An Accessible Heart... a reflection from Jan Goings

Accessibility keeps bubbling up… I just participated in a workshop on making accessible videos, particularly adding descriptive narration to better engage viewers. Our local county of developmental disabilities just announced the availability of mobile universal changing tables for the community that will be available for events. In the last week, I have been privy to several conversations centering on the concept of “accessible”. I appreciate it when I take my mom to church, that the invitation is extended to us for early access to the auditorium so that we may be comfortably situated before the full audience enters. And as I type this document it is scanning for accessibility issues. In my daily life, in our community, accessibility has some import. I continue to see progress on accessible solutions and conventions. This is good. 

So, I am curious about the accessibility of the heart.  

Is it open? Is it respectful? Is it welcoming? Is it transformative?  

I am asking myself how I can create ways or avenues in my life of letting in and letting out heart space that honors and makes room for more. More  — life experiences, more relationships, more passions, more justice, more fair-mindedness, more beauty, more empathy. I want a more accessible heart for me, those I love, and those I serve.“

And what do I need to let out of my heart to be accessible: pain, disappointment, fear, indifference, old stories, isolation, scarcity.  

And what do I need to let in: curiosity, humbleness, trust, joy, community, uncertainty, forgiveness, intentionality, adventure, accountability. 

Where do I go with this quest? I am so reminded of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s teaching on the beloved community in which everyone is cared for, absent of poverty, hunger, and hate. Realizing this vision does take systems change across law, education, social welfare, health, and more. 

It also asks of us to commit to doing hard work, to be uncomfortable, to live in the tension of vision and reality, hope and disappointment, steadfastness and patience. In our collective work, individually, relationally, institutionally, and culturally our practices, procedures, policies, and performances need to be built on a firm foundation of a rich soil of justice, humanity, and love. I reconfirm my commitment to till the soil where I am planted, across all domains of my life, to live, to learn, and to lead in “a beloved more”, beginning with my own heart work.

Jan Goings is a weekend day tripper, coffee sipper, AKA sister, trained voice actor, incredible listener, and thought leader.