Once...

I am pausing to acknowledge thoughts (nascent humming and frequent banging) that tie our troubled US history with the Nurtured Heart Approach. There’s a chasm I am compelled to bridge between feeling it and finding words. The Lynching Memorial and the work of Bryan Stevenson, and Brené Brown's vision, including a live Facebook message from  eight months ago, are paving the way with images and language. I urge you to follow the links I've highlighted as I find my voice.

In the United States we have a well documented history of power over measures that silence and oppress. NHA offers us the opportunity to rewire ourselves personally, which means it offers the same opportunity culturally. I see Bryan Stevenson an Brené Brown encouraging us to take a collective breath to inhale the negativity and wrongs, to own the story, and use the energy to improve, one small step at a time. The negativity of punishment will not serve us. I am grateful for these leaders who urge us forward. 

From: A Lynching Memorial Is Opening. The Country Has Never Seen Anything Like It.

People do not want to admit wrongdoing in America, Mr. Stevenson said, because they expect only punishment.
 
“I’m not interested in talking about America’s history because I want to punish America,” Mr. Stevenson continued. “I want to liberate America. And I think it’s important for us to do this as an organization that has created an identity that is as disassociated from punishment as possible.”

One step, one word at a time, let's use NHA and own the story.