Our Work.

We all have work to do in the world.

Many of us have had that work upended in recent months. This is true whether you are a white collar professional in an office who now working from home alongside children; or an artist who puts ideas and joy into the world now without a medium to do so; or a restaurant owner or service industry worker who has been devastated by this invisible pandemic; or a frontline worker, whose work has been meticulous, exhausting, and more emotionally exhausting than ever.

Whether it has increased, slowed down, disappeared, or become disjointed, the pace has likely been altered. This change causes us to reevaluate, take stock of what’s important and better understand ourselves. At least that is what is has done for me.

A number of existential questions arise: What do I value? What is the work I need to keep doing? What is the work I want to keep doing? Who am I? These are the questions that have been plaguing me throughout the last year. 

I’ve come to realize that my work is the cornerstone of who I am. I put my whole self into it and while it exists apart from me, it is still me in ways that represent a certain snapshot in time. It is me in many ways that are multifaceted and continually unveiling as a vessel for the way I strive to make the world a better place.

With my previous job coming to an end in March of this year, I have sought to understand how all the community development work we had been doing over the last half decade could transition into a new phase. It has been difficult, emotionally exhaustive work, that has taken me almost a year to process (in fact, I still am).

Community work hardened me. The last several years of “the grind” contributed to a lack of sensitivity. Even prior to covid-19 and the anti-black racism movements, I was drained by the online proxy wars, where not being able to properly isolate myself from the pain of the world left me feeling raw. I had become an exposed nerve that kept getting touched and never properly healed. This happens to many of us; we let too much background noise get in and it interferes with the work. And I believe that in order to do good work, I need to be emotionally in tune with my surroundings: with myself, my neighbours and now, with the wider world. 

This is where I was at in early 2020. 

I fully intended on taking a break to give myself the space to honestly answer this question:

What is the work I want to do in the world? 

And then covid-19 happened. Where I intended to take this journey alone, it is now apparent to me that we are doing it as a collective. An entire world forced to stop, reevaluate and hone in on the work that really matters. 

We are now all collectively asking: What kind of society, city, and neighbourhood do we want to live in? What is the noise that needs to be tuned out? What is the noise that needs to be turned up?

In my case, there is often noise that distracts me from knowing that deeper work I am supposed to tune my bass note to. I hesitated with starting this blog, writing this post, sharing my vulnerability; but then I remembered that this is the work I want to do in the world. The work that we all do has meaning and is a gift to each other when it is done with the goal of bettering the world around us.

As individuals, we cannot solve all of our problems. However, together, with compassion, collaboration and empathy, we can move forward in a new world, where we boldly question, diligently listen, and build something greater than the sum of its parts. It is important to me that as we take a moment to discuss the current events, ongoing political decision-making and analysis of our shared life together, we are all reminded to tune in to our own bass notes. It is important to check in with ourselves, to be honest, and to, if needed, do something new and different. 

For the last few months, my work has been caring for my 4 year old daughter, addressing ongoing education issues at a local and provincial levels, and catching up on academic writing from the last several years (alongside staying healthy, sane and safe!). But now, I am starting a new business with a focus on small-scale development in conjunction with a PhD in Urban Planning in the fall. By doing those two new things side by side, I hope to share that work in the coming months alongside thoughtful, constructive analysis of urban issues that will attempt to change the narrative about our city and make it a better place. Covid-19 has made me fall in love with our downtown all over again. I’m excited about all the possibilities for our core neighbourhoods and I hope this can be a place of dialogue and understanding about community-driven urbanism that brings vibrancy to all of our lives.

We all have work to do in the world - and, I believe that it is this labour that makes life meaningful. What will yours be? I hope that you will tune in to mine and be part of the dialogue.