It has been a year. I will not recap 2021 because it is coming to an end. An elder told me that I must decide what to take with me and what to leave, this is for everything in life from teaching a class and missing students when I no longer get to see them every week, to leaving a job or a big dream behind… Here are a few things I will take with me from 2021.
Balance in all things from work to parenting and research and writing or leading a team.
Knowledge that not everyone cares about the same worthy and just causes.
Understanding that when we look at others it is easier to point out their mistakes, wrongdoings, errors, omissions, and faults than to see our own.
Peace of knowing that we did our best this year at AKA from delivering on contracts to recruiting students and adapting resources and publications to meet the needs of the diverse communities we serve.
Silence that comes after a big project or book is completed. The space in the day that opens up when the work is no longer there and our mind’s desire to fill that space with more work and thinking, and the push back of the spirit, knowing that rest is needed.
A deeply known and felt belief of a recovery generation… we can either join the recovery generation or watch it go by like a passenger on a Greyhound bus traveling across the US. The choice is yours and mine.
Strength of seeing women leaders in power literally change communities, families, norms, and systems. From Dr. Annie Belcourt in the 2021 Indian Country Today article urging us to create violence free futures within Native communities and Kellie Webb leading a recovery movement and healing generation on the Wind River Reservation and elders like Dr. Dee Big Foot leading a national suicide prevention center at the University of Oklahoma.
What will you take with you from 2021?
As we end this eventful year, we must focus our intentions on 2022. I believe that prayer is one way that our intentions are set or communicated to the creator. My prayers for 2022 are simple, really. My personal prayer is to continue my own recovery journey and expand concepts of healing beyond traditional ways of knowing, thinking, being, or even evaluating. Within this journey, balance, connection, direction, and support must be granted and received.
My prayers for our team at AKA that we continue to serve communities and live up to the principles we have established for ourselves and our work. Our work is hard, demanding, rewarding, and not for the easily discouraged or faint at heart. It is mission focused, and vision led. My prayer has always been that the right people come to us to fulfill the vision we have to transform, serve, and heal.
Prayers for our clients must also be heard and intentioned… There are many. Strength to continue the work, it can be difficult and overwhelming. Support from community leaders. Continued funding and financial resources to provide the best possible services and care to individuals in need. Confidence and direction to make difficult decisions. Inspiration and empowerment to bridge gaps in health equity, racism, discrimination, and social determinants of health. Vision for the possibilities of what programming could be.
Prayers for the world…Healing from COVID-19. A recovery generation leads the way. Climate change solutions implemented, and impacts begin to slow. Health equity. Renewal. Peace.
What are your prayers and intentions for 2022?
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