I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to humanize someone, especially those whom we humans systematically dehumanize – the poor, the homeless, the drug addicts, the immigrants.
This short film makes me smile in its simplicity and light-heartedness. It also carries such a strong, powerfully bright message of our common humanity.
In honor of the land that brought us sun salutations, Happy Diwali.
The journey of one on a humanitarian mission can be exhilarating. There is nothing like aligning your most closely held values to your everyday work – nothing like living a life you deeply believe in.
However, it can also be a lonely path. The challenges to overcome are many, especially when you are exploring new territory. Models to replicate may not be readily available, financial constraints can create all sorts of obstacles, people behaving in shortsighted ways that go against their own ethical fiber may disappoint you.
What I have come to realize is that thinking we are doing this work alone is nothing but an illusion.
In reality, in our very own bodies we carry the wishes and aspirations of our biological ancestors. We carry the intentions and visions of our geographical ancestors and our social ancestors. The imprint of our philosophical ancestors are to be found in every last one of our cells.
The beautiful celebration of Día de los Muertos, a gift from our Mexican ancestors, helps us feel this in our bones. Among festive marigolds, bright candles and sugar skulls, we come together to remember the ones who have died as a way to keep them alive in us. We celebrate their lives and what they loved. And in so doing, we ultimately prioritize what we want to leave to our descendants and how we wish to stay alive in them.
Happy Día de los Muertos.
The spotlight follows Pope Francis no matter where he goes, but when he came to the American continent last month, it shined especially brightly. It was impossible to ignore his presence; you would have had to turn off all TVs and radios at all times of day, avoid blogs and news sites online, plus plug your ears whenever you went out on the street, given the frequency with which people were talking about him, mostly in inspirational terms.
This is the sort of traction that all social innovators crave and something that many of them deserve given the importance of their message. Wouldn’t it be grand to have 1.2 billion people pledged to your cause?
I was pleased to read this article by our client Nancy Duarte on LinkedIn’s Pulse Blog that broke down why Pope Francis’s visit, and his speech to Congress in particular, was so persuasive. Turns out that the highest Catholic in the world uses some basic techniques that we all can learn from in inspiring others. Here’s the lowdown:
You don’t matter. Seriously. Your audience is everything. They’re the focal point, since it’s their allegiance that will make or break your movement. Pope Francis, renowned for his humility, emphasized the importance of the people he addressed.
To inspire a movement around yourself, you need to insinuate yourself into the deepest parts of a person’s beliefs. You need to get into their soul, fire them up and make them believe. In the US, Pope Francis used the language of the American dream and espoused other values that are held in high regard in this country.
Get into their soul, then show them that their soul is your soul. You are aligned. Pope Francis did this in relation to political divisiveness and immigration, and was compelling because of it. He channeled Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr. in the process. It was a virtuoso performance and thus deeply inspiring.
I encourage you to read Duarte’s full article here.