I was in charge of a big PD event on Saturday, welcoming Gholdy Muhammad, Samira Ahmed and amazing breakout session leaders to a half-day of leaning in to Justice & Joy. I was so busy (and in "getting things done" mode - do other PD event planners have that side to them?!) that I only grabbed snippets of wisdom from these inspiring keynotes, but I was in the right place at the right time to hear Samira talk about her comic Ms. Marvel: Beyond the Limit, and how the hero's message for us readers is "Good is not a thing you are. It's a thing you do."
I've held on to that phrase, and thought about how it applies to so many other descriptors, and how being active in the world - living our values, especially when faced with challenges - is the real work of being community.
I am grateful that I'm not often faced with "do good or do harm." The place I usually find myself is the space of doing nothing or very little - a space where I know what "good" is, but I don't actively engage in the doing. And I do try, oh-so hard, to be a good doer (choosing that language over do-gooder, which feels like a label, not an action), as a literacy leader, as a community activist, as a person of faith, as a mom of young adults watching me engage in the world. Those buckets: educator, activist, faithful human, mom - those are the priority places where I'm striving to step into the challenge of doing good.
And then there's the little good doing from the past week.
Letting a car in ahead of me in a busy intersection, even if that now means I'll miss the light.
Handing someone a $5 bill when they are short on cash in the grocery line and keeping it discrete.
Holding space for a friend who is sharing their frustration and sadness with work, even as I feel the need to wrap-up a project.
Giving an apology when my own busy-ness shows up as snapping at the people I love.
BIG GOOD. Little good. And all the goodness in between. This is the choice I want to make, the thing I want to do.
My friend! So wonderful to see you slicing this year! Ahhhh love this! Esp the big good little good part. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a great event that you organized. I can definitely relate to this line from your post: "The place I usually find myself is the space of doing nothing or very little - a space where I know what "good" is, but I don't actively engage in the doing." I feel the same way, but like you, I try to remind myself that even the little things have some value. I would like, however to be doing more.
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