that has impacted us globally
O...n-going toxic workplace culture
An increase in familial estrangements
Hospital violence that has increased by 60% since Covid.
At the micro level we are experiencing:
A shift in architecture from beauty
To "Brutalism" architecture.
Its literally called brutalism, from Wikipedia, Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era.[1][2][3][4][5] Brutalist buildings are characterized by minimalist constructions that showcase the bare building materials and structural elements over decorative design.
I lived in this Brutalism style building in 1991, the dying days of the USSR. Trust me when I say that no one wants to come home to this.
Riga, Lativia, USSR 1991. Student Dormitory. Every residential building was this was lovely. Here's a peak at the inside...
This was the bathroom. The pipes were on the outside of the wall, if we had hot water, it was a cockroach indicator. Yup, that is the business end of a nail.
Even appliances are not immune...
On the left, a waffle iron c. 1920s, on the right, the industrialized version of 2024.
There are many other micro level examples of "trauma" in our world that includes a change in frequency in music to the words we use in business:
strategy execution
bullet point
cutting edge
put a stake in it, and so on.
At work:
complacency related to turnover and retention. I recently had an executive leader tell me that he still had money in the recruiting budget so why should he be bothered that the turnover was high.
Next time you attend a meeting, notice what everyone does. We grab a seat and immediately dive into our phones or more work, avoiding each other and the necessary relationships that connect us.
All seemingly harmless in the grand scheme, but combined it equals an assault of our emotional and mental senses...the equivalency of death by a thousand cuts. And yet, we wonder, why everyone seems so disconnected, cold, and angry.
We can do better.
How do we change the current reality? One person at a time beginning with ourselves. Take time to recognize that we are all living in a world that seems to embrace prolonged and repeated sensory assaults. We must first recognize it and identify it before we can address it. Next, give yourself and others the grace and space of time and empathy, Laugh a bit because its healthy. Cat videos and laughing babies are perfect! While this may seem flippant in all that is occurring, laughing is such a powerful way to spread cheer to ourself and others. Gather a crowd of colleagues to share in the videos and laugh together. Work and compassion do not have to be mutually exclusive.
A compassion evolution.
But Danielle, surely you mean compassion revolution. I do specifically mean evolution. A revolution is fast, quick, and generally limited to a small percentage, It can often be fleeting as well, seen as a fad, until it looses excitement and we fall back into repeated patterns of known behavior. An evolution begins small and becomes insidious until it has positively affected everyone becoming something long term and sustainable.
So join me in the compassion evolution and lets spread happiness, joy, love, kindness, and empathy into our world. Imagine what awaits on the other side!
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