Peace of word

Monday morning’s yoga mantra was: Peace of thought, Peace of word, Peace of heart. It seemed as good a start to the week as any.

My younger self never saw it coming that my middle aged self would have a yoga mantra. Just as my middle aged self never saw it coming that there’s a Venn diagram overlap between the yoga wellness community and anti-vaxxer, conspiracy types. What does my old aged self have in store? Best not dwell.

Anyway, later that same day, I learned that the traditional Gaelic feast day of Imbolc, a celebration of the lengthening days, is celebrated at the beginning of February, as is Candlemas, the Christian version, and Groundhog Day. How apt.

Some internet wormholes later, I hauled myself back up into the light having stopped off at Betelgeuse, an ageing red supergiant star, which is usually the tenth-brightest in the night sky until it started dimming in 2019.

Star-gazing has often helped me through times of sadness. Focusing on the vastness of the universe helps to make me and my pain seem smaller, and more manageable, in comparison.

But, don’t get me wrong, grief mustn’t be minimised. Taking the time to discuss and mourn our losses is hugely important. The almost unimaginable numbers of Covid deaths can’t take away from the enormous individual impact of each death. As Elif Shafak says in her piece this week for the New Statesman,

We will carry on, but not immediately and not the way we did before. We must first break the walls of silence, allow this collective pain and hurt to be heard, honour grief, and give time to those saplings in the forest to grow.

This week, Fundraising Chat, the Facebook group for the charity fundraising community that I founded with Lesley Pinder in 2015 tipped over 15,000 members. It’s a brilliant community of people helping people. It’s the only reason I’m still on Facebook which isn’t so brilliant 😬

Talking of fundraising, I really enjoyed the Fixing Fundraising podcast this week which features Vu Le & Michelle Muri. They chat about their work to transform fundraising and philanthropy to ground them in racial equity, rather than the current situation which is white fundraisers talking to white donors and adhering to white norms.

As fundraisers and leaders in philanthropy, we can engage in the hard work of re-examining the spaces we take up and ensure that they are spaces we belong in. We can do the even harder work of ceding that space to the people who should have owned it all along, but were purposely prevented from inhabiting it

Whether you’re a fundraiser or not, it’s worth your time.

Links that caught my eye this week

I came across the Fakequity web site and tools: “Fakequity is bad. It shows up as all talk and no action.”

Associated Press changes writing style to capitalize ''b'' in Black: from last year but a handy explainer

Your Black friends are busy: a growing resource for learning about anti-racism

Here are Six LGBT+ sportspeople you should know more about

What am I reading? 📚

I’ve just started Primo Levi’s The Periodic Table.

What am I watching? 👀

I watched the Trial of the Chicago 7 and also this short film about the true story behind it the other day. Based on the trial of the activists involved in what had been intended to be a peaceful anti-war protest at the 1968 Democratic National Convention but which turned into a violent clash with police and the National Guard.

What am I listening to?👂

I enjoyed listening to the Here Right Now podcast this week, featuring Derek Gow, the “renegade rewilder.” He talks about what we can each do to help our planet recover, even those of us without enormous estates in Sussex like Knepp.

Knepp is amazing though.

Joy-giving things 😍

Have a lovely weekend. Go wild.

Lots of love

Lucy

I write this newsletter because I believe in sharing progressive ideas that help us work towards a truly equal world.

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ChangeOut is created by Lucy Caldicott. You can find more about my work at ChangeOut.org. If you’re looking to have a chat about culture, leadership, purpose, equity, or a facilitated team discussion about any of those things, get in touch. You can also find me on Bluesky, Instagram, and, LinkedIn.

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