How We Respond When Hate Calls
With our country’s divided reality, it’s more important than ever for us to lean towards each other, build bridges across difference, and choose each other even when things are hard.
This is our values-aligned approach at The Teaching Well, but our work will not always land. We’ve learned that some may even be willing to actively oppose our efforts, especially programming aimed at racial healing. Recently, our Executive Director, Lindsey, had an encounter that caused us to pause, put into practice what we teach, and reflect strategically on how to move forward in safe, strategic ways.
As you’ll recall in Episode 4 of Gather at The Well, Navigating Uncertainty, we discussed the process of “Me, We, World” when working to address a crisis or major event. In this special podcast episode, When Hate Calls, Lindsey reflects on her wellbeing progression aimed at stabilizing her nervous system in the face of a threat so that she could take responsive action as the organizational leader. Called a “Continuous Replenishment Cycle,” it invites us through a four step process that can be utilized as often as needed in the face of a high intensity incident.
Step 1- Meet your Basic Needs: sometimes in the face of a real or perceived crisis, our frontal lobe goes offline, we numb or escalate, and it causes us to disregard our body’s cues. It’s essential to tend to yourself in these moments to ensure you have the fuel to focus on what’s most important.
Step 2- Rebalance through Somatic Practices: As an added layer of wellbeing and regrounding, engaging in somatic practices (anything that supports your mind, body, and/or spirit) can be an important way to recenter yourself, anchor in your values, and find a path forward.
Step 3- Do the Work: The “work” varies depending on the incident, but there are so many steps to take after a major event. From planning and meetings to communications and documentation, the sudden and important to dos require you to be in your brilliance.
Step 4- Activate Community Support: Human beings are social by nature and healing is most complete with support. You don’t have to navigate this challenge in a silo- reach out to personal and professional connections to engage in co-regulation and community.
As we work to articulate our protective policy for The Teaching Well, we’ve shared below our initial brainstorm on safety strategies that we are putting into effect. This is not an exhaustive list, nor will it ever prepare us for every nuanced challenge we face, but we are change leaders and want to create an open-source artifact as a starting point for both our team, as well as others.
*If your organization has an office, there is likely law or labor codes in your state or federal that would dictate additional precautions or required states. If this is a surprise to you, it’s likely time to engage in some research.
Hard things happen and one thing we’re confident in is that when an urgent matter arises, it’s a relief when you can lean on a policy, system, or practice. Just like fire drills, we plan and practice for emergencies so that when they occur, we have guidance and safety measures in place.
The work we’re all doing is too important to be derailed, invest in your staff and organization’s protective policies so that you can continue to get into good trouble.