Being Present: Welcoming The New Year
Written on my iPhone in Evernote; upstairs in the front bedroom watching the Prisoner of Azkaban, third of seven in the Harry Potter chronology. This is not my first time and yes, I have and have read all the books.
Increasingly there has been what feels like a collective wishing away of the present with hopes of a future that will be better. This feels most alive during the Gregorian calendar transition and particularly true over the past few years. The last presidential election season, the election itself, increasing awareness of systemic and systematic racial injustice and COVID-19 (and its ever changing variants) have all made us want to move quickly into the future.
But here’s the thing: the only moments we have are the ones in this moment; the present.
Right now. Right. Now.
It is not enough to hope, although we can also recognize that being hopeful keeps us in the space of possibility.
So I ask– no, invite– perhaps even implore that every one of us to be true to our values and intentions. Now. In these moments.
Every small thought and act matters.
Every. Single. One.
About The Author:
Jara Dean-Coffey (jdc) is Founder and Director of the Equitable Evaluation Initiative and the Founder of Luminare Group. For the past twenty-five years, she has partnered with clients and colleagues to elevate their collective understanding of the relationship between values, context, strategy and evaluation and shifting our practices so that they are more fully in service of equity. For more about musings + machinations click here.
