Resilience for Global Integrators
Staying the Course
Rwanda, refugee tents circa 1994; photo credit UNHCR
Staying the Course
We think that the time is coming for a diversity of
colleagues to join together intentionally, visibly, and practically on behalf
of global
integration (GI). GI put simply is how we skillfully integrate our
lives and values on behalf of the issues facing humanity. Likewise we think
that the time is coming for colleagues to carefully reflect and act on what it
means to be good global learners-practitioners--to seriously
consider what it means to be what we are calling global integrators
(GI-People).
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You can leave a comment and share resources
at the end of this entry and on our Facebook page for:
Member Care Updates and Global Integration Updates.
at the end of this entry and on our Facebook page for:
Member Care Updates and Global Integration Updates.
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"Human resiliency is the ability to face reality: to engage with and grow through life's challenges and adversities via inner strength, social support, coping skills, and core beliefs/values including life purpose and spiritual meaning."
Kelly and Michele O'Donnell
Kelly and Michele O'Donnell
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This entry focuses on the need for resilience in order to remain effective as global integrators. It is a reminder that GI Involvement comes with
a cost, and sometimes a great cost to our personal stability, sanity, overall health, and relationships
via critical incidents, cumulative stress, etc.
Resilience is a protective factor of resilience (defined above) which is necessary to stay the course over the long-haul in GI. There are certainly so many more perspectives, principles, and resources that can be shared. We invite you to add some of yours via the comments section. It would also be very helpful to do a survey to assess what global integrators (and different types of global integrators) do to remain resilient.
Resilience is a protective factor of resilience (defined above) which is necessary to stay the course over the long-haul in GI. There are certainly so many more perspectives, principles, and resources that can be shared. We invite you to add some of yours via the comments section. It would also be very helpful to do a survey to assess what global integrators (and different types of global integrators) do to remain resilient.
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Member Care Update—November
2015
Resiliency Toolkit–Strengthening Ourselves and Others: This Update focuses on developing resiliency. It provides practical resources to promote well-being and effectiveness (WE) for workers in mission, aid, and development as well as for member care workers themselves. The resources include brief assessments and articles–core items in a versatile toolkit to strengthen yourself and others.
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Periodically we do special Updates that feature items to put in such a member care toolkit. Five past examples are archived HERE: 12/2009 Resiliency, 8/2010 Self-Care, 3/2012 Work-Life Balance, 1/2013 Cool Tools, and 10/2014 Creative Healing. We finish the Update with a reflection on resilience from Pearls and Perils of Good Practice ( excerpt below--available now as an ebook) as well as one of our favorite resiliency songs, Ready for the Storm.
Resiliency Toolkit–Strengthening Ourselves and Others: This Update focuses on developing resiliency. It provides practical resources to promote well-being and effectiveness (WE) for workers in mission, aid, and development as well as for member care workers themselves. The resources include brief assessments and articles–core items in a versatile toolkit to strengthen yourself and others.
.
Periodically we do special Updates that feature items to put in such a member care toolkit. Five past examples are archived HERE: 12/2009 Resiliency, 8/2010 Self-Care, 3/2012 Work-Life Balance, 1/2013 Cool Tools, and 10/2014 Creative Healing. We finish the Update with a reflection on resilience from Pearls and Perils of Good Practice ( excerpt below--available now as an ebook) as well as one of our favorite resiliency songs, Ready for the Storm.
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“For the mission/aid community, helping
can often involve staying sane—and alive—in unstable, insane places....It is
not that mission/aid work always deals with life-threatening experiences, of
course. Rather it is just that helping to relieve the “maims and moans” of
creation takes its toll. Mission/aid workers, like the people they are helping,
have some special challenges and needs for resiliency...”(pp. 2,3)
.
Headington
Institute—Resources
“The Headington Institute partners with
humanitarian relief and development organizations and emergency responders,
before, during, and after deployment in order to ensure the wellbeing of
individuals. Our team of psychologists, many with over 30 years of clinical
experience, bridge cutting edge academic research with practical application at
the field level, in order to strengthen the impact of humanitarian response and
promote the long-term wellbeing of humanitarian personnel.” (from website) Some
examples of their resources:
--Trauma
--Moral Injury (blog entries, quote below)
.
“I became interested in moral injury a few years ago
when I worked with military veterans who were struggling to make peace with
things they had seen or done, sometimes more than 40 years after the fact.
Moral injury…is defined as the lasting impact of participating in,
witnessing, or failing to prevent something that goes against deeply held
beliefs and values. People who are helping others during an emergency or after
a disaster don’t have the same experiences as those who go to war, but the
nature of this work can bring people face to face with human suffering and
tragic outcomes. An emergency responder might be haunted by a life that could
not be saved, or an accident that could have been prevented.” Lisa Finlay, Guilt and Shame: The Messy Part of Moral Injury,
20 July 2015
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and maintain a good sense of humor...
.Final Reflection
I finish this entry by citing a medley of quotes which
appeared in my first entry on Global Integration, back in January 2015. The quotes are basically exhortations to help us stay the GI course with integrity and skill.
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"Persevere as you pursue areas that you are passionate about and stretch yourself into new areas of interest as part of life-long learning. As in most human enterprises, there can be political agendas, power dynamics, territoriality, and dysfunctional behaviors to navigate” (O’Donnell, 2012, p. 201). Keep in the forefront the opportunities for “selfless moral struggle” in partnering with others (Patel et al. 2011, p. 90) and the “duty and choice to risk your own rights and well-being” on behalf of fellow humans (O’Donnell, 2011, p. 187). “Embrace lifestyles that reflect commitments to equality, justice, and wellbeing for all” (O’Donnell, 2012, p. 201). Develop your personal character and professional competence as a responsible global citizen committed to “seeing reality clearly… [including] physical and mental suffering due to human cruelty… [without giving up] our dream for a more loving and peaceful humanity” (Mollica, 2013, p.15). Connect with a supportive caravan of colleagues for your Global Integration journey in the service of humanity. Remember that in all you do and in whatever comes your way, “your task is to be true, not popular” (Luke 6:26, The Message)."
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"Persevere as you pursue areas that you are passionate about and stretch yourself into new areas of interest as part of life-long learning. As in most human enterprises, there can be political agendas, power dynamics, territoriality, and dysfunctional behaviors to navigate” (O’Donnell, 2012, p. 201). Keep in the forefront the opportunities for “selfless moral struggle” in partnering with others (Patel et al. 2011, p. 90) and the “duty and choice to risk your own rights and well-being” on behalf of fellow humans (O’Donnell, 2011, p. 187). “Embrace lifestyles that reflect commitments to equality, justice, and wellbeing for all” (O’Donnell, 2012, p. 201). Develop your personal character and professional competence as a responsible global citizen committed to “seeing reality clearly… [including] physical and mental suffering due to human cruelty… [without giving up] our dream for a more loving and peaceful humanity” (Mollica, 2013, p.15). Connect with a supportive caravan of colleagues for your Global Integration journey in the service of humanity. Remember that in all you do and in whatever comes your way, “your task is to be true, not popular” (Luke 6:26, The Message)."
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