Advocacy

Advocacy - working passionately on behalf of a particular idea.

Years ago, I attended my first National Storytelling Conference. A lone girl from Idaho checking out a new community, I came with no friends or traveling companions. Late my first night on site I stumbled upon a room full of harried volunteers stuffing conference binders so they would be ready for the official start the next day. Up until that instant I had assumed the organization was a well oiled corporate machine - not a hand full of over worked and under appreciated staff and volunteers. It was a transformative moment for me. I stayed to help, and I’ve been doing so ever since.

Previously in the evening I’d heard others grumble and murmur about this short coming or that failing of the organization and the people running it. The rumors and discontent pounded over me like a raging water fall. I was stunned and disheartened. For a moment I bought in to the rumors, until I walked into that room. What I found was a collective of passionately committed people, warts and human failings and all, sacrificing self for the benefit of all.

Standing under a raging waterfall can kill you - stepping back to take in the larger view can open you up to breathtaking vistas. The hero’s journey is never one of ease. Indeed, challenges shape the hero. I’ve seen a lot of people come and go over the years when things didn’t go smoothly. Why quit? Why not stay and work to facilitate change? I don’t understand, I never will.

“Be the change you wish to see in the world” - Mahatma Gandhi