The purpose of “The Buzz” column is to offer commentary on a current event or trending topic related to diversity and inclusion. Yesterday I was bouncing ideas off a colleague on what to write about, and the topics we were coming up with, that have been in the news lately, were all negative….the Kevin Spacey sexual assault allegations, the attack on pedestrians in New York City, the Houston Astros player, Yuli Gurriel’s racist gesture toward another player. I told her, “maybe I will wake up and there will be something positive that happened over night.” I didn’t wake up to kindness trending.
At The Winters Group one way we communicate internally is via Slack. In our “general” Slack channel we often post articles or start discussions on what is currently going on in the world. At a recent team meeting it came up that oftentimes this general channel can mirror our social media feeds – mostly negative topics being shared and discussed – and it was suggested that we need to be mindful about what we post because it can impact our productivity and morale. With all the darkness in this world, we have to be mindful to be the light.
For those of us who do diversity and inclusion work, this stuff can get heavy. We often have to take the weight of our client’s problems on our shoulders as we seek to find solutions for them. Some of the stories we hear just make us shake our head and can weigh heavily on our heart. We must be mindful to counter that with positivity and kindness. We must be the light.
Change can start with just one person. I want to challenge all of our readers, for everything negative you post, you counter that post with something positive and kind. For everything negative you hear (or say), counter that with something positive and kind. Let’s get kindness trending…let’s be the light.
I recently came across this Black Eyed Peas video, “Where Is the Love”, I would like to leave that with you today:
Have a peaceful, positive and kind day!
