Hard to Imagine.

Watching the inauguration of Barack Obama the other day I was touched by the faces of the black young people. What an amazing day for them…but do they even know what an amazing day it was?

Seeing a black man becoming the president of the United States opens up possibilities in their imagination of what is possible that has never before existed. The implication of it is profound.

Years ago in the late 1990’s, when the US Women’s soccer team rose to prominence, won Olympic gold and a World Cup, I was watching with my wife. She looked at me and said something that I will remember forever.

“This is the first time ever that I can imagine being a professional athlete.”

It was so jarring to me (a athletic kid who survived the torture of school by holding the dream of playing professional sports), that she had to further explain.

When we were growing up there were no female athletes who were prominent. I suppose there were some tennis players and Olympic athletes, but that did not do it for my wife. She never considered playing sports a possibility in her imagining of what was possible for her life.

Again, I need to re-iterate that this was a complete shock for me. It had always been a possibility for me – albeit a long shot. But, it was clearly a part of what I imagined as possible and it drove me to engage in my life in a really different way.

I did not feel powerful or important in the academic world, but this dream of being a athlete filled me with hope, with possibility, and kept my imagination working. Without this I would have been a lost, lost little boy.

I suspect that Tuesday, January 20, 2009 (along with November 4, 2008) will go down as a turning point in the lives of countless young black people. I do not know that the impact will be massively visible, mine was not, but it will open those doors to hope, possibility, and imagination.

Keep Speaking, Barack

I hope that Barack keeps on speaking publicly.

He has the chance to lead us with his words and vision. I hope that these talents of his do not get lost in all the “work,” appointments, behind the scenes stuff, etc.

We need his voice, his challenges, his call to action.

Today, his inauguration day, we again heard the voice from the campaign that got so many of us excited, hopeful, and inspired to change.

I heard thoughts about what made this country a great country. I was reminded of the hard work, the sacrifice, the tough decisions our ancestors and the founders of the USA faced, and the amazing courage they had in stepping up to the plate to take on these challenges. I heard a need for us to get back to that attitude – and away from the place of sitting back and enjoying the fruits of the suffering and sacrifice of those came before us.

Did you hear it?

QUESTION #1 – Are you willing to do the hard work?

If not, what did you hear?

I wonder how hard we are willing to work to be certain that we pass along a healthy world to our children.

But, I think we need to be careful. A colleague recently asked me a question. “Do you think that your work as a coach is helping people who are doing harm do it better and more effectively?” He continued, “Or do you think that you are coaching people to re-evaluate whether what they are doing is actually creating meaning and advancing a way of being that is beneficial to communities and people?”

What is it that we want to work harder and make sacrifices for? And then, how do we get it? I wonder if we know what it is. I wonder if we know what it is not.

Where is the message going to come from?

As I write and think about it, perhaps it came (and will continue to come) from Barack and some of the other people who spoke today – some of the voices calling out for change. Maybe it will come from you. A word that I heard a lot this morning was Love.

I heard it in taking time for people less fortunate. I heard it in the importance of being an engaged and loving parent. I heard it in being willing to sacrifice a portion of your well being in order to support your co-worker, neighbor, friend. I heard it in being open to difference – of opinion, of skin color, of nationality. I heard it in being willing to dig in, work until our hands are raw (and beyond), and deal with the crisis that is our current western lifestyle.

QUESTION #2 – How willing are you to have part of the hard work be an honest assessment of your values, what you take for granted, and whether you are part of the problem or part of the solution?

My next thought is that for those of you/us who have known that change is necessary for a long while.

A friend of mine has for years been living a life I admire and aspire to. She is massively respectful of people. She works tirelessly to get people engaged in their community. She works really hard to be a loving and awesome mom.

And she encounters lots and lots of resistance. Sometimes the resistance comes in the absence of a response to her invitations. Sometimes it comes in the dismissing of her point of view. Sometimes it comes as criticism of her values and beliefs. Sometimes it comes behind her back when people dismiss her as crazy or idealistic or…

But she persists.

I want to persist. I want my voice to get louder. I imagine my family and friends who are now coming to realize that our way of being has got to shift, saying to me, “Why weren’t you more vocal? Why were you so timid about that thing that you believed in so much? Why didn’t you speak up?

It is time. It is time to answer these questions, and one more.

QUESTION #3 – What will it take for us to be the change AND speak up even though our voice shakes?