88 Days Long

Posted on by consciousendeavorllc

I have seen multiple posts and messages across social media that point out the slow pace of January. Indeed, emerging from what I like to think of as the downward spiral that characterizes October through December, the pace of January feels glacial by comparison. As a small business owner and parent, I usually find that the first hint of pumpkin spice effectively ushers in the race to New Year’s Eve. All spheres of life seem to ratchet up demand. Therefore, I have been grateful that by comparison, January, as one of my friends said, is “88 days long.”
The slow pace of it has been welcome for me to sit and develop some the ideas that are important to my work this year. A part of that work is the commitment to using this platform to share my process. Welcome to it!
I started with a guiding question: What have you learned? After several years spanning academic, research, policy, evaluation and community change work, I have been seeking a forum for sharing. Often, my areas of knowledge can be integrated in the work I do, however, I began to make the effort to figure out other mediums to share this information. In order to accomplish this, I did my own thought exercise by writing my initial responses to this question.
What have you learned?:
•That efforts to make meaningful and lasting change are complex and requires sustained energy and resources.
• That social challenges are dynamic
• That what we call evidence of progress must be examined through a lens of humility and justice.
• That the work, whatever it is, is bigger than any one individual effort.
• People like me who work as experts in these areas, must take our own knowledge production seriously and respect the multiple forms of expertise found in community.
I will return to this blog building out these learnings and hoping to connect with some of you around these ideas. It is my intention to use this forum to help build a community conversation among advocates, activists, community change agents, researchers, and social innovators who are committed to improving conditions. As we advance into 2020, the pace may quicken and the gift of months that feel like they are 88 days long may be behind us, but together we can do the best we can to grow into better and more effective work. I am looking forward to it.