From Trauma to Transformative Futures: Four Dimensions

November 19, 2020 1 Comment

As you review the framework, would you share your responses to the questions below in the comments?

• What does it bring up for you?
• Where do you find yourself focusing your thinking and efforts?
• What might you want to explore, start, continue or further develop, or stop doing in any of the stages?How does the framework help you prioritize and perhaps find empowering areas for action and partnership?

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As you navigate the complex times of COVID-19 and racial uprising, consider what it would take to transition through these four dimensions, what needs to be in place, what is already in place, and what we need to reimagine and rebuild.

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1 – In the Trauma Dimension: How are we responding to the impact of trauma from COVID, racism, and other shocks?

Racial Equity & Justice:

• Are we removing racialized barriers to emergency resources? 
• Are we using a racial equity impact analysis tool to understand and evaluate our response? Even when we feel rushed?
• Are we recognizing deep racial harm in our organization and networks?

Collaboration:

• Are we pausing and engaging in quick and meaningful stakeholder engagement to guide our responses and ensure less harm?
• Are we attending to both relationships and results as we carry out our work?

Love:

• Are we acting and responding with humility, empathy, and transparency?
• Are we practicing presence and accountability?

Networks:

• Are we connecting with diverse networks to gather and share information and foster flows to address critical needs?

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2 – In the Reckoning Dimension: How are we grappling with deep distress and the reality of shifting resources? How are we embracing racial uprisings for change? How are we embracing uncertainty?

Racial Equity & Justice:

• Are we acknowledging inequities revealed by crisis?  
• Are we acting to undo the racialized impacts of our actions?
• How are we recognizing the leadership of Black people and what are the lessons for our organizations?
• Are we remembering and communicating that equity is not the same as equality? 
• Are we designing from and with the margins to approach every problem and solution?

Collaboration:

• Are we engaged in transparent and collaborative decision-making?
• Are we facilitating conversations and activities to face the pain and opportunity of this crisis, our potential power together to make change, while also planning for next steps?

Love:

• Are we embracing where people are? Their feelings, conditions, perspectives?
• Are we modeling vulnerability as a sign of strength?
• Are we exploring the reality through the lens of love and possibility?

Networks:

• Are we setting strategic direction with critical partners? 
• Are we listening for and following the ideas of BIPOC communities (Black, Indigenous, people of color)?

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3 – In the Healing Dimension: How are we creating the conditions for healing and well-being?

Racial Equity & Justice:

• Are we supporting BIPOC people and communities to move through trauma, grief and anger toward joy?
• Are white people leaning into discomfort, trauma and pain, and working that through with other white allies?

Collaboration:

• Are we generating and living into community care guidelines to support self-care and collective well-being?
• Are we designing and facilitating in ways that allow people to process holistically – intellectually, physically, emotionally, and spiritually?

Love:

• Are we convening grounding conversations that allow for brave space, emotions, and truth sharing?
• Are we offering resources for healing modalities?
• Are we acknowledging all paths to healing?
• Are we meeting pain with action and redistributing power and resources?

Networks:

• Are we deepening networks and attending to flows of resources that create healing and well-being for people?
• Are we setting up more distributive structures focusing on regenerative flows of resources of many kinds?

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4 – In the Transformative Futures Dimension: How are we envisioning and living into equitable and resilient futures?

Racial Equity & Justice:

• Are we pivoting from supremacist and extractive practices to what is liberating and life-honoring?

Collaboration:

• Are we facilitating leaders to envision and invest in equitable and resilient futures?

Love:

• Are we encouraging building futures from the lessons of love, possibility, and shared humanity?

Networks:

• Are we fostering a new level of learning, sustainability, innovation and radical collaboration with people and our planet?
• Are we focusing on systems change and building long-term movement?

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