Divergence and the need for convergence.
I’m not sure what ‘neuro typical’ means anymore. I’m not sure I ever did.
I am fairly certain that none of us are actually neuro typical (define ‘typical’) or that we ever were. I’m equally certain that, therefore, we are all neuro divergent in a world that badly needs us all to be neuro convergent. I wonder if neuro convergence allows us to actually feel and be inclusive, equitable, non-judgemental and kind rather than just talking about how these states, and the manufactured processes to try and force these, should exist.
I wonder if we should stop talking about diversity (and DEI) as a thing, a process, altogether because this tends to shine a spotlight in often negative ways on the wrong things, where the process and the need to win in a competitive world are king. Yes, we are all different, diverse, and that is the point. If we get over this sticking point and just converge, we could save a lot of time and effort and, instead, focus on using our incredible brains and hearts to actually do something of meaning and become societally unstuck in the (ha ha) process.
Maybe the only things that are truly out of whack are the systems themselves (and the processes that keep these in order), because these are the manifestation of sound linear thinking rather than messy, nonlinear feeling and being, aka most humans’ natural states.
In reality, we have been focused on the wrong things. The systems have come through this relatively unscathed but us humans, through our conditioning, are tearing each other apart, often, precisely because we earnestly tried to solve perceived problems by jumping to process and coming up with short term sticking plaster solutions. By focusing on diversity and inclusivity we have become divergent and exclusive rather than convergent and inclusive.
We are all masking pretty much all of the time.
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I’m convinced that everyone I’ve ever known was, one way or another, ‘masking’ their true feelings, thoughts and states to suit or fit the perceived needs of the situations, people, prevailing ‘culture’ and systems that they were immersed in. It is the only way that I can rationalise the absurdity of much of the behaviour that I have witnessed in my life course and career. From school to business to governments and NGO’s, I experienced (and tried to transform) systems that were/are failing most of us most of the time.
Ironically, art school and ad agencies, those denizens of absurdity, were the only places that made any sense to me and now I realise that all the life struggles with myself and who I really am because I was so out of kilter with everyone else, were in fact struggles with the very things I have discussed here. I’d never say I was a victim of the system though!
Imagine a school, workplace, neighbourhood or home that was dysfunctional simply because all the people in these environments were so busy meeting the needs of the system (masking) that they didn’t, couldn’t, be their true selves, discover each others true selves or actually engage with each other to the point that they could converge, exchange understanding and learning naturally, inclusively, and actually work together in self and collective improvement.
We don’t really need to imagine these because they are most ‘organisations’ today, including society itself, and, therefore, the lived and living experiences of most of us. So what shall we do about this?
The private hell of being unheard.
I’ve been thinking a lot over the years about social injustice and what really causes this. Most of us have been on the receiving end of this at some point or another and I, along with my family, have been living through our own private hell because of this for the last few years. The isolation, stress, anxiety and trauma of being hit by the perfect storm of systemic fails and personal attack sure as shit focus the mind, particularly when a young, highly vulnerable child’s life state and course are at stake.
We have learnt a lot and been through something akin to the cycle of grief that we associate with pain and loss. We have been able to see the patterns and links between our own life state and those of the unheard, voiceless and isolated people we have worked with over the years. All roads lead back (converge!) to a lack of convergence caused by the systems that no longer (if they ever did) serve anyone but the willing owners of those systems.
All this has focused our minds and has directly led to bringing all our personal and professional learnings, all the amazing people we know and our aspirations for The Unheard together, applying our grand strategic minds and multiple career paths to the systemic social transformations that we now need and recognising that our collective neuro divergence can have the power to shape discourse and real lives but only if we turn this to neuro convergence.
The result of all this is The Undaunted and the undaunted everywhere are going to change the world, one unjust, non-inclusive system at a time. It is time to converge.
