Are we ready to listen?
Tears filled my eyes as I listened again to the girl who silenced the world for 5 minutes speak to the UN. Her name is Severn Cullis-Suzuki, and her first speech, so articulate and powerfully delivered, was given at a U.N. assembly in Brazil when she was twelve years old. She is a wise leader.
That was in 1992. Her words are at least as relevant today as they were then. Watching this video of 12-year old Severn again, I found myself moved in a new way. (Almost 30 years later, Greta Thunberg gave her first very powerful call-to-action at TEDX in November 2018. She later spoke at the UN on the same topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY_S7n3jkkU. What is Severn thinking and feeling as she listens to Greta’s urgency, and yet more desecration continues?)
Severn is now 39. She is a wise woman leader, activist, and organizer who cares and finds the courage to speak from her heart. Powerful!
After the video ended, I asked myself, what is mine to say and am I expressing it? Suddenly I am curious – where do I lack the courage to speak with this kind of forthright honesty and care? Where do I hold back what I know to be true? What uncomfortable questions do I keep myself from asking?
In my desire to keep things “nice” and peaceful I know that sometimes I do all of these. While I believe in right timing and right dosage for any communication, I also want to be sure that I am speaking up and saying what needs to be said in my life and work. And, I want to say it in such a way that my family, colleagues, readers, and clients hear me and it begins a dialogue that helps us make a change or take the next step.
A colleague once gave me a great suggestion: “speak in such a way that the other person will be thrilled to hear what you have to say.” That’s a hard assignment—to combine what I need to say with what I want to say, all in a way that is caring, compassionate, in connection, and moving us forward instead of inciting a reaction. Whew. I have some learning to do.
I appreciate the authentic communication from this young girl. What do you most want to say? Are you saying it?