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End-of-year reflections: Kim Pearce

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Dear friends

Our end-of-the-year letter is a bit different this year, so I hope you will indulge me.  For a variety of reasons, this has been a really tough year. I have an image of us being in a small boat buffeted by strong winds and enormous sea swells, searching for and looking to the North Star to find our way. As a navigational tool, we know that the North Star has guided seafarers and land-locked persons alike over the eons. So, in these personal and collective turbulent times, I’ve asked myself what is the North Star for the CMM Institute? What is guiding us in our commitments and work in the world?

One answer to these questions occurred to me as I was listening to Gene Autrey’s song, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, on my local Tucson radio station. His nostalgic voice, and a song I’ve mindlessly sung a thousand times, struck me differently today.

Listening carefully, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, led to this mediation:

Who would have thought that Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is an invitation to a way of being in the world?

Autry, in his disarmingly sing-song cadence

can lull us into a

mindless

sing-a-long

and conjure images

of Santa’s sleigh-full-of-toys

whirling through the foggy night sky

with Rudolph leading the pack.

 

But listen closely

and you will hear

Autry the teacher,

Instructing us through Santa and a herd of reindeer.

 

A reindeer is different

“All of the other reindeer, used to laugh and call him names…” 

and

that

difference

is

the

rationale

“…They never let poor Rudolph

join in any reindeer games”

for all-too-familiar

ridicule and ostracism…

 

differently abled

transgender

refugee

asylum seeker

red-nosed reindeer…

 

We never learn how ostracism

affects Rudolph.

Did he consider plastic surgery?

A miracle product to eliminate redness?

Maybe he was hoping his mom would have another red-nosed baby to keep him company?

 

Autry doesn’t seem to think we need to know

Rudolph’s

state of mind.

 

Perhaps because we already know what ridicule and ostracism

can make…

Low self-esteem

depression

suicide

homicide

shame…

 

Instead, Autry’s attention

is on

a

need:

 

Santa has presents to deliver and it’s foggy outside.

 

“Then one foggy Christmas Eve, Santa came to say,

Rudolph with your nose so bright,

won’t you guide my sleigh tonight?…”

 

Who better to light the way than a bright and glowing nose!

 

Santa needs Rudolph.

All of the children of the world

need Rudolph

if they are to get

special gifts

that only Santa can bring.

 

“…Santa came to say…”

Diversity

is

not

a liability.

We need

Rudolph’s

bright

red

beacon

of a nose

to guide us

on the

journey.

 

“Then how the reindeer loved him.

As they shouted out with glee…you’ll go down in history.”

 

What a turn of events!

The reindeer are now

mimicking Santa.

They watched how Santa treated Rudolph,

and they behaved differently…

A new story is being enacted…

From ridicule and ostracism

to love.

 

It only took

one foggy Christmas Eve,

a very wise man,

and a willing outcast of a reindeer

to change the trajectory for them all.

 

I’m struck by the wisdom of this simple song and the power of one person to change the trajectory of an entire community. Santa does not see or treat Rudolph as an outcast or a liability. Instead, his invitation to Rudolph to “guide my sleigh” changes the entire story of who Rudolph is and, consequently, how he is treated by others. In this song, Santa’s way of being is the North Star for the CMM Institute. He’s focused on a need that only an outcast can provide—a bright red nose on a very foggy night. He uses all of his reindeer, even the ones who have done the ostracizing, to bring toys to the children of the world. And in doing these things, the entire reindeer community is transformed.

Margaret Mead reminds us, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

In these turbulent and uneasy times, may we be a community of practice transforming social worlds of ridicule and ostracism into worlds of compassion and love. CMM provides us with the tools and lenses to do so. May 2025 bring us closer to these ideals.

With love,

Kim Pearce and the Stewards of the CMM Institute

 

 

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