Our community looked different this past year. Where we once spent time in close proximity, we were asked to spend 18 months in isolation for the safety of all. In the year ahead this return to normalcy may be a flicker of hope. For some of us, however, this seismic change ushers in an era of heightened anxiety and stress. In the aftershocks, how are we adapting?  How are our priorities changing? While we’re still so exposed, how can we lean into vulnerability- physically, politically, and emotionally?

For many of us, emerging fully into ourselves can be a liberating but intimidating experience.  How do you know when it’s time to emerge- to come out from under the weight of societal pressures or your own expectations? How are you emerging in this season of change? What are you emerging from? What do you hope to emerge into?

Increasingly, flashpoint incidents of racial, social, and environmental injustice have sparked short term mobilization followed by periods of passive allyship. Social media can blur the lines between speech and action, between proclaiming allyship and actively participating in the fight for justice. Often, the first step in effecting real, lasting change is to recognize a state of emergency. Where do you see emergent threats in your own life or in your community? How can we commit to act in solidarity with communities acutely affected by these threats?  

Last year, you showed us what it meant to be exposed. Now, we ask you:

What does it mean to emerge?