The Daily - Day 1 - June 18, 2019 - 13

"If you pour a handful of salt into
a cup of water, the water becomes
undrinkable. But if you pour
the salt into a river, people can
continue to draw the water to cook,
wash, and drink. The river is immense, and it has the capacity to
receive, embrace, and transform.
When our hearts are small, our
understanding and compassion
are limited, and we suffer. We can't
accept or tolerate others and their
shortcomings, and we demand
that they change. But when our
hearts expand, these same things
don't make us suffer anymore. We
have a lot of understanding and
compassion and can embrace others. We accept others as they are,
and then they have a chance to
transform. So, the big question is:
How do we help our hearts grow?"
-Thich Nhat Hanh
PART OF DOING THE WORK OF

diversity, equity, and inclusion
(DEI) includes humility. As we
embark on this path, we learn that
we do not have all the answers, or
most of them anyway. So, we learn
and grow-in many ways. One
great takeaway, thus far, has been
a desire and commitment to lead
with humanity.
All too often we get caught up
in "being right," and that's where
progress ends. As we have grown
in relationship with each other, we
have learned that when we lead
with the thought of "I have all the
answers and other's opinions don't
matter," then we leave little room
for growth or enlightenment.
That attitude automatically
alienates the very people who can
join with our work, to help us grow
and learn together. It pushes away
those who wish to do better but feel
too cautious.
When we first started talking
publicly about justice, equity,
inclusion, and diversity in the

outdoors, it was easy to simply see
the problem and seek a quick fix.
We thought if only everyone in
the space-from agencies like the
National Park Service to outdoor
brands-simply listened and adhered to our fix, all would be well.
But it's not so simple.
With the perspective of time
and experience, here's what we
have learned.
TERESA BAKER: WHEN I STARTED

in this work, I didn't leave much
room for dialogue. Others had their
time to work on it, and in my eyes,
they were not making progress fast
enough. I wanted change to happen immediately. No more excuses.
Just get it done. There wasn't much

JOSÉ G. GONZÁLEZ: PART OF WHY

I chose bridge-building work was
a belief that we could build connections across differences. That
meant I got heat from both sides.
I remember first meeting Teresa
Baker and being a little afraid I was
not going to measure up. I didn't
know how we would align. I was
also impatient and wanted to get
stuff done, and I wasn't sure if I
was succeeding.
I worried I was not pushing hard
enough or not being authentic
enough. Some saw my approach as
too soft, without even listening to
it. Others took the message as too
hard, without paying attention to
my approach. It required so much
reflection and work, including how

"WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR THE LESSONS
WE HAVE LEARNED ALONG THE WAY. THE
JOURNEY IS FAR FROM OVER, BUT WE WILL
CONTINUE TO LEAD WITH HUMANITY, AND
WITH THE SUPPORT OF OUR COMRADES IN
THIS WORK, WE WILL SUCCEED."
-BY TERESA BAKER AND JOSÉ G. GONZÁLEZ

in the way of compassion in my
approach. The way I saw it, these
agencies and organizations had
years to make a difference, but they
were moving at a snail's pace. I was
certain that I was right, because
where was the proof of progress?
It finally took me listening to
others whom I look up to in this
work, José González being one, to
realize that my approach was alienating me from the very people who
wanted to hear me and wanted to
work with me, but who feared my
approach. To them, I was too abrasive, too loud, too confrontational,
and that created a disconnect. We
weren't listening to each other.

I viewed my peers, Teresa included,
as important and necessary leaders
within a spectrum of a movement.
TERESA AND JOSÉ: THIS WORK

is relational. Trust is key. Once we
create trust on both sides, dialogue
flows easier. We create a well, a reservoir, to dip into when we make
mistakes. Not just for individuals
on opposing sides but for our own
communities too.
But that only comes from the
humanity and compassion that we
must offer one another. They are
sources of strength. Mistakes are
part of our growth; we must make
them, but when we put up walls,

we only see the mistake, not the
person or their genuine desire to
do better.
Humanity and compassion teach
and remind us that we don't need
all the answers, that we can rely on
others and give space for mistakes-to be able to see them and
work at correcting them. That is
the only path forward if we want to
make true strides at any task. If we
fail at humanity, we fail at progress.
We are grateful for the lessons we
have learned along the way. The
journey is far from over, but we will
continue to lead with humanity
and with the support of our comrades in this work-and with that,
we will succeed.
In addition, we need humor. This
work is already hard enough. Proving oppression is hard enough. Unveiling discomfort is hard enough.
Educating is hard enough. Navigating the turmoil of "tone policing
and civility politics" is hard enough.
Intentional nondestructive humor
helps us see our collective humanity and share a fuller, richer range
of emotions beyond the justifiable
anger we feel and experience in the
work. It also helps us so that we can
bond over a wider set of experiences beyond shared and collective
trauma. Again, it is a practice. We
know there is much work to do.
Moving forward, we hope to
build trust with those who are
struggling with forgiveness, selfdoubt, and the way forward. We
hope to support those who are
walking warriors in pain, determined to be part of the solution
but stuck in managing all the noise
around them. We believe that once
we allow the dust to settle and the
humanity to kick in, a clear path
will reveal itself. It will include
moments to pause, reflect, and continue. And time to share a laugh.
We have work to do. Onward.
We got us.

SUMMER MARKET 2019

The Daily - Day 1 - June 18, 2019

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