Different kinds of inspiration
I briefly visited a Freedom School today, and it was a joyous but jolting experience.
Freedom Schools are summer programs devoted to the underprivileged youth of Kansas City. Part summer school, part self-esteeming building, part community development, the Freedom Schools shine a beacon of light in what could be stagnant and desperate situations.
I watched the radiant faces of college students singing, clapping, and affirming the adorable children. Raw, genuine, compelling, hopeful. The strength and courage of the group was laced with unspoken urgency, but I felt more desperate than those singing-clapping-shouting children.
As much as I wanted to join this group of children...to sing, to learn, to dream...I was an outsider. I wore the uniform of "other." I resolved to come in jeans and a t-shirt next time (the interns are visiting another Freedom School in July). I tried to analyze the techniques the college facilitators used to engage the children, but that was partially to cover the pain of not being able to join.
But I learned a valuable lesson about different kinds of inspiration. There is the inspiration of seeing the big picture and initiating ripples in the fabric of our institutions. This is the inspiration of leverage and vision. There is also an inspiration of presence...where the ripples of my efforts would be the laughter erupting on the faces of children. The launching of dreams. The joy of play.
While I do not see this as an either/or situation, I do feel that Life is giving me more feedback on where my deep joys* lie....and where the world needs me.
Onward!
* Frederick Buechner defines vocation "as the place where our deep joys and the world's deep needs meet."
Freedom Schools are summer programs devoted to the underprivileged youth of Kansas City. Part summer school, part self-esteeming building, part community development, the Freedom Schools shine a beacon of light in what could be stagnant and desperate situations.
I watched the radiant faces of college students singing, clapping, and affirming the adorable children. Raw, genuine, compelling, hopeful. The strength and courage of the group was laced with unspoken urgency, but I felt more desperate than those singing-clapping-shouting children.
As much as I wanted to join this group of children...to sing, to learn, to dream...I was an outsider. I wore the uniform of "other." I resolved to come in jeans and a t-shirt next time (the interns are visiting another Freedom School in July). I tried to analyze the techniques the college facilitators used to engage the children, but that was partially to cover the pain of not being able to join.
But I learned a valuable lesson about different kinds of inspiration. There is the inspiration of seeing the big picture and initiating ripples in the fabric of our institutions. This is the inspiration of leverage and vision. There is also an inspiration of presence...where the ripples of my efforts would be the laughter erupting on the faces of children. The launching of dreams. The joy of play.
While I do not see this as an either/or situation, I do feel that Life is giving me more feedback on where my deep joys* lie....and where the world needs me.
Onward!
* Frederick Buechner defines vocation "as the place where our deep joys and the world's deep needs meet."
posted by meg @ 8:27 AM
2 Comments:
At 4:27 PM,
bluwhisper said…
I've been thinking about this lately. I come across the statistics with indicate people our age are volunteering but not voting, and I worry a little about that. It's as if we've decided to let the powers that be do what they want to do, while we run around in our individual lives and in our small communities trying to deal with the repercussions.
I guess I'm not saying anything different really than what you wrote; I agree that we desperately need enthusiastic and local implementation combined with large institutional and structural changes.
But maybe I am one of those people who feel a need to try to work on the bigger picture. I’ve tried volunteering, and I don’t find it all that gratifying. In fact, I become more frustrated. I suppose I end up feeling like I’ve been enlisted to help stop a flood by plugging a hole in the wall with my index finger. Soon, I’ve got all my fingers stuck in gaps in the concrete, and all I can see are the new leaks springing up all around me…
Maybe I don't know what I'm trying to say here. That analogy is kind of dismal. I just get the feeling that we could be so much more effective if we...diverted the water before it hit town.
At 1:55 PM,
meg said…
Fantastic, Hannah! Thank you for your comment!
I also am very certain that my place is not somewhere like a Freedom School - even though I was deeply moved.
I have stumbled into an environment where I'm working with members of the powers at be. They have an acute understanding of politics and policy (which I don't). There is also the focus on research AND action (good discipline for me).
That coupled with the intention to empower others (thru entrepreneurship and education) is itself empowering.
Our President cited a quote that says, "You always overestimate what you can do in a year, but you'll be amazed by what you accomplish in five."
Do not lose hope. There are people looking at the big picture. :)
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