Invisible Activism, or How Conscious Relating Can Change Culture
You can be a changemaker without shouting at a rally
Conscious relating can be its own form of activism.
Not everyone is cut out for attending rallies, writing petitions, and street canvassing. But you can make change happen one ordinary interaction at a time. Day-to-day relationships are potent ground to impact others. By speaking, listening, and asking questions in certain ways, you can invite them into new ways of being.
Of course, people will only take the invitation if and when they’re ready. When you alter the way you relate, you may push some people away. Conscious relating may scare those who are uncomfortable with your unusual levels of directness and honesty.
But those on a similar wavelength will benefit. As the marketing and leadership veteran Seth Godin once wrote,
“Leaders create the conditions where people choose new actions.
The choices are voluntary. They’re made by people who see a new landscape, new opportunities and new options.
You can’t make people change. But you can create an environment where they choose to.”
Conscious relating is one of the most straightforward ways I know to do that.
