There are few truths I feel totally confident in. But one is this: I don’t know what will be. For those seeking to drive change, this not knowing is among our greatest gifts.
Blog
The Change Blog features weekly thoughts and reflections from Kindling founder Peter Schulte on what change is, how and why it happens, and how we can be change agents.
You cannot reason until you empathize
If we want to truly change minds, our calls for “reason” cannot be about imposing our idea of what is reasonable onto others. This just breeds defensiveness and resentment. It does not work.
The Hero
Perhaps the most heroic thing I can do is to let go of the need to be the Hero.
The 1960s
What if 2020 and the 20’s generally are the new 60s? What if what we experience now as deeply concerning will look in retrospect exciting and monumentally important? What if now is the moment of great change and creativity our grandchildren will lament not being able to have experienced?
An unspeakable emotional burden
We have placed an unspeakable emotional burden on people of color for centuries. New policies alone can never heal this.
I am the problem
White folks: We are all the problem. It’s not just the overt racists. It’s not just the cops. It’s not just the president. Racism lives inside us all. It is the air we breathe and the water we swim in.
“Our top priority is our customers”
Building a sustainable and equitable economy doesn’t require that we completely remake ourselves from the ground up. It mostly requires that businesses and institutions just live by the values they already claim to live by.
The Last Dance
What other legends of ours are due to be re-evaluated?
The feeling of certainty
Every moment we spend in certainty is a moment we’ve closed ourselves to possibility, and therefore to change itself.
My purpose statement
I kindle possibility by revealing growth, beauty, and kindness.
