Bob Pavlich a man I used to work with would start every meeting with “how are the children?”  Bob, the children are not well. They are hurting. 

 This episode is about Rich Roll and his journey, and me and mine. I recorded it the day before the recent shooting in Texas. And I realized this episode is about the state of our young people.  

I can now see my lens, from privilege, from my resource. From my experience of going to private schools and being part of that culture. The story that is told here is about when what happens when young people are not seen, when we value grades, test scores, college names, more than human beings, we have outcomes of stories  like Rich’s story. Like my story, where we go down a road of depression, confusion, self destruction, under utilized potential, suicide, lots and lots of therapy, and a societally acceptable kind of harm (one where we can blame individuals for not taking advantage of their opportunities). 

In some cases, the acting out causes great harm. Look at our suicide rate. The drug and alcohol use on college campuses and in HS. 

But when people get missed, where there is no one there to see, listen to, know, help, guide, catch young people where there is less privilege, it can end up as a school shooting. And this past week, it did.  

The energetics behind it are the same. The children are not well. We have lost our way. 

And there are a lot of us brining our hearts to the world. Being willing to feel deeply. The discomfort. This gives me hope.  And there are places like SuperCamp, where I worked for many years. It’s not perfect, but is is meaningful. It’s marketed as an academic summer camp, but its actually about people. A place where we see all the potential and aliveness in our young people. We create the safe places where we get to bring our vulnerability, all the stories or hurt, loneliness…all the real stuff in people lives.   When there is a container that offers safety, people share. When we share then we don’t act out. 

Listen deeply to this story about how I and Rich got caught in the College Acceptance Derby - the colonial capitalistic model of success.  He falls into line, betrays himself, and when he does he falls into his addiction. Losing the potential of what he could have become.  

Potential. When I look into the world now, what I see is all the potential, the creativity, the care, the heart, the passion, the curiosity, the stunning desire to be fully in the world…and I feel the incredible wave coming as we allow, invite, this potential to be expressed in the world. 

Listen well. With the ears of your heart. Listen Beyond. 

Here is what I’m taking from this “That’s Me” episode. 

1. Caring, being  matters. There is a different way for us to be in connection with each other.
2. Let us slow down. Pay attention. 
3. Yet another window into my privilege. My perspective being the white skinned, cisgender, man that I am. And that the same missing of seeing people, this same focused elsewhere energy in less privileged situations manifests in different ways. I believe we can and want to do this differently. 
4. Thinking about SuperCamp is important, because it reminded me how special it was to be in that space with people. How safe and incredible it was to exist in that potential with people.  
5. Time to create a new way beyond the colonial capitalistic model of success.
6. There is so, so much potential lost in feeling alone and lost.
7. Kelly is doing very meaningful work in the world. Rich is working hard, finding his way, and doing meaningful work in his internal and external world. 
8. I am grateful to be a conduit for all this energy, all this care to come into the world. There is so, so much more…and stay tuned and listen well. Listen Beyond.

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