The Shadows That Shape our Communities
Our communities have stories that live in the shadows.
They are the stories that the community (especially the individuals with power) would prefer we not engage with: past and current harms, structural issues within organizations, systematic injustices, traumatic histories within families, experiences that, if named, would raise uncomfortable questions or challenge the prevailing narrative.
And in not naming them, these communal stories – these communal shadows – operate and shape our communities from the background.
A few months ago, I asked my Instagram audience to share communal shadows they experience and are aware of. Here are a few of their responses:
“The expectation that women will take on all the administrative and managerial work without asking.”
“We’ve had extremely high turnover with amazing workers leaving every month. Nobody is openly talking about it.”
“Anti-Blackness, classism, a general desire to maintain the status quo.”
“Transphobia.”
“My mom’s church dwindled in membership from 200 to 30…but everyone had an excuse for it. Nobody wanted to engage in a real conversation about the underlying issues.”
“The demographics of our managers versus those of our staff.”
“Our paychecks and the reality that more women are getting hired but almost never getting promoted.”
Take some time to reflect on the shadows that might be present in the communities you operate within: your family, faith community, workplaces, volunteer organizations, schools, etc.
📝 Questions:
What is a communal shadow that exists in one of your communities? Work to texture it: name it, describe it, examine where it comes from, who is impacted by it, who gains from its existence, etc.
What needs to happen within your community before this shadow can be addressed in a healing way? (For example: trust-building, growth in personal and collective ability to listen or receive feedback, capacity within individuals to sit and tend to their own central nervous systems, etc.)
🧰 Resources:
”What is Shadow Work?” (article)
"Living the Shadow," by Richard Rohr (article)
5 Days to Get Off Autopilot (free shadow work email series)
Subscribe to The Wednesday 1-2-3 and receive weekly, bite-sized teachings + resources for your inner work.
Every Wednesday morning, I share:
1 embodied teaching,
2 introspective questions, and
3 resources to help you go deeper in your inner work.
Learn from and engage with the words of these powerful wisdom teachers every week.
