Weeknotes #47: Insane Realities

A permission note to be maddened by seeking justice

You are reading Coaching Weeknotes by Roxana Bacian: explorations at the intersection of inner-growth, coaching practice and organisational change-work.

If you look at the pictures of any acknowledged tyrant of modern times when they were a child do you see the evil that came after in their eyes? The corollary of that is that Good and greatness are similarly circumstantial in nature; personal choice can amplify, direct or dampen what is an emergent property of multiple interactions over time. For all of us there are bifurcation points at which we can make choices but few are saintly enough, or evil enough to break a wider pattern of social interaction and the dominant tropes of their society.

- Dave Snowden, The banality of measurement

If you needed permission to go mad at how things are, this note is for you.

Denial, Doubt, Woman in Gold, Spotlight, She Said, Dark Waters, Painkiller

These are all hollywood movies I watch. In a nutshell, they’re all about real life stories where people try to change the system/do the good thing but get a rough ride and the dent on the system is infitessimal. I’m fascinated by what keeps people going. When I watch these movies, I get pumped up by the martyrdom and I brush over the moments when the protagonists doubt the endeavour.

I’m currently in a moment of feeling the real impact of choosing to seek justice, on a personal level. I don’t I like it very much. It feels like an insane proposition both to try and not try to change things. Toni Morrisson says ‘evil is boring and predictable; good is compelling.’ I really like that word, compelling. It makes choosing good not as much a moral choice but an intellectual delight. Or how about choosing good from a biological pull, a body that can no longer contain the rage, the pervasiveness and silent insanity of injustice.

The magnitude of our task is undeniable, no matter which injustice we are personally and collectively reckoning with. But I wonder what gets lost if we resist this call to change? Is that resisting to let all of life really in?

And yet, perhaps, in that gargantous and faintly rewarded pursuit of justice; we might encounter a new relationship with living that has far less to do with security and way more to do with actually being alive which also means contorting, twisting, wrenching.

This week learning with:
Entering the Challenge Zone, Pema Chodron (video)
Dealing With Despair, Meg Wheatley (audio)
Stumbling can be lovely, Devin Kelly, LongReads (essay)

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Organisational Partner

I'm currently available for new projects and/or roles with a focus on social impact leadership, organisational culture and health, relational approaches to the development of collaborative and compassionate teams.

I am an associate with two leading coaching organisations in the UK supporting leaders to deliver strategic, structural and cultural change through 1-2-1 and organisational coaching sessions. Insured, ICF Associate Certified Coach with 5 yrs+ experience with clients across UK/Europe/Australia.

You can learn more about my approach and previous work on my website.

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