And The Work Continues

And The Work Continues

John Paul Derryberry

I believe that social work, community building, collaboration, educators, diversity, and compassion are the best ways to combat racism, sexism, and out-of-date ideals that culture tends to wrestle with.

Even after 22 years of working with inner city programs, at-risk youth, homelessness, and adults with every disability on the spectrum, I have continually moved toward realizing that it is never this unbelievably talented singular person who saves the day but a group of engaged people who complete the day-to-day work of building a community. It is those folks who leave the lasting impact of change, improvement, good outcomes, and making broken people whole again. This notion that there is a single button to push or a cure-all for what ails a single person, a fractured family, a struggling community, or a country's culture is a silly ideal to carry around.

After 23 years of speaking to a rough estimate of over 20,000 thousand people, I have realized that the color of your skin, the place of upbringing, rural or urban, the religion or lack of faith, the way you vote, the economic status of your life, and countless other factors we separate each other by seem to go out the window when we find our lives in crisis. Almost all of that fades into background noise when we need someone to help us make sense of the broken. I don't stand in front of a crowd knowing anything about them. Still, I received countless emails from red Americans, blue Americans, and rural and urban folks about how the discussion around emotional and mental health changed their life.

After every client assisted and audience member interaction, the answer is to continue the work. I want to continue to ease the burdens of others the best I can. It's the work I enjoy the most in life. I have won some battles with clients, but I have lost battles with clients. I swayed some audience members, but I have not swayed others. But when my message flipped from compassion and curiosity, not one client or audience member could say I didn't listen, or I didn't try, or that I was dismissive of them as a human. It's that work I love, getting to know beneath the facade, moving past identifiable differences, and getting to the core of what connects us humans.

As the world's culture shifts again after this week, I am reminded of a career failure when I didn't do the work. I failed a client to prove I was right and others were wrong, and the outcome was grim. Suppose it was selfish actions and only me-thinking that created that situation. It was a dark reminder to do the work and ease the burdens of others in a way they hear and feel. Not in a way that pushes them further into their unhealthy ways. So, as we move through another change, I will do the work and remember the joy I get from easing the burdens of others. I will remember underneath most folks' surface stuff; there is a connection to be made, a lesson to learn about myself, the world, and the universe.

I will engage with compassion, which I carry in my core, and with words that ease burdens on my tongue. Remember to do the work to make life lighter, no matter the darkness anyone faces. No matter the sway of the cultural winds, I will be engaged in what I believe in. Because I know this type of work, my friends, will continue on and on for a long time, even if it feels more critical work today than it did last week.