by Viv Grant – Director & Founder – Integrity Coaching
This was the question I awoke with the day after attending the poignant vigil held in response to the tragic and untimely death of Professor Jason Arday.
Like many, since his death, my heart and soul have been wracked with grief. Another Black man, another brother, another father, another son, taken from this world as a result of the pernicious scourge of racism.
In the aftermath of his death, I found myself in an all too familiar place. Wanting to withdraw from the world. To retreat. To nurse my own wounded soul.
Finding Space to Grieve
And yet, some part of me knew that retreat alone would not be enough. I needed to be somewhere where I could be in communion with my grief.
In seeking to find a way to heal, I took myself to the Chelsea Physic Garden in South London. Although I have lived in London all my life, I had only recently discovered this place of beauty and solitude.
Finding a quiet place to rest, I took out my pen and a small notebook. The blank pages offered a welcome for my grief, anger, pain and frustration. As I wrote, I became acutely aware of my surroundings and the beauty before me. In a garden well attended, loved, cared for and nurtured, in spite of this summer’s heatwave, nature was not in retreat. Nature was thriving. Still blossoming. Still pushing forward. In that moment, a thought struck me: we, as humans, can be capable of the most heinous of crimes, racism being one of them. But not nature. When nature is respected, loved and cared for, as climate activists will attest, she gives freely and abundantly. She thrives. She flourishes.
Flourishing as a Birthright
And sitting there, with the garden alive around me, I wondered again what it might mean for us to live as though flourishing were not the privilege of a few, but the birthright of all.
Sadly, we forget that we, as humans, are part of nature too. We, our children, our children’s children, Jason Arday’s children and their grandchildren, deserve to live in a world where love is the dominant currency and all are supported to thrive.
When I returned to the question in my head, I looked to my bookshelf and realised the phrase “The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible” belongs to the author Charles Eisenstein and his 2013 book of the same title. To dare to dream of that more beautiful world is to ask each and every one of us to have the courage to love more, to care more, to respect more, and to ensure that the bonds of our shared humanity do not become any more frayed or broken by the hateful lies peddled by racism.
Humanity deserves more.
Where the Work Begins Again
Perhaps this is where the work begins again. Not in grand declarations, but in the daily choice to tend to one another, to refuse the lies that diminish our shared humanity, and to keep alive the dream of a world in which all of us can flourish.
If your heart has been stirred by recent events and you are seeking a way to build a culture of true inclusivity and belonging, then I’d love to have a conversation. This is what Integrity Coaching has always been about. And now, more than ever, it feels as though the world is crying out for each of us to be the change. For each of us to play our part in ushering in that more beautiful world our hearts know is possible.
A gentle conversation
If you think you would benefit from a quiet, confidential conversation, please do get in touch.
