This is fluid and yet will need a foundation.
What are your values, your beliefs and what does integrity look like to you?
How do you want to live and function in this world?
My foundation comes from logic and visually understanding concepts in my world. The one logical and visually clearest system to understand and makes the world make sense to me is nature. Nature is brutal. The design of nature is beautiful and harsh all at once. It’s survival, primitive, complex, sophisticated, mysterious, logical, based on luck and chance, is predictable and all deeply interconnected. Wild animals either learn how to live in this world and survive, or they die. And even then, they need a bit of luck on your side. They are completely in the hands of their environment which they have no control over. Yet, decisions that you make can be what decides whether they see to live another day and if they are able to feed their babies. Animals have complex deep social connections. We can learn a lot from them.
I look through life through the lens of nature. If I ever cannot understand something in life, I watch a nature documentary and it will make sense to me. If I can understand something and understand the logic behind it, then I can work with it. That is why I have read books on power. Not because I want power over people, but because it explains to me human nature. I need to understand the rules of the game.
For me, having a health advocacy mindset has been accepting the dark side of humanity. People have written in articles that some of my clients are evil. That they are not human. But they are. They aren’t any less human than someone who is volunteering at a food bank.
I accept the spectrum of humanity. The diversity and the sameness of us all. Accepting people’s flaws and examining our own expectations is a big step. If you have expectations of people being all knowing, never making mistakes, never lacking in information or life experience, you will be very disappointed in people as a whole.
The wider our expectations from reality are, the more depressed, angry or hopeless we will feel. Change your expectations and you’ll be back in the game.
The advocacy mindset will be part of what I will be writing about, as I grapple with and examine different advocacy situations.
I advocate for a living. I love my job. I wouldn’t want to do anything else. My clients are people society has given up on. I don’t give up on anyone. People would be surprised, how human they all are. They paint them as monsters, as animals. They are not. They are all part of the human spectrum.
I was in a sociology class and the professor asked us if we dressed ourselves that morning. The answer was yes, we did. But we actually didn’t. Society dressed us. We learned what was socially appropriate clothes for our gender from society. Our culture dictated what we though was attractive clothing. In another country we would be gravitated to other types of clothing. We are able to access the types of clothes we buy base don how much money we have. The types and amount of clothes we can pick from is due to our access to stores and what kind of stores, due to our geographical location. Sure we picked out what we thought was an expression of ourselves. But it was all society approved, taught, and provided by based on our social hierarchy.
We are both a product of our thinking, that our society has taught us how to think, and our own individual ability to intervene and re-think or unlearn things.
Some people are in prisons, physically. And some people are physically free and yet they are in prisons, mentally. Placed there by society and when left unquestioned and unexamined, they agree to stay there. To follow the rules.
But you can change your thinking. You actually have control over your emotions. Our brains have neuroplasticity. We change how we think and react to things. We aren’t helpless. For people this will be uncomfortable information. Some will be relieved and hopeful.
When you can get to a place where the world doesn’t need to be perfect for you to be grateful. When you can live in uncertainty and be at peace… that is when I believe you are participating in your own happiness.
What is your advocacy mindset? How does your view of the world impact your sustainability in advocacy?
Some groups are fireworks groups to me. They are big bold with beautiful colours. Then they quicky die out. Other people or groups are in for the long haul. It’s inch by inch. They are the turtle and not the hare.
The turtle for me is a symbol that I have sprinkled around my room in form of turtle knick-knacks.
Keeping yourself afloat in social resistance, advocating for social change, and challenging the rules and concepts of society require a deep focus on yourself. Understanding your own needs. And giving it to yourself. Consistently. There will be times of rest, and there will be times of action. What make look like a step out of the advocacy world for some, is just actually a pause and recharge. A time to pivot.
Some people may look for their political leaders to be unwavering, steady, firm in their views. While flailing all over the place and living in constant curiosity and uncertainty without ever making any decision isn’t ideal. Like all things in life, it is about balance. We need people who are willing to change their mind. To pivot. To think before they come towards a conclusion and be willing to seek others for their consultation. We need to see them learn and grow. Some of the wisest most experienced people will admit that the more they learn, the more they feel they know so little. The more you learn about something that is complex, the more complex it becomes.
I have learned so much by being fearless and living outside of my comfort zone. There have been large chunks of times where I have been a complete mess.
There is so much to write about.
Where some people see someone’s sensitivity as a weakness. I can assure you, it is my gift. And if you are interested in reading this stuff, it is probably your gift too.