Last week, a routine walk along a hiking trail near my apartment affirmed for me a deep hunch I’ve been having about the way systems change really works. While any talk of systems thinking seems to require intricate diagrams, maybe the story is plainer than that. Maybe it looks as simple as someone carrying a down jacket into the woods on an ordinary fall day.
When my poodle puppy, Pascal, and I headed out for our mid-day trot I was just hoping to clear my head of the morning’s tasks and a lingering migraine. I wasn’t expecting to come face-to-face with a challenge to conventional ways of thinking about social change at a systemic level.
But then, I wasn’t expecting to meet a person experiencing homelessness either. Sadly, I’m used to encountering homeless people every time I visit downtown Moncton. A month ago, however, I moved to a suburb across the river from the downtown core, where I’m surrounded by parkland. Until yesterday, I hadn’t seen any signs of the homelessness crisis in this idyllic setting.
And then as I Pascal and I made our way along the forest path, we came across a man hunched behind a parked bicycle. He was sitting on the ground next to a bag of trash, munching a sandwich, his face mostly hidden by a hoodie. Pascal thought he’d like to steal the man’s meal for himself, so I said a quick “hello” and kept my boisterous walking buddy moving.
A few minutes later, we reached the end of the path and turned around. As we passed the homeless man again, this time I managed to keep Pascal calm enough to catch the man’s eye and share a smile, which was all I had to offer in the moment.
As we headed back to the trailhead, I was still thinking about this encounter when Pascal and I met another man coming toward us. The trail is narrow and follows the edge of a stream, so the man stepped aside to let us pass. As we exchanged a quick “Hi there,” I noticed he was carrying a down jacket that looked brand-new.
This struck me as rather odd given that he appeared to be warmly dressed, and the day was not unseasonably cool. And he didn’t look like he was out for a long hike. He wasn’t carrying a knapsack or a water bottle. Just the down jacket.
That’s when I put the pieces together and created, as Paul Harvey used to say, “the rest of the story.” I guessed that the second man was taking the down jacket to the first man. Why else would he be carrying such a heavy jacket on such a warm day?
At least, that’s the story I imagined, and I’m clinging to it because it reminds me that we—each one of us—are the system. And while system change must involve the complicated machinery of policy and social structures, as individuals we have agency within the machinery. By our individual actions, we can help rewrite the inequitable stories that make systems instruments of oppression.
Was the man with the jacket really on a mission to help his brother experiencing homelessness? I like to think so, but of course, I can’t be sure. Yet somehow he opened a story portal through which I was able to glimpse an alternative narrative. A kinder narrative in which neighbors help neighbors and it’s normal to share rather than hoard.
Perhaps the “facts” of the story don’t really matter. Maybe what really matters is the narrative potential these two chance meetings in the woods unleashed. Because one jacket can’t solve the complex issues causing the homelessness epidemic—but a story that rewires our consciousness can become a mighty powerful catalyst for change at both the individual and system level.
Curious to explore ways to use story to promote your innovative ideas for social transformation? Check out Clarity Connect’s free Flash Courses on storytelling, including Crafting Transformative Narratives and Overcoming Apathy with Stories of Hope.
Comments