By Claire Louge, Executive Director
Prevent Child Abuse Arizona
Being together at our Child Abuse Prevention Conference last month filled me with so much hope and determination –feelings that are particularly necessary to cultivate in these times.
I felt the power of being around so many people who care about children and families, and who understand that caring for one another is the only way we can collectively thrive. Although change, uncertainty, and conflict are ever-present in our world, being together affirmed something that buoys my grit:
People who care are wildly adaptable and courageous. And that adaptability and courage will design our future.
No matter who you are, you come from a long line of adaptable, resilient humans who overcame a lot. And the way humans have adapted is by connecting and supporting one another with our strengths. That is all human beings have ever done. Though human history has seen some pretty low lows, you exist because of human resilience and connection.
I think people in professions like ours are particularly adaptable, resilient, and courageous. There’s a scrappy resourcefulness to what we do, because what we do requires heart to be successful. And hearts cannot be contained by the walls of systems, procedures, and resource limitations.
But having heart means we care. And a lot of us care a lot. And there’s too much to care about, and we can’t possibly devote our energy to care for it all. And so the work of the caring is to handle the pain of seeing pain without being able to help all of it, or even any of it, sometimes. That’s why caring requires courage – the courage to hold that pain, and to do what you can, when you can, knowing it won’t be enough to solve everything, but doing it anyway.
To care is to have courage.
Those who don’t care may not have the strength to handle what it feels like to care. But you do. We do.
The way that we care for families and children sets the foundation for the future of our state, our nation, and our world. With our heart, adaptability, and courage, we are the architects of that future.