Horses are large, social, emotional, flight-prone and yet connected animals. Tundra likes to come into my space when she’s insecure about what’s going on. Much like kids or adults who may be relying on our security to co-regulate theirs, this can be hard to counterbalance, effectively. It can get dangerous, fast, given how suddenly she can react, and how big she is, relative to me.

This walk and talk is demonstrating how slowing down, backing up, and becoming hyper-aware of balance challenges (for both of us) can help my horse find her own strong centre, without it threatening mine. For those of you who work with people who sometimes lean in a bit suddenly, aggressively, or even thoughtlessly, this might spark some thoughts as to how to proactively help them keep their balance alongside you, instead of on top of you!

…and yes, I did the whole walk with her again after, without a phone, and she was able to really figure out those scary, scary stumps. While staying in her own balanced and secure space. But, it took time, respecting her need to figure it out with my presence and support. Just not my “carrying her!”

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A big part of safer means not just objective safety, but the perception that I’m safe. Or at least, safe enough. Fight or flight (or freeze, or fawn) are states of being that can solidify into days, months, years, even. They lock us up. They feel immovable, and can feel hopeless.

Spring does come. We can thaw. But the magic moment when ice turns to liquid and flows again happens only after degree upon degree of warming. Even though nothing looks different, change is coming. Even though chronic and unrelenting stress may have a deep hold of your heart and mind and body, little caring actions (by others, by you) matter. Don’t give up if the ice doesn’t break right away.

Spring does come.

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Lee-Anne and I have worked closely in the area of inclusive education for the last 8 years. Here Lee-Anne is able to describe how she views inclusion through the lens of teaching a very full Functional Integrated Program. For Ministry of Education (Saskatchewan-based, of course) guidelines, see this link here.

We talk briefly about the differing terms of segregation, integration, and the contrast with aspirational inclusion for students. We are referencing primarily Shelley Moore's great work on this whole topic in B.C. She has multiple YouTube and other online resources to tap into, but a good book is One Without the Other: Stories of Unity Through Diversity and Inclusion (2016).

Lee-Anne also mentions Jody Carrington, author of Kids These Days: A Game Plan for (Re)Connecting with Those we Teach, Lead, and Love, (2020) and many others.

This podcast is also sponsored by nature, water, trees, and other spaces that transform us so we can continue to do the hard work of making our spaces welcoming to everyone. I hope you all enjoy this interview as much as I did!

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Yes, Dan is Lynn's husband, and co-owner/operator of Attic Therapy, the business behind One Hard Thing. It seemed appropriate to start with the most inclusive person I know, in all the best senses. Dan is not conventionally welcoming, in personality, looks, or life experience. However he has ended up in a wide variety of spaces where his particular way of being has transformed what could have been awkward, uncomfortable, or even hostile interactions into warmth and connection. It's great to have a range of gifts in the world, and Dan represents the quiet hospitality of a do-er and a facilitator. I think you will find his thoughtful and understated style a bit of a contrast to me!

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Inclusion is not an academic or professional or political word. It is deeply personal, moral, and foundational to a just society. This season will focus on conversations with individuals who each have a perspective that is unique to their place in life, their gathered wisdom, and their particular hopes or thoughts about who could be made to feel more welcome, and maybe what they see happening in that regard in their world.

Because the topic of inclusion can spark deeply felt trauma histories or blaming/shaming sorts of dialogues, I wanted to carefully enter this conversation with questions designed to probe individual experiences, memories, and ideas rather than abstract and other-centred opinions. We know we are not getting this right in so many ways. That's not even a question. What I am curious about is what it feels like for various people to be included, and where they see the opportunities, barriers, gaps, and emerging or transformative spaces for their particular way of being.

I am starting, therefore, right here, with myself. This gives you all a chance to hear the types of questions I'm asking, and, not necessarily the type of answers I'm looking for (that's counter to the whole idea, after all!), but one person's answers.

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Welcome back to One Hard Thing! This season I will be talking with individuals about their sense of safety, and how it relates to choice, connection, and opening doors. Humans are unique and powerful in our ability to transform our world from what is to what could be. If we want a welcoming, inclusive, and flourishing society, how would we get from where we are to what we can envision? What do we envision this to look like? And how many points of view does it take to describe a world that is hospitable and safe for me, you, and every individual on the planet?

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This wraps up Season 1! It by no means untangles everything but it's time to pause and start to bring in other perspectives. I want to set this up by celebrating the uniqueness, and irreplaceable nature, of each person's view and story. Yes, we can objectively quantify all sorts of data and facts, but without a story, there is no purpose to the exercise. Science is a means of finding out answers to questions that occur as part of a Story. And that story is subjectively experienced as Truth because it is what Happens to each of us. Separately. We share our truth by sharing our stories, and the science helps with that, but only a very little...

Song: Luz de Luna
Artist: Juan Sánchez
Artist’s Website: https://juansanchezmusic.info/
Song: Rebirth
Artist: Juan Sánchez
Artist’s Website: https://juansanchezmusic.info/

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It is hard to match resources to problems that we already know are too large to handle. However, calibrating the "size of the problem" accurately, and proportionate to our need for safety before all else, is a critical skill. When we minimize, and worse, teach our children to minimize, based on discounting our feelings, we undercut what could be so valuable in marshalling appropriate resilience and creative responses to the world as it is, rather than as we wish it would be.

I reference Gavin De Becker's The Gift of Fear, published by Dell in 1997.

Also, Karla McLaren's The Language of Emotions: What Your Feelings are Trying to Tell You. (Sounds True, 2010).

Another great one is Linda Kohanov's The Power of the Herd: A Nonpredatory Approach to Social Intelligence, Leadership, and Innovation. (New World Library, 2013). She references McLaren extensively in promoting a non-Western paradigm for understanding power.

Song: Luz de Luna
Artist: Juan Sánchez
Artist’s Website: https://juansanchezmusic.info/

Song: Rebirth
Artist: Juan Sánchez
Artist’s Website: https://juansanchezmusic.info/

Acoustic/Folk Instrumental by Hyde - Free Instrumentals https://soundcloud.com/davidhydemusic
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/acoustic-folk-instrume...
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/YKdXVnaHfo8

Other music by soundcloud.com (creative commons, royalty free).

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