What does pain have to do with design?
During our class last weekend we explored the role and impact of pain in our personal lives and in the larger narrative of who we are as people seeking to create social change.
We sat in a circle, an ancient indigenous practice, to do some storytelling. The task was simple: share, bear witness and listen. Listen to yourself, listen to others, and listen for everything else that was not said in the room. Listening requires full presence, takes courage and is ultimately an exercise in shared humanity. When I listen to your story and your pain, really listen, I step into a trusting and vulnerable space you have extended to me. You’ve made room for me to enter and be with you. This is the true gift. I cannot know your pain but I can acknowledge it exists and stand with you as you speak your truth.
Pain connects us to our trauma, and can also connect and guide us towards our healing. Both individually and collectively, exploring pain and healing is required to move toward a worldview of interconnectedness and interdependence. My healing is connected to my past and future generations, and connected to the larger and long-term societal transformation I deeply believe in. I understand this journey is not mine alone, and that I must practice the healing that is “right” for me. And I do this in hope of freeing those who will come after me.
Where does pain meet design? Every day at the intersection of present, past, and future. As we seek to bring a preferred future state into reality, designers need to meet and confront pain, as well as pain’s good friends, shame and guilt, so we might begin to seek and step into vulnerability. Meeting pain with humility, gratitude, and hope can bridge cultural divides. Let me be clear: design doesn’t need more saviors. As social designers, acknowledging the pain in its many forms — physical, emotional, mental, historical, ancestral — is crucial for building relationship and designing for change.
Design can play a role in repairing, restoring, replacing and reimagining pain. This does not mean that pain goes away. The invitation here is to listen, acknowledge, accept uncomfortable feelings, move past discomfort, and to ultimately trust in the power of personal and community resilience to guide solutions that are healing and generative for a more just world.
