How urgency culture harms us all with Lydia Phillip - Storyteller, Published Writer and Researcher

12/19/23 • 38 min

Today you're in for a real treat, a conversation with someone who has a beautiful capacity to help us all rethink the way we work and the way we resign ourselves to urgency culture, to upholding the systems of white supremacy and capitalism - that keep us exhausted.
I first came across the work of Lydia Philip (she/her) through a series of blog posts she authored for Evenings and Weekends Consulting on rest and urgency culture. I really want to encourage you to take a few minutes to read those posts that are linked below before you jump into the dialogue today to provide a richness of context and insight that Lydia so thoughtfully captures through her words. She's incredibly generous with her approach to work, to liberation, to a world built on possibilities that are rooted in honouring our sense of collective humanity.
Blog series on urgency culture:
https://www.eveningsandweekendsconsulting.com/post/rest-is-a-social-currency-who-is-banking-it
https://www.eveningsandweekendsconsulting.com/post/a-state-of-unrest-are-we-perpetuating-urgency-culture
https://www.eveningsandweekendsconsulting.com/post/how-to-embed-rest-in-your-organization-s-policies-and-practices
https://www.eveningsandweekendsconsulting.com/post/urgency-culture-how-did-we-get-here-and-where-are-we-going
https://ions.ca/resisting-a-rest-how-urgency-culture-polices-our-work/
More about Lydia:
Lydia is passionate about engaging in and contributing to work that is a catalyst for transformative change. She's a gifted storyteller and published writer and researcher, and she's intentional about using her voice to inspire new ways of being together to create thought provoking work and to help shape a more just equitable future.
As the content strategist at Impact Organizations of Nova Scotia, Lydia is energized by her role in meaningful communication, advancing people centered practices, and sharing organizational learnings. Most recently, her writing on resisting urgency culture and prioritizing rest has sparked conversations throughout the country.
She was featured in the Globe and Mail, All Nova Scotia, and she was one of five individuals in Canada selected for a writing fellowship on work and working with the Philanthropist Journal. At heart, Lydia is a creative and caring disruptor, an advocate for centering people in the work always, and a big believer in the power of re-imagining she has the privilege of living near the ocean and many lakes in Mi'kma'ki (Nova Scotia), the unceded territory of the Mi'kmaw People.
Connect with Lydia through LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lydia-phillip/

Licensed intro music from NoMo

Licensed intro music from NoMo

Previous Episode

#FreePalestine

I’ve been away from this platform for so long navigating through several big changes in life and on the brink of burnout but with everything going on in Gaza, I am so called to build on what I’ve already publicly said because without a shadow of a doubt, Gaza and Palestine have changed me to my core - there is no going back to the ways things used to be and there is no option to stay silent.
I also can’t stay quiet as there is an urgency within me to talk about what’s happening and add a perspective that is deeply personal to me as a Muslim woman, an equity practitioner who centers justice in her work, who seeks to always center the most marginalized and someone who is called to use my platforms to denounce systems of oppression.
So, here is my impassioned, raw and personal call to ask you to come out of your apathy, your silence and to fight for a #FreePalestine.
I'm including here some information that has helped me understand the depth of what is in front of us with the centering of primarily Palestinian voices and stories:

Can Israelis and Palestinians See Eye to Eye? || Creators for Change | Middle Ground: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Jj8vne0ca0
What It’s Like to Grow Up in an Israeli Settlement | Op-Docs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eac1l1ozfLc
Palestinians Film War in Gaza: ‘So They Know We Existed’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P_L_088Diw
They Called Me a Lioness - A Palestinian Girl's Fight for Freedom by Ahed Tamimi
and Dena Takruri
Marc Lamont Hill Speaks On Israel-Hamas War, International Law, History + More https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPRua0u7hYY
People and references in the episode:
Ahlam Yassin, American-Muslim educator
Zohra M. Khorashi, American lawyer
Drawn2Intellect
Zara Choudhary
Ra'fat Al-Dajani
Aparna Rae LinkedIn post:

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7140362168260046848/
United Nations Global Compact Network Canada toolkit on advancing advocacy and solidarity:

https://unglobalcompact.ca/knowledge-hub/page.php?id=34

https://defenceforchildren.org/israels-detention-of-palestinian-children-is-an-outrage-to-humanity/

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/02/israels-apartheid-against-palestinians-a-cruel-system-of-domination-and-a-crime-against-humanity/
https://www.un.org/unispal/nakba75/
https://www.npr.org/2023/05/15/1176097958/un-nakba-day-explained-anniversary-palestine-israel

Licensed intro music from NoMo

Next Episode

undefined - Progressive until Palestine - The silence of equity practitioners in an urgent time. A conversation with Chris Hooten, Speaker, Strategist, Writer and Educator

Progressive until Palestine - The silence of equity practitioners in an urgent time. A conversation with Chris Hooten, Speaker, Strategist, Writer and Educator

I first came across Chris Hooten on LinkedIn about a month ago when I had so many thoughts swirling in my head around the silence of so many equity and inclusion professionals in my circles of influence with the ongoing genocide in Gaza. A deliberate choice to uphold a sense of comfort in a job that requires you to be truth tellers and deeply uncomfortable to uphold a sense of integrity. Chris’s perspective that they were openly and unapologetically sharing online felt like the truth that so desperately needed to be said, and so I invited them to join me in dialogue in exploring the dire need for integrity in the work of equity and inclusion, especially for white practitioners who hold a deep amount of privilege and access.

Meet Chris:
Chris Hooten (they/them) is a leading speaker, advisor, and advocate for LGBTQ+, neurodivergent and BIPOC affirming cultures and with over ten years in leadership, advocacy, and professional development, Chris has worked alongside incredible organizations like the Space Needle, Chihuly Garden & Glass, Levy Restaurants, POCIS Seattle, and Bastyr University to build equitable and and accessible organizations. They inspire clients to embrace intersectional neurodiversity to remove barriers and promote success for all. They offer a range of services, including workshops, professional development, speaking engagements, and coaching that solves equity challenges. To learn more about their impact, visit chrishootenconsulting.com.

LinkedIn post from Chris that inspired this episode here.
References from the episode:
Norman Finkelstein - https://www.normanfinkelstein.com/
Maintenance Phase podcast: https://www.maintenancephase.com/
The Myth of Normal by Dr. Gabor Mate: https://drgabormate.com/book/the-myth-of-normal/
Israeli government admits to sterilizing Ethiopian Jewish women: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-gave-birth-control-to-ethiopian-jews-without-their-consent-8468800.html