Opportunities for Transformation: Dear Friends and Partners
“And then COVID-19 came, and reminded me that the world we are fighting for is nigh. Now is not the time to pump the brakes or abandon hope. The world we are fighting for is just on the other side of apocalypse.”
--Aja Taylor
At CoLab, we’ve come to see disruptive moments of change as opportunities for transformation. With the global Covid-19 crisis, that idea seems more helpful than ever.
Like many of you, we are working from home, washing our hands, wiping down surfaces and practicing social distancing while somehow trying to connect with loved ones. Facing our collective fragility, we’re holding our elders, our homeless neighbors and other friends already at highest risk, in our hearts. We feel deep concern and gratitude for frontline healthcare and homecare providers, grocery store, public transportation and other workers who risk their health providing basic services for all of us. And for families that have already lost their sources of income as businesses everywhere shut down. With this note, we look to stay connected, to check in and say to our friends, community partners, allies, funders, family – we hope you are well and having bright moments in this frightening time.
The virus is upending so much that is familiar. It is forcing us to learn how to live with heightened risk. It is asking us to find ways to respond to disruption with love and care, not just for ourselves, our friends and families, but also for the strangers living alongside us. The more chaotic the moment, the more we need compassion. Corona calls us to focus on what is essential, to remember that what we do affects everyone around us (it actually always has). Let’s start by looking around and asking: Who needs our help; how can we stay connected, tell stories, trade recipes and jokes?
Beyond that, cultivating a shared understanding that each of our individual actions right now actually, explicitly, directly, will make a life-or-death difference, could be quite powerful stuff for the future. Now we know that our collective action could actually change the course of the pandemic, what else might we do? Sitting inside our houses or standing on the front lines, could we hatch plans? A course of action for now and for the future? Could we build a movement and change history? The health crisis might prompt our immediate demand for free virus screening and treatment along with protective gear for frontline workers -- plus, in the long-run, healthcare for all and good jobs for healthcare workers. Might the economic crisis inspire our immediate demand for unemployment coverage, even for gig workers -- plus economic democracy and self-determination for the long haul to confront the racial wealth gap? And since we’ve momentarily slashed carbon output, could the global north adopt ways to drastically reduce our carbon debt to the world?
Our friend, Otto Scharmer, says that first, we must, “evolve with and adjust to the situation that keeps unfolding around us, between us, and within us.” Adrienne Marie Brown suggests that we “widen the space within us for the grief and wonder? fear and vision? the surrender, and the creativity, the relief, the humor, the possibility…”
We hope that you are safe. We ask that you help slow the spread of the virus and keep your communities safe. We wish you continued health. We promise to continue the struggle now, as we can, day to day. We look forward to seeing you again, in person, soon.