A harvest of reflections that emerged in our "inclusion" keyword week.
Inclusion: Insights, quotes, poems
A Garden of Diversity
Saniah Syeda
While talking about Inclusion on Thursday, I just pictured it and expressed my thoughts. My metaphorical garden of diversity was imaginatively filled with a variety of different elements, similar to the diverse characteristics, backgrounds, and perspectives found in a community. My garden adds a visual and vivid imagery to convey the idea of a thriving, harmonious community where inclusivity is not just present but actively nurtured and encouraged. My concept of inclusion is like a blossoming flower as inclusion is not automatic; instead, it is a conscious choice that individuals or a community can make. The terms heard, valued, embraced and celebrated represents a different aspect of fostering inclusivity. These are a few actions that contribute to the growth and flourishing of inclusion. I hope I was able to express myself. It is such a pleasure to learn and absorb the knowledge from you.

"All I know so far"
Contribution and reflections by Sarah Grandberg
Music in itself is a universal language. People in all cultures use it to communicate. It can help portray feelings that someone might not have the words for.
The song acknowledges that no one really knows the answers and we are all walking the path together.
That fighting for what you need will leave scars but they will be worth it in the end because we stood together. Our life path is easier when we have an ally beside us. Recognizing that nobody knows everything, and we aren't alone in looking for the answer.
Excerpt from All I know so far…
Haven't always been this way I wasn't born a renegade I felt alone, still feel afraid I stumble through it anyway I wish someone would have told me that this life is ours to choose No one's handing you the keys or a book with all the rules The little that I know I'll tell to you When they dress you up in lies and you're left naked with the truth You throw your head back, and you spit in the wind Let the walls crack, 'cause it lets the light in Let 'em drag you through hell They can't tell you to change who you are That's all I know so far And when the storm's out, you run in the rain Put your sword down, dive right into the pain Stay unfiltered and loud, you'll be proud of that skin full of scars That's all I know so far That's all I know so far --Pink
Cracked
Reflections by Chris Liuzzo on the "cracks" of Leonard Cohen and Rumi
Ring the bells that still can ring, forget your perfect offering. There is a crack, a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in. –Anthem Leonard Cohen
We are all cracked.
Some more, some less, but all of us… are cracked.
And what a blessing that is. Because one of the greatest paradoxes of the human experience is the fact that in that deep dark dungeon, that place where we hide the pain and fears of our past experiences, we are also holding hostage a vast amount of personal power.
Hidden behind grief, buried under our losses, suffocated by old pain lives our potential. Our shiniest self, that part of our soul, small or large, that went missing, that we so urgently need to retrieve to become most fully who we are.
And that is where the cracks come in.
The wound is the place where the Light enters you. — Rumi
When the pressure gets too much, the effort of “holding it together” is too great, that’s when we suddenly notice them. Small openings, fissures in the surface, that allow light to penetrate. That give us the first glimpse — safely — of what is hidden.
And once we have had the courage to look, to open the door a little wider, they show us that which is ours to work towards: Making peace with all the fractured parts of our Self.
Thank god for cracks.
Inclusion is about willingness to take a unique difference and develop it as a gift to others. It is not about disability. -- Judith A. Snow contributed by Lynda Kahn
“Inclusion is not bringing people into what already exists. It is making a new space, a better space for everyone.” - George Dei contributed by David Hasbury
Inclusion: Creative Tensions

contributed by Jim Karpe
Serviceland
contributed by Beth Mount
Great Questions on Inclusion
In what ways can we uphold the practices of inclusivity and empowerment, nurturing the potential in each individual, while also shaping a new generation of change-makers amidst systems that, knowingly or unknowingly, sustain the marginalization of certain groups? Chris Liuzzo
What are the prices paid by: The excluded? The excluders? Chris Liuzzo
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