Guest post by Sara Taggart, Global Grassroots
Dear Friends,
Over the years, and increasingly so, folks interested in Global Grassroots have asked, “How does your work connect to the issues of climate change?”
With Earth Day approaching, we have been thinking a lot about this question. While Global Grassroots did not start as an “environmental” organization, we certainly believed (and continue to see) that the root causes of so many issues faced by the grassroots women we ally with are intertwined with their ecological contexts.
This became increasingly clear as teams began to focus on sustainable access to clean water as a strategy for addressing multiple barriers to wellbeing, from health and hygiene to gender-based violence to childhood nutrition to economic and educational inequality.
At our recent Wisdom Lab presentation, Women, Water & Wisdom: Mapping the Ripple Effects of Conscious Social Change in Rural Rwanda, we shared different ways that women changemakers are creating sustainable solutions to the challenge of water scarcity in their villages.
As the chart below illustrates, when teams create a water source that is clean, close to home, safe to access, affordable and available in the dry season, the interdependent processes by which community members experience positive changes in health, nutrition, gender equality, education, family harmony, economic well-being, and even infrastructure development are profound.
Conscious Social Change in Action – Principle #4: Engage Mindfully
Last month we looked at the importance of ensuring balance within ourselves, so we can be more present in the moment and more effective in our interactions with others.
As we cultivate the capacities of mindfulness, we become adept at setting aside ego, assumptions, and bias to inquire and listen. We are less likely to think our way is the only viewpoint, less likely to create division and blame, and more likely to seek out understanding across difference so as to identify common ground.
Drawing from a broader set of perspectives and inviting greater participation across whole eco-systems gives us a more comprehensive understanding of an issue and stakeholder needs, ideas, and priorities, which we can use in collaboratively designing for change.
Mindfulness trains us to look at reality with greater curiosity.
Instead of seeing failure, mindfulness encourages us to examine circumstances with an eagerness to learn so that we evolve our solutions for greater efficacy. Rather than getting fixated on pushing forward our own narrow agenda or thinking it is all up to us to fix, mindfulness drives us to lead with more openness, question our thinking, seek out more diverse expertise, and be willing to compromise as a strategy towards progress.
This fuels innovation and drives sustainability, informed by all voices who are more likely to feel a level of ownership in a creative solution’s outcomes, rather than an unwilling subject of its implementation.
The goal of conscious social change should really be the sustainable wellbeing for all, including quality of life, economic, social, mental, spiritual, physical, and material wellbeing, as defined by the person themselves.
It is thus critical to ensure the poor, vulnerable, marginalized, and exploited should come first and lead the process of defining and achieving wellbeing for themselves. We ask what is helpful and determine our unique way to serve as an ally – not overly control, not abdicate control, but partner.
We use presence to stay attuned to the changing needs of those we aim to serve, so we do not stay stuck on our own agenda or abuse our power. This transformational paradigm is inner-driven with a focus on serving the highest common good. Finally, conscious social change invites us to examine our role in the systems that uphold the status quo too.
What we didn’t know for sure – or at least didn’t have the words to explain – was how Global Grassroots’ mindfulness-based model might be having an additional impact on the inner qualities of the women changemakers and their community members, particularly in nurturing the kinds of mindsets we may all need in order to navigate increasingly daunting climate crises, wherever we happen to be born or live.
Participants in our Ripple Effects Mapping inquiry pointed to powerful changes — such as an increased sense of agency, compassion, individual and community resilience, collaboration, solidarity and a sense of belonging — all of which seem to be contributing to the sustainability of their efforts and a recurring theme of optimism and hope for the future.
While we cannot yet prove that Global Grassroots’ Conscious Social Change model is causing these shifts, participants’ reflections on their lives over the past six years gives us real reason for HOPE as well!
Over the coming week on social media, leading up to Earth Day on April 22, we will share key insights, photos, and mindfulness practices to help illuminate the connections between the work of these amazing women and our collective global responsibility to secure a healthy, safe, vibrant and sustainable planet for ALL of our children’s children, and beyond.
Practices to Help Us Engage Mindfully
Deep Listening – One of the most powerful practices we can develop is learning how to listen, really listen, to others. This can be much harder than it sounds. It can require that we set aside the many possible distractions outside of ourselves (devices, noises, etc.). But the real work comes in setting aside the distractions within ourselves as we tune into what another is telling us. Try this during your next important conversation:
- Take a deep breath in, and an even longer exhale
- Relax the muscles of your face and jaw
- Allow your breath to slow as you begin to absorb what someone is saying to you
- As they speak, notice when your mind has wandered away. Are you thinking about what you will say next?
- Without self-judgment, gently lead your mind back to the present moment (feel your feet on the ground, or press two fingers firmly together)
- Recommit to deeply absorbing what is being said
When the other person has finished, perhaps say, “Thank you so much for sharing this with me. I want to take a moment to let it all sink in before I say anything more.” Then do this! Take your time before speaking or moving forward. See what happens.
Guest Post by Alejandra Garza
I had the privilege to represent The Wellbeing Project in the Latin American Impact Investment Forum (FLII) a few weeks ago (Feb 28th – March 2nd, 2023) in Mérida, Mexico and am still reminiscing over all the shared encounters, stories, people, music and color that I got to meet and experience during this inspiring event.
It is with deep admiration and gratitude that I remember each person I met, each story I heard, and each dream that was shared with me so kindly during this wonderful event. It was a short pause for all of us who care so deeply for our region, to meet, share and explore our possible collaborations and hopes towards creating positive change in Latin America today and in the future.
I am especially grateful for being invited to share about The Wellbeing Project’s work in the region in a shared discussion titled “Burnout in the era of Wellbeing.” I had the privilege to share this beautiful space and conversation with Juan Carlos de la Hoz from the Inter-American Development Bank, Nicolas Demeilliers, founder of &you, Anna Corona from ayam, and Daniela Peralvo from IMPAQTO. Through our engaging conversation and Daniela’s key questions, we shared about the importance of wellbeing for social changemakers in Latin America, and the key characteristics that make this region so special and unique.
It was particularly inspiring to hear a collective awe from the audience when sharing that at The Wellbeing Project we truly believe that Wellbeing Inspires Welldoing. I could feel that the phrase clicked with everyone present, and they too recognized the importance of inner wellbeing, as it relates to the success of their projects and work. The conversation ended with a shared mindfulness meditation imparted by Anna from ayam, and we all got 5 minutes to pause, give thanks and reset, amid this lively and exciting event. This helped all of us present to recognize that it is something we have in us and that we can do every day. No matter the situation, it just takes a minute to pause and connect with our breath in the present moment. We all have that superpower within us.
Thank you, New Ventures for organizing this amazing event, and for this opportunity. Thank you everyone in the audience for attending, for your passion, your commitment, and your willingness to be a part of this important conversation for our region. I am honored to have connected with each and every one of you, and I look forward to continuing this amazing journey of inner wellbeing together.
This Funders Group Wants Philanthropy to Take the Lead on Nonprofit Worker Wellbeing This Funders Group Wants Philanthropy to Take the Lead on Nonprofit Worker Wellbeing
Words:
Wendy Paris
Journalist
Changemakers are burned out, as we’ve been hearing for the past few years. Now, leaders from a dozen philanthropies are tyring to make a difference through the Funders & Wellbeing Group (FWG), a learing collaborative launched in 20222 with the aim of increasing members’ own understanding of the connection between effective social change and the welfare of changemakers — and pushing philanthropy as a whole to take the concept of wellbeing more seriously.
The FWG is a program of the Wellbeing Project, a global nonprofit founded in 2015 by Ashoka Fellow Aaron Pereira in reaction to his own burnout. The Wellbeing Project has a staff of 35 and works to “normalize and create access to wellbeing in the social change sector,” according to its website. The project is focused not only on the West but also the Global South, where the toll on those in the helping professions can be even greater and access to support even more scarce.
Twelve organizations joined the first two-year cohort, with at least two participants from each group coming to meetings, including one from senior leadership. The current members include the group’s main funder, Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Global, as well as the Ford Foundation, Asian Venture Philanthropy Network, Laudes Foundation, Segal Family Foundation, Skoll Foundation, Imaginable Futures, Camelback Ventures, the Hewlett Foundation, Alana, the SHM Foundation and Global Fund for Children.
The FWG is a small program in the Wellbeing Project’s overall scope, operating on initial funding of about $70,000 from Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Global, and an annual fee of 5,000 euros per participant. Still, its creation points to philanthropy’s growing interest in bolstering the welfare of those working to make the world a better place.
Funders play an important role in the wellbeing of organizers and nonprofit workers, of course, given that philanthropic dollars often cover salaries and benefits. And a handful of funders, including the Durfee Foundation, support wellbeing-focused initiatives such as employee sabbaticals and other forms of worker care. The nonprofit Fund the People is also advocating for philanthropy to prioritize nonprofit workers’ wellbeing.
Still, the importance of wellbeing more generally remains largely overlooked, said Dana Preston, the Wellbeing Project’s development and partnership lead. “Wellbeing is underfunded because it’s not considered essential. It’s considered a ‘nice to have,’ ‘woo-woo,’ a luxury, hippy-dippy. We still have a way to go for wellbeing to be recognized as essential to lasting change.”
Putting wellbeing on the agenda
Preston said she runs up against a generalized dismissal of wellbeing in her development role at the project. One way she argues for its importance is by having funders experience it themselves. In her job at the Wellbeing Project, she does this by arranging outings, such a week-long “inner work” retreat. The Funders & Wellbeing Group is another such experience. “This is strategic for us,” she said. “If we can work with philanthropy to understand that wellbeing is essential, that will unlock funding for it and create momentum for changemakers.”
As of December 2022, the group had met four times and established goals, including implementing an action plan within their own organizations and collaborating with other group participants on the larger project of shifting philanthropic norms.
Bad habits take time to die
The FWG is also part of philanthropy’s critique of its own practices that replicate the negative power dynamics of capitalism. These include things like demanding, competitive RFP processes, exhaustive reporting requirements for even small grants, and chronic underfunding of nonprofits — all of which can compromise the wellbeing of nonprofit leaders, employees and the communities they serve, said Jessamyn Shams-Lau, co-chair of the FWG.
Moving beyond these practices is of immediate, practical importance. “We see a lot of nonprofit leaders burn out and leave. This is not only ethically wrong, but also illogical from the perspective of longevity,” said Shams-Lau. “Their ability to stay engaged in this work means we will not lose the knowledge and wisdom they built up over the years.”
Sharon Salzberg
Meditation Teacher and Author
Sharon Salzberg is a meditation pioneer, world-renowned teacher, and New York Times bestselling author. She is one of the first to bring mindfulness and lovingkindness meditation to mainstream American culture over 45 years ago, inspiring generations of meditation teachers and wellness influencers. Sharon is co-founder of The Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, and the author of twelve books, including the New York Times bestseller, Real Happiness, now in its second edition, and her seminal work, Lovingkindness. Her forthcoming release, Real Life: The Journey from Isolation to Openness and Freedom, is set for release in April of 2023 from Flatiron Books. Her podcast, The Metta Hour, has amassed six million downloads and features interviews with thought leaders from the mindfulness movement and beyond. www.sharonsalzberg.com
2020 & 2021 WELLbinar series hosted by Sharon Salzberg:
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Parker J. Palmer
Writer, speaker, activist, and Quaker elder
Parker J. Palmer is a world-renowned writer, speaker, activist, and Quaker elder who focuses on issues in education, community, leadership, spirituality, and social change. Parker holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California at Berkeley, as well as thirteen honorary doctorates, two Distinguished Achievement Awards from the National Educational Press Association, and an Award of Excellence from the Associated Church Press. Founder of the Center for Courage & Renewal, he has reached millions worldwide through his ten books, including Let Your Life Speak, The Courage to Teach, A Hidden Wholeness, On the Brink of Everything, and Healing the Heart of Democracy.
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David Simas
Managing Director, Research and Impact, Emerson Collective
David Simas is the Managing Director of Research and Impact at Emerson Collective, where he works to develop in-depth research projects and distributes findings and analysis in service of Emerson’s priorities including democracy, immigration, education, and climate.
A native of Taunton, Massachusetts, David was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff to Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick in 2007. He then joined President Obama’s administration in 2009 as a Deputy Assistant to the President, working with senior advisors David Axelrod and David Plouffe. In 2012, he served as Director of Opinion Research for President Obama’s reelection campaign. Following the reelection, Mr. Simas returned to the White House as Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Political Strategy and Outreach. In 2016, President Obama selected Mr. Simas to serve as Chief Executive Officer of the Obama Foundation. Mr. Simas holds a B.A. in political science from Stonehill College and a J.D. from Boston College Law School. He is the son of two Portuguese immigrants and lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Shauna, and their two daughters.
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Roshi Joan Halifax, Ph.D
Buddhist teacher, Zen priest, anthropologist
Roshi Joan Halifax, Ph.D., Buddhist teacher, Zen priest, anthropologist and pioneer in the field of end-of-life care. She is Founder, Abbot, and Head Teacher of Upaya Institute and Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She received her Ph.D. in medical anthropology in 1973 and has lectured on the subject of death and dying at many academic institutions and medical centers around the world. She received a National Science Foundation Fellowship in Visual Anthropology, was an Honorary Research Fellow in Medical Ethnobotany at Harvard University, and was a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the Library of Congress.
From 1972-1975, she worked with psychiatrist Stanislav Grof at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center with dying cancer patients. She has continued to work with dying people and their families, and to teach health care professionals and family caregivers the psycho-social, ethical and spiritual aspects of care of the dying. She is Director of the Project on Being with Dying, and Founder of the Upaya Prison Project that develops programs on meditation for prisoners. She is also founder of the Nomads Clinic in Nepal.
She studied for a decade with Zen Teacher Seung Sahn and was a teacher in the Kwan Um Zen School. She received the Lamp Transmission from Thich Nhat Hanh, and was given Inka by Roshi Bernie Glassman.
A Founding Teacher of the Zen Peacemaker Order and founder of Prajna Mountain Buddhist Order, her work and practice for more than four decades has focused on engaged Buddhism. Her books include: The Human Encounter with Death (with Stanislav Grof); The Fruitful Darkness, A Journey Through Buddhist Practice; Simplicity in the Complex: A Buddhist Life in America; Being with Dying: Cultivating Compassion and Wisdom in the Presence of Death; and Standing at the Edge: Finding Freedom Where Fear and Courage Meet which was released on May 1, 2018.
Click here for a listing of Roshi’s books.
Click here for a listing of Roshi’s film credits.
Shelly Tygielski
Teacher, Public Speaker and Author
Shelly Tygielski, author of the critically-acclaimed book Sit Down to Rise Up: How Radical Self-Care Can Change the World (2021), has been hailed by individuals ranging from President Joe Biden to Arianna Huffington and Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn to Maria Shriver. She is a trauma-informed mindfulness teacher, self-care activist, and the founder of the global grassroots mutual aid organization, CNN Heroes-featured, Pandemic of Love. Her work has been featured by over one hundred media outlets including BBC, CBS This Morning, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Kelly Clarkson Show. A Garrison Institute Fellow, she has been called one of the “12 Powerful Women of the Mindfulness Movement” by Mindful.org and teaches self-care and resilience at organizations and to audiences around the world.
2021 WELLbinar on Resilience & Recovery hosted by Shelly Tygielski
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Daniel Lobo
Founder & CEO, BecauseYOU
Daniel works at the intersection of leadership, consciousness and mental health. He’s the Founder & CEO of BecauseYOU, a mental health social enterprise that supports individuals and organizations to thrive.
His purpose is to unleash creative potential (love, wisdom, lightness) into the world.
BecauseYOU collaborates with practitioners, mental health professionals and facilitators to create long term change for individuals and organizations.
Daniel’s own journey being diagnosed with bipolar disorder led him to create a humane, collaborative and meaningful response to the global mental health crisis.
Daniel’s on the leadership team of the Catalyst 2030 Mental Health Collaboration, a global collaboration of over 40+ mental health social entrepreneurs. Its focus is to get the world to understand (and act) upon the global mental health crisis. Funding pathways for any entrepreneur in this sector is another goal.
He spent over a decade leading the India business of Leaders’ Quest, a leadership development firm that works with senior leaders to build profit and purpose-oriented businesses. During this time, he built deep relationships with NGOs, business leaders and entrepreneurs all over the world as a way to build connection and community. He brings this passion for inner work and building communities to my work at BecauseYOU.
Daniel is a new dad, a half decent guitarist and a traveller (both geographically and spiritually!)
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