You’ve Got a Friend in Me

What a week! Last week I hightailed it to the Boston Common for a peaceful rally, just like many others did for the various Women’s Marches that appeared from sea to shining sea. I knew about ten people but felt like I had 175,000 thousand friends! The crowd swelled of support, goodwill, and peaceful protest which brought me more comfort and joy than I felt all last year.

I was so impressed with the diversity of humanity around me. Where I was standing, it seemed as many men as women came out in solidarity. People of color. College students. Children and families. A sea of pink and purple hats worn by many. One father held up his gleeful infant like a protest sign among the many creative, blunt, and often humorous signs. Then the news reports of the marches in DC and around the world appeared. One after another. It was remarkable. Of course, some people felt left out or wondered why so many people didn’t appear side by side with members of Black Lives Matter and the Standing Rock water protectors, too. It’s a good question: What do we show up for? When? Who are we leaving out?

It’s time to ask hard questions and dig deep for our personal values. As I stood at the Boston Common I felt invigorated, with an overriding sense of hope and optimism. Mostly, I felt the warmth of kindred spirits and friendship.

Then a friend posted the sweetest video of a father and daughter singing. It’s ranked over 100 million views in a matter of days! (Just maybe you’ve seen it.) That’s how much we could use a good dose of friendship. It brought me back to when my girls loved the Toy Story animation series. I often give a nod to Woody, Jessie and Buzz as some of the best teachers on empathy. These characters never failed to come together to help each other, and they fiercely traversed a world with both light and dark shadows. They are kind warriors.

So this little ditty sung by 4 year-old Claire and her Daddy reinforced exactly how I felt at the Women’s’ March.