We Are All Changed

This morning I got a ping on my phone. It was a calendar reminder for a flight I had booked. Today, on the third anniversary of the very first GOOD Fest (love you, Philly!), I would have been flying from my home on the East Coast to Los Angeles for our first ever Change Maker Weekend, a three-day experience highlighting a gorgeously diverse gathering of female change makers and thought leaders. We were to speak about the concept of change, and how we in the wellness community can inform meaningful, equitable, impactful change—in our communities, in our homes, in our work, and most importantly, in ourselves.

Six weeks ago I made the call to postpone our L.A. dates, yet even then I couldn’t fully comprehend or envision the devastating global impact of COVID-19. Postponing seemed like the right thing to do. Halt travel and large gatherings. We can do that. No big deal. Surely life would be back to normal in a few weeks. Life as usual. It’s all GOOD.

Not quite.

Life is not usual. Life has not turned back to “normal”. I don’t even know what normal is anymore. This moment in this lifetime feels liminal, uncertain, potent, challenging, and abundant with change.

Mother Earth is healing.
People are dying.
Economies are plummeting.
The desire for connection is skyrocketing.
I feel overwhelmed.
I feel grateful.
I feel horrified.
I feel everything.

Maybe you can relate.

Sidebar with a splash of radical transparency here: The past six months have been really f-ing complicated. On October 15, 2019, I became owner and CEO of GOOD. Single-handedly taking over a brand that once had six hands and three brains has been nothing short of…exciting. Six months ago I was married with a co-pilot. Today I am a single mom with a co-parent. Barely two months ago, my address changed. Four weeks ago, schools closed and I began homeschooling a 3rd and 6th grader. And then the full scale of COVID-19 showed up…no more coffee shop meetings, no more sunsets at the beach, no more wine night with my girlfriends, no more epic gatherings of hundreds of GOOD women. In a matter of days, everything for everyone everywhere changed. EVERYBODY’S life got really f-ing complicated.

Isn’t it interesting to observe how each and every one of us are experiencing our own complex myriad of emotions and setbacks? Just me?

Personally, I vacillate between euphoric introvert and deeply dark, hearty-heavy introspection. I sit alone with my own grief and loss and I help my 8yo make a video for his math assignment. l stop everything I’m doing to double-check that my 11yo did, in fact, complete and actually turn in his science assignment. I go to the store alone and I stand in line outside, waiting for my turn to go in. I wear a mask and gloves and when I come home I sanitize the everliving hell out of everything. I pray. I journal. I cry. I get scared. I teach virtual yoga classes to make ends meet. And then there’s the cooking, the Zoom meetings, the much-needed mental health breaks, the laundry, the news feed, the fear, the mental fog…

At this stage in my life, I’m a mom first. Period. My kids are experiencing profound change, and I have the luxury (ahem, privilege) of being able to nest in this new home, create new traditions for them, attempt to help them with math, hold them when they cry, smile deep into their eyes when they find relief in laughter and joy. Whatever it is you’re doing to keep your self and your family together, I see you.

Wow. I surely made this about me, didn’t I.

Let me get to the point. (And thank you for hanging in. 🤙)

CONNECTION. That’s what this GOOD community is all about—connection to your self, to each other, to the greater GOOD. (It’s also about hugs. I miss hugs the most.)

This Great Pause has disruptively changed the way we as a brand + we as members of a global community seek and find connection. It’s forced us all to slow the F down. We’ve been faced with difficult situations and decisions. Our lives are affected. No question.

People are going to be changed after this.

We already are.

Our world is changed.

I am changed.

You are changed.

And GOOD will change because change is GOOD.

What’s next? Well, I’m going to tend to the necessary needs of my people and my feelings. I hope you are able to comfortably do the same. I’m also going to observe, ask questions, LISTEN, and give good long thought to how, exactly, this community can best serve YOU.

I have a big helping of GOOD on my hands, and I’m committed to making sure that our next steps forward are nothing short of meaningful, equitable, and impactful. YOU, after all, are worth it.

I’ll get back to you soon.

GOOD things coming, I promise.

Stay well. Stay strong. Stay home. I love you.

💋
LK Whitney
Head Cheerleader + Chief Experience Officer
The GOOD Fest

P.S. - Have any GOOD to share? Email me anytime.