Inclusivity in 2022 and Beyond

The year 2020 took a lot from us. We lost lives, we lost relationships, we lost our self of purpose and we also lost our Empathy.

Empathy is a huge part of inclusivity because it allows us to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes. What happens when that’s lost and replaced with the Id? The idea behind the id is our primal needs, the desire to feel safe, procreate, and it is where we find our most aggressive impulses. How do you bridge the gaps of differences to find the common ground when most people have been driven out of their ego space and into their id?

Freuds idea that our pysche is made up of three parts included the idea of the id, the ego and the super-ego. Our super-ego is meant to be a checks and balances against our id as understood so when 2020, shook our foundation, we struggled. The war against the virus was hard fought. Our children were ripped from their classrooms and forced to discover new ways to engage. Our teachers were stretched to their limits and often felt isolated and alone.

Yet, it wasn't just those listed that suffered. The impact of the plague had impacted us all. There was hope, 2021 showed us that not all was lost.

This kernel of hope survived and with it Empathy was found again. It was small and hard to located but it existed and that was enough to pull us through another year of losses.

As the year faded into the night and the ball dropped to ring in the New Year many people felt a hope they hadn’t felt in a long time. There was a renewed sense of self and community as businesses opened their doors and schools found their new normal.

Jobs had changed. Life had changed but Empathy was slowly returning as the id was no longer needed to survive in this new world. With the return of the new normal we found ourselves in a unique position to usher in an inclusivity that we haven’t been able to find for some time.

These words aren’t meant as ammunition for a war but kindle for a fire because the flames of our future depend on our ability to explore our humanity. It is in that exploration that we discover how important each and every person is.

The weight of the lives lost during 20-21 weigh heavy. Some feel it was preventable and other feel we did everything to prevent it. The truth is, it was probably a combination of both and none at all. If we spend too much time focusing on what was behind us we lose sight of what is in front of us. Some say that to not understand the past means you are doomed to repeat it. That is valuable guidance as long as you do not allow yourself to become consumed with the past.

To move us onto the road less traveled we need to discover the parts of us that we share. We share a love for our children, we share a love of our family, we share a love of our country. We share a love of a brighter future. We share the love of community and a desire to belong.

Though our struggles vary, we share our fear of struggles and it is in these shared experiences that we find the ability to see just how similar we are. Our 2022 can be filled with new opportunities to grow, to evolve, and to understand our fellow human being.

We have been gifted with an incredible opportunity to become more both now and into the future. We are more than our fears, we are more than our losses. We are survivers and we will lift the world back up through our kindness and understanding. We will shine through our compassion and our empathy and we will thrive...together.