I am noticing lately that there are two things happening concurrently: there is a lot of rhetoric about change and finding new solutions to old problems, and at the same time there is real pushback around some significant ways that society might change to be more kind.

I have engaged recently with people in my practice who are either going through deep life changes or being denied the things that make meaningful change possible.

Anyone else tired? No, just me?

Believe me, this is not how I anticipated starting this new year.

Doing the work that I do to support social change means, for me, embodying enough optimism to imagine that things can be better. And it means carrying that optimism sometimes for others who don’t have the energy for the burden.

Our world feels fractured in some really significant and harmful ways right now. People are polarized and optimism can be hard to come by. And yet…

Today’s news cycle is rife with stories of every deepening polarization. And I know from a lifetime of practice that we are our best selves when we are working together, struggling through the messiness toward a collective solution.

In a world that rewards individual achievement, collaboration can sometimes feel like an ill-fitting pair of shoes, throwing us off our stride…

When I was a kid, I wanted nothing more than to speed up time. I could not wait to be grown up, to be in charge of my life. All I wanted was the ability to create my own path and enact my own dreams.

Fast forward to adulthood, when I quickly realize how…

“Once upon a time…” “Happily ever after…”

These are nice brackets for stories we know: stories that are pretty culturally iconic. Formulaic even. They are easily understood, somewhat moralistic and indicate a clear path to happiness.

And then there’s real life.

You know that feeling you have when you know you are right about something? When you are so sure of the facts of your argument that you don’t even have to listen to anyone else? That moment, that feeling of correctness is one of the most difficult things to overcome. The certainty that our perspective is the only right one is often the biggest obstacle to building understanding with others.

Yes, digital activism is activism and can have a powerful impact when it is combined and coordinated with one the ground activism.

And on the ground activism benefits greatly from the elevation and broad public scrutiny that can be achieved through digital means.

I think the question most people wonder about is where is the line between the two? At what point is hitting “like” simply awareness building? At what point does digital activism need to drive people to take real time action?

Embracing the Messiness is one of the 10 Keys to a Connected Community because it allows us to meet everyone where they are, and to build from there to achieve collective goals.

When we say Embrace the Messiness related to community building, we mean all of it.

There can be a deep disconnect between these two groups: professionals feeling judged by grassroots leaders for the narrow scope of their influence and impact, and grassroots folks feeling discounted or used by the organizations that the professionals they interact with work for.