We Will Be Together Again

Two weeks ago, at the start of an ordinary work week I sat down at my computer and watched as a slew of cancellations began to fill my inbox. Speaking engagements, trainings, and meetings one by one cancelled, postponed, rescheduled. It only took two days of this before I was forced to accept the hard reality that the world as we know it was being brought to heel before the COVID-19 pandemic.

I’m in awe of the people around me who were able to quickly switch gears and take action adapting their work to a now completely virtual reality. As a life-long practitioner and ambassador of IRL experiences, I was frozen in shock and I now realize, also very much grieving the loss of real in-person human connection; the kind of person to person connection that I work to create in my workshops, in facilitated strategy sessions with teams on the forefront of fighting injustice, communities gathered to intractable problems of inequity and dreaming up new possibilities for how they can thrive together. I even miss the hard much more ambiguous work of untangling tensions and conflicts because when people finally turn and really see each other, just wow, what a moment.

All that to say, I miss the beautiful messy, transformative work we do when we get in the room together, community. I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to return to each other in the coming with months. In fact, as I shared on a call with a client recently, I know that when this ends, when we no longer have to stand six feet apart, we’ll need each other more than ever to heal the unforeseen social ruptures deepening inequity driving the most vulnerable further toward the margins.

I am no longer frozen in shock. I am committed to being of service and adapting to the moment. So we are here to support you by digitally by holding space, restoring connection, and facilitating those conversations that still demand to be held. - Piper