Processing Each Set of Questions
In your conversation circles, take a few minutes to listen to the selected set of interviews and read the section together aloud. Then take 10 to 15 minutes to journal individually. Once everyone is finished, begin your time of sharing and listening. Take whatever amount of time is needed for everyone who wants to share to share. Remembering the Touchstones, feel free to offer an occasional “Honest, Open Question” but refrain from “fixing, saving, advising or correcting”. Most importantly, set a goal to listen deeply and develop deeper understanding of the others in your circle and of your own experiences.
Humanity…
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Click image above to listen to story…
In her interview clip titled “Where is Our Humanity” Robin White asks some important questions: “…society is continually prescribing how we perceive each other. I am still questioning what’s going on. Where, where’s our humanity? Why is our humanity missing? What are the consequences of humanity? What are the consequences for my respecting you or your respecting me or celebrating our differences? What can be so wrong with that?” Encompassing all of our individuality, our family and community identities, we are human beings. We share a humanity that makes us ALL family, whether we realize it or not. As Robin points out, there are consequences that come with extending our respect beyond our comfortable circles, consequences that come with celebrating differences rather than fearing them. Robin reminds us in another statement that is now one of the guiding phrases for this project, “…you must take care of the root for to heal the tree.” Our common root draws upon our common humanity.
- How do my unique, individual qualities, desires and values help me to connect with the universal qualities, desires and values of all of humanity? Do I seek to find common ground for diverse gifts to be shared, or do I seek differences in order to fearfully “uproot” them?
- To what degree does my empathy extend beyond my family and communities toward a broader sense of humanity? What actions am I taking within my family and community circles to model that sort of empathy?
- What might it look like for me to be a support for the common qualities, desires and values of all of humanity? What capacities for that support do I bring individually? What capacities does my family bring in support of that? What about the communities of which I’m a part?
- What key challenges exist within my family or community circles when it comes to our common connection with all of humanity? How do I need to challenge my circles to make this connection possible? How do I “take care of the root” so our tree can be healed?
This is the end of the “Intersectional Circles of Identity” unit.