Yesterday we did a thing. Our family hosted a visioning session with a group of other families where we shared our own process and invited folks to dream with us. For years we’ve been doing this as a family, and at times we’ve included others. But this felt different, like the start of something bigger than ourselves. This was the first time we put our practice out there for folks not necessarily in our inner circle. It was just an hour and we asked folks to bring their kids to participate. Our girls modeled through their own engagement, sharing their ideas throughout. We kept it simple (the best processes always are) and I used my whiteboard (of course). It felt like a purposeful and impactful use of our time, which juxtaposed with the other events of the day (MLK, the inauguration), also gave me a renewed sense of hope for how we might continue to find our way forward, together.

The activity followed three steps. First, we drew a winding path across the board (or a blank sheet of paper). This represents your journey, individually or as a family. I asked everyone to locate themselves somewhere on the roadmap depending on where you are in your journey. Then we drew a vertical line, separating our past from the future. We took a few minutes to mark the milestones of our past in whatever time increments made sense (some chose to focus on the past year, others their whole lifetime). Most families did their own drawing and compared notes which was fun and revealing. Second, we asked ourselves about our destinations up ahead. What story do you want to tell about your journey over the next few years? Who will you become? What will you accomplish? I invited everyone to draw their destinations, using pictures not words. This led to further revealing insights about how we were depicting our futures. Third, I asked, what is one step you can take today to move in the direction of your destinations?

We talked about how rituals can help build momentum and values can serve as our compass on our journey. We talked about saving this artifact of our drawing as a future roadmap to reflect back on. But most importantly, we shared an experience of agency, self-compassion, and community. Every journey is better with traveling companions. At the end we were all grateful to have had this experience together, and I hope, folks were excited to build momentum and make progress with their families. It felt like something tangible that we could offer, guidance and holding space as we each faced the uncertainty of the new year together.

Yesterday also marked the ironic convergence of the celebration of Dr. King’s legacy and a presidential inauguration that felt anything but hopeful at times. There was a lot of uncertainty four years ago, the world was in the grips of a pandemic and none of us knew how that story would end. Four years later, there’s still a lot of uncertainty but for different reasons. In both cases, the legacy of Dr. King who reminds us, the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice. We have choices to make about how we respond to this moment. I’m still trying to figure out how to bend that arc, and maybe that’s not my work alone. Perhaps, a part of my work is to help others develop their own roadmaps. In this way, the dream still lives on for each of us who are willing to get involved.

SDW3