September 2023
The best feeling in the whole world is watching things finally fall into place after watching them fall apart for so long.
- not sure of the source
Alignment…
As I age (thankfully), I am more at peace with how everything unfolds. The operative word here is “more.” If you knew me from 10 years ago, you would know that ‘more’ is usually less than most people. I was an anxious, ambitious, aggressive type-A person who needed to be somewhere at some time or else be damned. Most of my friends probably wouldn’t recognize me if they haven’t been part of my life since the transformation has been gradual. And to be honest, I don’t even recognize myself sometimes.
Whether a plan works out or not or whether I accomplish or not, I am more at peace. After 3 tries to get our in-person youth workshop going, we will finally get enough young people to attend our workshop. But I was okay with canceling and perhaps even closing Platform’s doors. I have given more than 100% to every aspect of this organization and if it didn’t work out, I was willing to walk away. What could I have done when I have given everything to the program? And if a team of gifted individuals was unable to make it happen, well, what can you do?! You can’t keep chipping away at a boulder when it is made out of titanium or a more apt analogy would be if you chip away at a boulder with a straw.
Surrender and allow for the pieces to fall into place. It is not just sitting back and giving up but working towards and waiting for things to align. I have been developing relationships with our partners, with our facilitators, with our leaders, and with our community. I have written a book and developed a phenomenal workshop with the help of young people and local activists. I have trained and encouraged our leaders to develop their strengths and step up to their potential. I have envisioned and re-envisioned different ways of doing leadership. Does it always work out? In my life, not always and that’s okay. I just need to shift and allow a realignment. It is not always easy to accept how life unfolds or how the pieces align but I am more at peace with it.
I am grateful for how the pieces have fallen but we may have to make significant changes next week and hopefully, I will be at peace with the re-alignment.
Sam Joo
CEO and Founder
August 31, 2023