As I work to listen and learn during a time such as this, I have been struck by a few themes this past week:

1) The need for mutual aid

2) The pull to go local, stay close, be connected

3) What getting prepared can look like and include (not doomsday prepping, but getting

thoughtfully and communally prepared for lean and different times)

4) Going slow, pausing, taking a second makes sense when your feet are on uneven ground

5) Permission to go slow and reset as many times in one day as required

6) Experiencing the full range of human emotions makes sense – if not now, when?!

"Holding complexity and spreading discomfort equitably are key to justice. Using the 'Role, Goal, Soul' framework, we can align our actions with our values, support targeted communities, and take meaningful steps toward equity. By naming what needs to happen and acting intentionally, we can move the needle toward justice while fostering inclusion and understanding."

“I have been busy experiencing the full range of human emotions since waking up to discover the results of Election Day last Wednesday morning.

It comes in waves.

I have moments when I feel okay. I have moments where I send myself to bed early. Today I’m having a despondent, frustrated, incredulous day. I think any and all feelings make sense given the undulations, ebbs and flows of grief, outrage, pain, fear, and hope.”

Friends,

Here’s what I’m thinking rough guidelines for myself today are:

a) do no harm to myself or other people

b) feel it all

c) write to uncover what is feeling important and unimportant to me

d) drink water and eat as I'm able

“This Particular Election Day

I recognize that today is Halloween.

But in truth I don’t care about that.

What I am focused on is the unfolding…”

I wanted to bring this piece to your attention because I think it is timely, important, and does a good job of pointing people back to the meta goals of a modern-day DEI movement.

From a DEI perspective, I think these kinds of thoughts all the time:

• Just pay women equal to men

• Just hire, pay, and promote Black, Indigenous, and People of Color

• Just enact pay transparency

• Just stop having unpaid internship programs

• Just start fertility, parental leave, and gender-affirming care health supplements

• Just build out single stall bathrooms

“Time management. Calendar blocking. Color-coded task lists.

just because something appears to fit neatly into my calendar doesn’t mean it will neatly fit into my actual day.

being scheduled so tightly that there is no time to pee or eat has become a badge of honor in American workplaces.

How about for you?

If you were to open up your work calendar and scan over the past month or so, what can you observe about where you thought your energy was going to go and where it actually went?”

"Recently, I’ve been thinking a bunch about what it means to be a neighbor.

Sharing streets. Sharing schools. Sharing land. Sharing food.

At work, if I consider my colleagues a kind of neighbor and my workplace a kind of neighborhood, when was the last time I checked in about my core values and the behaviors I want to regularly exhibit as a neighbor?"

"When I say “North Star,” I’m thinking about direction, guidance, and choice points.

In this case it was a design North Star. A vibe, a look, a feeling, a function – it could be any of these.

cast a vision and then allow that clarity to help that which does not fit fall away - releasing its hold with more ease and less tension than if you had to approach each and every decision you needed to make from scratch.

very few things are impossible."

"Audacity.

It is audacious, in my opinion, to hope, to pray, to consciously connect to desire for more goodness.

WE - DO - NOT – HAVE – TO - LIVE – LIKE - THIS!

Our work lives don’t have to feel oppressive. Our bodies don’t have to be collateral damage to our pursuits. And the centuries of mean-spirited cruelty and one-upmanship can all fucking stop."

"Today, I talked with a close friend about liminal space. And that got me thinking…

“…To be in a liminal space means to be on the precipice of something new but not quite there yet…”

I think liminal space can be a mind, body, and spirit experience that occupies both waking and sleeping hours, conscious and unconscious energy.

Scary. Exciting? Probably both.

If you find yourself in a liminal space, know that I’m there with you."

"I woke up this morning thinking about my relationship to change.

I invite you to take this opportunity to revisit and rebuild your relationship to change.

You don’t have to hate or love change. You just have to be able to navigate change when it is required."

"You can tell I feel passionately about this, right? And you’re probably not surprised.

a few tips I learned along the way as a person up close and personal to the complex and very human system that make up our elections.

1. Please be VERY NICE to any and all phone, text, and in-person canvassers.

2. It’s important to remember that not all people are eligible to vote in this year’s election.

3. For the love of all that is holy – please vote EARLY!"

"Not everything is for you. Not everything is about you. Not everything includes you.

These are rough realities for folks who have been raised and steeped in privilege. People like myself. If I’m honest, I want access to ALL THE THINGS! All meetings, all rooms, all relationships, and all groups.

But here’s the thing – I have NOT EARNED that right.

Not everything is for me."

"Progress is not just a warm fuzzy feeling in your heart, or a shift in office ‘vibes’ – although both can be nice. Progress on race and gender equity is observable.

Working to close racial and gender equity gaps is something most of us learned on the job in the face of trying to figure out how to right a wrong.

If you or your colleagues want help moving towards greater pay transparency, a more clear approach to promotions, and/or what you can try when there appears to be a glass ceiling on your diversification efforts, feel free to reach out – trina@trinaolson.com - and I can problem-solve alongside you."

“How invested are you in being a protagonist?

While you think about that, I like this part of the definition of a protagonist, especially “one of the most prominent figures in a real situation.”

“Main character energy” feels part confidence, part focus, part willingness.

embodying “main character energy” is about earnest empowerment.”

“This week, it occurred to me there could be value in putting together a short piece highlighting other trailblazing women in U.S. public life.

That said, I thought it would be valuable to be reminded of the wisdom of some who have come before us. You are welcome, of course, to do your own deep dive on the powerful leaders I reference below.

• Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm

• Dolores Huerta

• Hillary Clinton

Shirley Chisholm was a total badass.”

“The Notes App on my phone is pretty wild.

I’m betting yours might be as well.

I thought in this week’s essay it could be of value to share some of the notes currently scribbled in my phone with light annotation and reflection.

From my Notes App – words, phrases, and ideas that have caught my attention recently:

•  “Tectonic shifts – as a frame and description” – Context = I was at the…

• “We’re not going to change the world with our opinions. We’re going to change the world with our art.” Context = musician and songwriter…

I hope the notes you’ve been keeping are as weird and as random as mine.”

“For me, a to-don’t list is a short list of things I want to be conscious and intentional about NOT doing.

MY CURRENT TO-DON’T LIST: 

• I am NOT going to ignore my body’s needs and signals.

• I am NOT going to engage in gossip or name-calling or making fun of or dehumanizing.

• I am NOT going to critique and complain without also offering viable alternative solutions or ideas.

• I am NOT going to change my…”

It is simply a tool to help you balance. There are things to do, and things not to do. Both seem wise. Treat this as an invitation into a different kind of conscious awareness and let me know how it feels and what you experience and learn in the process. Send me a note at trina@trinaolson.com.

“Well, shit. Living in the U.S. can feel pretty relentless, eh? There never seems to be a dull moment.

As I write this, we are just a handful of days out from Donald Trump getting shot in the ear during one of his campaign rallies in Pennsylvania. Biden weighed in with an Oval Office speech. The Republican National Convention happens in Milwaukee all this week.

It’s a lot.

And it’s always a lot.

It was already on my writing schedule to talk about what it feels like to be leaders in the time of political upheaval. So, this is not even in response to what has just happened or is continuing to unfold. I want to touch on this because as individual people inside a 300-million-person country, I think it is critical to feel empowered…”