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Dear Reader,
I’ve been thinking a lot about breakdowns lately. I just turned 42, a wonderful age to be, but also squarely in “midlife.” I’m feeling my way through the crises this time can bring.
My personal grappling with middle age is happening in the context of much more serious and large-scale crises in the world. The damage done by systemic oppression and the failures of capitalism are signposts that the choices made by society’s power holders are not sustainable. We’re headed for a breakdown—if we’re not there already.
I’ve drawn comfort in my personal life from Alain de Botton’s book “School of Life: An Emotional Education” which is quoted at length in this piece on the value of breakdowns to uncover what is wrong. “We haven’t become ill; we were ill already. Our crisis, if we can get through it, is an attempt to dislodge us from a toxic status quo and constitutes an insistent call to rebuild our lives on a more authentic and sincere basis.”
In short, a breakdown can lead to a much-needed breakthrough. Getting people to see major crises as a call to action to “dislodge us from a toxic status quo” is a tall order. Yet, it is a critical challenge for all social justice communicators to take on. This helps us all expose what isn’t working and move toward a better world.
In this newsletter, we highlight ways—from work schedules to grant making—we can move from potential breakdowns to breakthroughs. I hope you enjoy it—and take heart.
All my best,
Sara Veltkamp
Partner and Vice President, Minerva Strategies |
