APRIL
“But once I realized the problem was not you, but within me, I found inner peace and was able to harness the flow of the universe.”
- Shifu from Kung Fu Panda 2
[I ran out of things to watch on Netflix…]
All the uncertainty has created a disconcerting level of anxiety, some to the point of panic. I completely understand …. it is an unusual period in our history, more so in the US than anywhere because many countries have faced worse, famine, wars, plagues, and extreme poverty. Since I live in the US, I have been extremely privileged and even with the pandemic, I have the fortune of working from home with the comforts of running water, electricity, food, and wi-fi. Yes, there are some inconveniences which I have not faced and honestly, I am scared for my mother and what this would mean for millions of people who are now without basic needs, food, shelter, income, and a community. And I must admit, like most Americans, I have been angry at these “inconveniences.” I don’t take too kindly to changing my plans and generally speaking, I am not fond of change. So I turned inwardly like other times in which I face difficulty, situations in which I feel powerless. Last time I really turned inwardly was when my father passed away. It took me 4 years to come out of my shell but luckily it has only taken me a week to absorb the madness of the COVID 19 pandemic.
Why did it even take me a week to process the global epidemic? What about the pandemic put me in such a dis-ease? I did not know how to go forward with my projects, my plans, my relationships. It completely changed the way in which I would approach almost everything in life which is to charge forward. But how can I charge forward when the playing field has completely changed? It was the communal physicality of the workshop, the energy of being present in a challenging physical space was what made Platform experience powerful. Once the communal physicality element was taken out, I did not know how to recreate that space. For a person who spends most of her time communicating via email and zoom (but rarely via text or phone calls), I felt lost. Seriously, I did not think about virtual space as a realm of possibility. It just did not enter my mind as an option.
But once I secured medicine for my mother and ensured that my irascible boys and family were safe, I started to think of how I and therefore Platform could give back to our community. I am no doctor, an expert who can discuss COVID 19 intelligently, or a counselor who can assuage people’s anxieties - professionals who are dearly needed in our community. I am just a mentor, not even certified, but nevertheless impactful. The only gift I thought I had was to help people direct their energies to effectively serve their communities, which I was already doing for the Iliff community. Then I was reminded of my network of promising, beautiful women, the board, volunteers, facilitators, and participants. So the question now was, how can we serve our communities in this very uncertain times? How can I, the organizer of Platform, effectively channel their energy into virtual space?
Thankfully, my board took the lead and outlined a plan which I will now be executing. We will run a series of short, small workshops and events via Zoom. How and what they will look like specifically will, as always, be dependent on each facilitator. I will develop the platform and our leaders will take charge.
In a momentous scene in Kung Fu Panda 2, the panda faces his enemy, Shen, and when he fires a series of firebombs, he absorbs and redirects them. He is able to channel what the world throws at him because he finally obtains inner peace; he is not throttled by the imminent danger, by the threat of world destruction, because he knows he was there with a mission, to work with his team to overthrow the selfish ambition of the mighty. This sense of destiny, of knowing, of feeling his role has allowed him to harness the flow of the universe for good. For the panda, it was realizing that he had the choice to become what he wanted to be whereas for me, it has always been accepting my fate, my responsibilities. We may not always KNOW our destiny, our future to 100% certainty, but we are where we need to be and we must maximize our efforts to make ourselves present for our communities.
Sam
Founder and Executive Director
April 1, 2020