Igniting and Preserving Joy
While I live in Los Angeles County, on Saturday night, I heard an explosion of joy that came all the way from New York City. After 53 years, the New York Knicks finally won the NBA championship.
What followed on my social media feed and tv were video after video of New Yorkers in huge city-wide celebration. “My mayor Muslim, my bagel Jewish, the Pope’s on our side, KNICKS IN FIVE” went the viral sensation MD Ahnaf Hossain as his earlier future forecasting became the truth of the day. I was delighted to see people of so many different backgrounds coming together for pure celebration. In one video you can see hundreds upon hundreds of New Yorkers on every street and balcony singing “Empire State of Mind” by Alicia Keys and Jay-Z.
As I watched this diverse array of people vibe together, I was reminded of a truth I have held close to my heart: Igniting and preserving joy is as important to the multiracial, multicultural project as inciting anger is to the segregationist project.
As many of you know, multiracial community building carries so much joy. It’s not that it isn’t complex; I have dedicated an entire life to helping people navigate that complexity. But when it comes together to work, it is truly nourishing for the human spirit. That joy can move mountains and I fear we struggle to make it central to our work of bringing people together to change big consequential things.
We fear being corny or cringe to our own detriment. We say things like “Let’s get to the ‘real’ work” or “We don’t have time for all that” - as if keeping people tethered to each other and believing in what can be isn’t ¾ of the work! Change work is a work of spirit. I’m not saying it's religious, but I do believe it works with hearts and touches the feelings we have few words for.
So today friends, I’m in your inbox as your neighborhood evangelist for celebration and joy encouraging you to create space for it this week. Here are four possibilities:
Have a team dance break: You can either all take the time to do a 3 minute dance break together, or make it an ice breaker where each person does one dance move and the entire team replicates it
Hold space for team celebrations: Choose a meeting and have your team call out the things that are worth celebrating from the last week, month, and/or year. Make the celebrations specific and focus not just what happened but its positive impact on folks.
Create a celebration wall: Where the week's task is to put post-its up every time you are struck with gratitude for a teammate. Then all read the post-its together at the end of the week.
Show and tell: That’s right, you read that correctly! Bring back the childhood hits. Ask folks to bring an emblem of some kind that represents a truly joyful moment in their lives and share out together.
Joy can provide rest, respite, energy for the road ahead, and hope. It is an important part of what we create. We cannot treat it as if it is casually expendable or an annoyance. We must give joy its rightful place and centrality in the work of community and institution building.
Yes, it is hard right now, harder than many of us have ever experienced. Yes, the path can be ugly and dispiriting. Joy cannot be the exclusion of our lived reality. However, in the middle of all that we still hold the laughter and elation of everyday moments and we are still fighting for each other – as far as I’m concerned – that makes us quite the miracle.
In community,
Karla
