As someone who has practiced and studied Buddhism, I believe that our experience in this lifetime is one of constant change. Last week, we learned that historic change can happen overnight, unleashing an epic surge of transformation that upends decades of accepted wisdom. And as I reflect on the changes coming in my own life, I’m thinking a lot about you, my beloved Rockwood community, and wanting to share more about my decision to retire and the lessons that are guiding me.
When I was a LIO fellow in 2009, I had a vision of “Rockwood for the Hood” where the bodies of young Black folks levitated above the streets of Anacostia in Washington, DC. I imagined my community’s power unleashed into flight by the transformational principles of leadership and spiritual growth that I learned through Rockwood. I knew these opportunities needed to spread far beyond the professionalized nonprofit ecosystem to change the lives of the people I come from, just as they were changing mine.
That vision of home guided me as I transitioned in as Rockwood’s CEO in 2016. A decade later, on the edge of my next big transition into retirement, I feel myself being guided by home once again. In the aftermath of profound losses over the past few years, including the LA fires, this transition invites me to fully come back to myself, my family, and my home community in Altadena.
Since the fires, a small group of community members has organized into Evolve Altadena, rethreading the soul of Altadena by moving towards one another and the land. We are metabolizing the shared grief that lives in our bodies as we slowly but surely seed new life in this place. We are remediating the soil and tending to the soul, which is the people of Altadena. I’ve learned some quiet and profound lessons from the soil/soul as I prepare for my next phase and offer them to you here:
- Following seasons of ebbs and flows: attunement to the seasons is crucial for soil health; good stewards must be responsive to shifts in climate to maintain the delicate balance of multi-species life. In this vein, my retirement is first and foremost a recommitment to honoring the cycles of regeneration and replenishment. Committing to rest in this way is something to celebrate; rest is a gift that not everyone gets, but forsaking it honors no one. Our movements are their most durable when leaders are empowered to listen to their seasons and move accordingly, even and especially when those seasons require us to sit in stillness, honoring the wisdom of a sacred pause in the midst of everything.
- Building towards the long arc: as we return to Altadena after so much destruction, our community is paying close attention to the long term impacts of what we chose to plant in the wake. Humans are just one part of living ecosystems, and our choices as we reinhabit this land require regrounding in ancestral and Indigenous knowledge about right relationship with the earth and non-human life. For our movements, rebuilding in the wake of political devastation asks us to think beyond the immediate future. Leaders must deepen into a long arc strategy with focused intention; the choices we make as we plant new seeds in this landscape of political collapse impact generations yet to be born.
- Embracing transitions in all forms: soil needs to be turned and kept in motion so compost and regrowth can occur. We must resist political forces trying to consolidate power into something stagnant and inflexible and keep our movements’ soil turning. Can we lean into change, even and especially when it requires holding our power more loosely? Can we nurture the rich and fertile biodiversity of our many perspectives, ideas, experiences, allowing things to grow in our movements that we can’t even imagine?
Of course, leaving Rockwood is bittersweet. I love this organization and all of you deeply, you have held me in profound ways over the past ten years, broadening my perspective and bringing me into deep relationship with incredible visionary leaders. Still, there’s so much to celebrate in letting go. I’m proud that Rockwood is so much more than just me, and is durable and robust enough to weather this transition. It is a testament to what we’ve built together.
As I turn my focus back to my local community, Rockwood is deepening its commitment to local communities too, doubling down on regional work and scaling new programming to co-power with grassroots leaders to engage Rockwood’s and their own leadership principles and practices to advance progress in their communities. I’m so heartened to see Rockwood continuing to chart this path of co-powering into the roots, the soil and the soul of our communities. May we all continue growing our individual and shared gardens of leadership for generations to come.
With love and gratitude,
Darlene
