Humanly Possible Part I: Questions and AFGEs

It has been a while since I posted, as I have been working on several interrelated ideas.  In an effort to start moving those thoughts from my head and into the cyber-world, I am using this post as an introduction to the experiences and questions that I have been chewing on over the past couple of months.  Just for clarification, this post is not meant to be a metaphysical quandary about what we can achieve if we simply visualize a better world or life; but, rather, is intended as a jumping off point for a more practical dialogue. Subsequent posts in this series will be written in a more concrete and less philosophical vein, and will share external resources and solutions that I have come across while mulling over the contemplations you will read below.  

 

'We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face... we must do that which we think we cannot.'  - Eleanor Roosevelt

'Only one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole strength and soul can be a true master. For this reason mastery demands all of a person.' - Albert Einstein

Earlier this year, I went to watch an acrobatic and dance performance with a dear friend.  It was breath-taking; and as we discussed the routines post-show, we wondered about how it could be “humanly possible” to do what these performers did.  They had practiced, refined, developed and adapted to be able to use their bodies in a manner that most of us have trouble conceptualizing.  About a month after this performance, I watched another show that came into town, the mighty storm Sandy.   New Yorkers now talk frequently about Sandra - the unexpected power of the wind and water, and the residual and insidious effects of stress on individuals and communities. We also discuss the surprising responses to the storm, for good and for bad - the government entities and communities that rose to the challenge in truly inspiring ways, but also fell far short in other ways.  Over that past year, I also experienced a personal crisis that has reframed much of how I think about public and social policy; and given me a heightened sensitivity to pain, struggle, and possibility in the world around me. As I healed from my hurts, I discovered that my personal strength and resources were deeper and more responsive than I had imagined.  I also re-learned that developing some strength is directly correlated with an active acknowledgement of current limitations.

Which leads me to these questions: What is humanly possible?  How do we effectively access our potential, while recognizing our restrictions?  How do we move past apathy, complexity, and pain to meet the major challenges in our world?

When someone in our family is going through a difficult time, we comfort each other with the wisdom of my grandfather: “You are so much stronger than you think or know you are.”   It may not seem like the most comforting thing to say, but it is very supportive.  The support comes in the acknowledgement that the burden being carried is scary, heavy and difficult and that no one else can truly carry your burden for you.  This support is an encouragement that, even if you need to stop and gather your strength, the strength and resources are already there to utilize. It is a way of calling out resiliency with a simple statement.  It is like the deep, directed breath that an athlete takes in, to remind the body that it is an interconnected system with oxygen and blood available to build and catalyze the muscle and stamina for the current challenge.  We have another saying in my family during times of struggle, a code word of sorts, AFGE (Another Fucking Growth Experience).  We say it to each other to avoid taking things too seriously; but also to focus on the lessons to be gained and not the problem alone.  So, how can we take this same approach to acknowledge societal challenges, and activate our shared strengths and resources to meet those challenges? How do we utilize our societal AFGEs to move forward and achieve more?

In the arenas of social policy, public health, and international development, we essentially focus on how to make the world a “better” place (trite and corny as that may look): more equitable, safer, more productive, with more liberty, more justice, etc.  Yet, we fall short of our aspirations - we move slower than we anticipated, we miscalculate interrelated dynamics, we are unprepared for events that derail our progress, we inefficiently allocate resources and we create unnecessary obstacles. It is essential to acknowledge our struggles and limitations in order to move past them; but there is also a danger that we might use this acknowledgement as an excuse for complacency and inaction. 
In short, we are limited, but we can do so much more with the resources we already have – History has shown evidence of this capacity; we are stronger and better than we think we are. 

Here are some of the limitations to effective social policy that I hope to address in subsequent posts, as we consider how to leverage our collective strengths to more fully meet the challenges in front of us:

o   Imagination and innovation – Seeing beyond what currently exists

o   Physical laws – Real barriers like hurricanes, climate change, and disease do exist

o   Big picture perspective – Humans have limited capacity to see all the variables at play and how they interrelate at any given moment

o   Personal needs – People are motivated and hindered by complex individual realities: financial, emotional, psychological, familial, ego needs

o   Coordinating resources– There are many efforts and resources that could be used and coordinated more efficiently if the time and resources existed to coordinate them  (now that is a conundrum!)

What are your thoughts?  I’d love to hear them!