We were sitting quietly together in her office after a full day of strategic planning meetings when she turned to me and said, “Geery, would you be willing to carry our song for the next couple of years?”
I paused, and then responded, “I am not sure I understand what you asking me to do.”
She continued: “The next 2-3 years are going to be rough for us as an organization. The current economic environment is not going to be kind. Furthermore, the funding sources for this non-profit are going to be a complete mess.
And in the midst of it all, we will just be putting one step in front of the other, hoping we can survive. Somewhere in the upcoming trough of chaos, which actually may become a Grand Canyon of Crazy, we may forget who we are and what we believe in.
As you can guess, we will be focused on solving day to day problems. We will be trying to keep the doors open. But along the way, our song may be lost. Someone has to carry our story, and to care for our mission, vision and core values. Someone has be the keeper and reminder of what’s most important. And I wonder if you can be the person.
You were with us when we defined our original mission, vision and core values. You were with us when we created our first strategic plan which got us to this point many years later. While the external world has gone bizarrely wacky, I need to know that there is one person in the world, other than myself, who will hold on to our story, our journey, in essence our song. And when the time comes, who will return here, and remind us of what is most important, who will remind us of the impact of this mission, who will remind us that we are changing lives, not just doing a job.”
“I would be honored to carry your song,” I replied. “I will hum it to myself on a regular basis so it will not be forgotten. And then, one day in the future, I will return and sing it back to all of you. I will teach the survivors, who make it through the Grand Canyon of Crazy, this song and remind them to lift up their voices and sing it out loud and often.”
“Thanks. It is going to be quite a difficult journey during the coming weeks, months, and more likely years.”
About two and a half years later, I sat down with the senior team and then the following day with all the employees during two in-services to share with them the story of their mission, vision and core values. I recounted the day I facilitated the discussion when the mission, vision, and core values were created. I talked about the depth of dialogue, sharing, and deep reflection that took place on that particular day. I explained how a single word in the mission statement was debated and explored in-depth so that it could capture exactly what the people writing the mission statement felt and thought.
Over the course of these three meetings, there were many light bulb moments when people understood the “why” behind the normal day to day “what” and “how” of running the business. People looked at the pathway from that meeting many years before to the day we met, and understood why certain operational and strategic choices were made.
For me, it was a moving experience to “carry their song,” and to bring it back to them in the form of a story, a feeling, and an experience. It made the history come alive, and people recognized the importance of being mission-drive and vision-led.
Recently, I have been thinking about this request and the resulting experience that happened many years ago. The memory of it was triggered by a line in a book called Poet Warrior: A Memoir (W.W. Norton & Company, 22021) by Joy Harjo, the first Native American to serve as U.S. poet laureate. As she wrote, “I was born before cell phones and computers, before the proliferation of devices installed with memory, which prompt the user to forget.”
I also was born before cell phones, computers, and memory chips. If it was important to know, we memorized it or wrote it down. But, I think there is a deeper message taking place in the above quote based on the phrase that reads “which prompt the user to forget.” I think our cell phones and computers can be helpful, but I also believe they can cause us to be reactive. They frequently do not support us to think deeply and to reflect holistically about important things like our personal mission or purpose. I have one client who referred to this level of work as “exploring our legacy values”, i.e. the important things and people in our life that transcend the pressures of the moment.
Furthermore, I believe we have lost touch with who or whom carry our songs, be it at the personal level, the family level, or the community level. In the time period before cell phones and computers, this act of carrying our songs was shared through story telling in large and small group settings. In the beginning, it happened around the camp fire. People gathered to hear others share their personal stories. It was a collective experience of the tribe or clan that bonded them and helped them put things into perspective.
Now, I believe this happens around the kitchen or dining room tables. Over good food or drink, people share stories, memories and history. They recount times gone by and lessons learned along life’s journey. This is slow sharing rather than fast reacting.
While cell phones and computers are immediate forms of sharing, they capture the moment. But simultaneously, that which is captured is just as quickly forgotten for the next big thing. Story telling in groups, on the other hand, is slow sharing. It takes time, space, and connection with ourselves and others.
And it is not just the sharing of the story that is important. It is the experience of sharing the story that matters. People find bonds with each other and with the story by being together. The outcome is that the memory of the experience is more holistic and unifying rather than reactive and transitory. In essence, in-person story telling creates an experiencing of being welcomed and belonging.
Yet, there is something deeper going on with story telling. I think it binds us together and helps us recognize our shared humanity and our shared challenges with living, loving, and working. It points out that we are more similar than dissimilar, and that our difficulties are shared by many other people. It helps us to remember that each of us are carrying a song that is an important part of the larger choir gathered on this earth at this time period.
During the current and upcoming challenges before us at this time, I encourage all of us to do three things. First, find your song and sing it out loud. Second, be a song carrier for others who are struggling. Finally, have the courage to sit down and tell your story about how you discovered your song and how and why you are carrying a song for others. When we take these steps together, we are creating a foundation of perspective, integrity, and growth for all involved, including ourselves. And this is a powerful act that transforms the world and creates hope and resilience on so many levels, the very things we need as we move forward to together.
© Geery Howe 2023
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