26 Oct Widening the Window of Belonging
Our hearts can be aroused and awoken only upon realizing the truth of our interconnectedness.
This summer a bunch of us from the Deep Coaching community gathered at the International Enneagram Association Conference as we do every year. But this year, something new was in store for us, something that would further refine the intentions for our work in the world.
Several of the sessions at this year’s conference were devoted to racism, and other societal issues related to marginalized people. What we learned in these sessions, and the ensuing conversations that took place in our community, has deeply impacted our sense of commitment to widening the window of belonging in a very deliberate and overt way.
As regular readers of our newsletters know, DCI is a highly mission-driven organization. Our mission of being a force for love in this world through the work we do with coaches, organizational leaders, and other human growth professionals, is core to our purpose for existing.
In our mission it was implied, but not spelled out, that inclusivity comprises an important part of our purpose. However, as one of the IEA presenters said “if you’re not anti-racist, you’re racist”: Essentially, that silence, by default, equates to supporting a system that doles out an unequal allocation of liberties. This made us think twice.
With this letter, we are declaring our commitment to being in solidarity with marginalized people, especially people of color.
We commit to better understanding the issues, to holding space, to amplifying voices, and to being an active ally for creating safety in our community and society-at-large and healing racialized wounding.
In our commitment to the values of community we will firmly and explicitly stand for wholeness and inclusion.
We believe this is not just the right thing to do, not just the smart thing to do, but it is a mandate from our hearts and souls.
In saying yes to this mandate we create the conditions needed for our hearts to be aroused and awoken; so that wholehearted engagement becomes possible.
Stay tuned for more actions and reflections that support our growth in this direction.
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by Ipek Serifsoy