When is enough, enough? (a poem)
This poem has also been recorded as a video at the bottom of this post to aid accessibility
I originally wrote this poem in flow state on 3rd Nov 2021 for my previous HEXO Change website, and on reading and feeling it twice again today, I felt moved to share it here. So much, indeed all of it still comes from the heart, my heart.
Interesting for me to note is that with things so-called ‘opening up’ around work travel etc, I am om the move with regards my day job in chemicals, but I am using the train more, reducing my net total volume of travel significantly and I am in way deeper discussions as ‘business as usual’ around this point in time in our evolution.
In fact, another blog to follow on this as it is important, but I spent 90 mins of a 120 mins meeting yesterday discussing inequity, capitalist collapse, fairness, impact on the Global South of our outdated Western ways and we even entered an intuitive collective reimagining session between us as the supplier and with our customer. To offer extra context, I lead over Euro 20m of sales and on culture and people topics at a Euro 3.5 bn + turnover chemicals distributor and the customer was a > Euro 4bn turnover paints and coatings manufacturer. Not insignificant acupuncture points within the global extractive systems and supply chains.
This would NEVER have been a) started by me and b) been entertained by the customer before, thus this gives me a tiny kernel of hope that with more open, searching questions and a genuine curiosity and connectedness in thinking on all sides and in all circles, we can start to identify those that are ready to co-create anew as the current paradigm dies.
So here goes, my previous poem, when is enough, enough?
Despite the planetary crisis
That we all clearly face
It seems still somewhat myopic
That growth is the measure in first place
There is talk of jobs
GDP
Economic recovery and
Net Zero
But who actually, who really
Will be the hero?
That helps us sense
Helps us see
Helps reimagine
Helps us be
In connection with nature
And one another again
In such a way
That it is not all about white men
There is no shame intended
No division whatsoever
But the paradigm to which we move
Requires re-imagining together
And to centre the voices
And the communities often unknown
Those peoples that hold the wisdom
Yet continue to be overthrown
By Western ideals and ideas
Of a consumerist life
Yet it is increasingly plain to see
That we are ALL suffering strife
Through our fear
Our disconnection
To self, others and systems
Yet now is the time to be brave
And become part of the resistance
When is enough, enough
Is a question we can all ask
Of ourselves
Our families
Our organisations
And our hearts
There are no magic bullets
No quick fixes to our times
Yet we all have an abundance of energy and curiosity
If we can just open our minds
We have been controlled and coerced
To believe we are separate and mean nothing
Yet this could be further from the truth
When we are all a connected part of the everything
My choice impacts you
Your choice impacts me
More importantly our choices most impact
Those that we do not see
This poem is a challenge to me
To my way of life and my being
Yet it is healthy challenge
To re-imagine a life that requires less fleecing
Of our soul
Our energy
Our creativity
And our worth
We are all equally human
And have to live on and from the same turf
When is enough, enough
Is my question for you
What will you let go of
What will you say no to
What will you embrace
That you have maybe always feared
Maybe that your humanity is not directly tied to the amount of gear
That you own
That you use
That you amass
That you value
Maybe now is the time to go on an inner journey
To explore your stories, the thoughts that you have
Get super curious
About if they are your own stories, or that of your dad
When is enough, enough
Is a question I sit in
My dread of getting on a plane
Or the guilt of wearing fear-Eastern knitting
The abundance of our humanity
Our interconnected potential
Is where I wish to focus more
Than on the next material purchase
That may send me mental
I am very much part of the problem
But learning to hold paradox with more play
As I find my way back
To that space far away
That freedom of connection
The abundance of potential
It is now or never
To choose planet Earth, and those that we do not hear and see
Over double-digit growth
And expansion overseas
When is enough, enough
Is my question for you
I welcome your thoughts and feedback
As we together sit in this stew
Shall we connect?
I am an:
- International business development and authentic relationship building human working within and across a Euro 3bn + corporation
- International speaker on topics around human-centered design, vulnerability and change is an inside job
- Support senior leaders and mission driven soloprenuers as a Thinking Partner
- Facilitator of people-centered workshops and organisational design
- The co-creator with Jo Hompstead of Human Development Space in-person gatherings which are an emergent and co-creative space for both in-corporate and open groups
Digital Business Card — https://link.v1ce.co.uk/GarryTurner
LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/garryturnerthinkingpartner
Linktree — https://linktr.ee/HexoChangeGarryTurner
