The power of language in changing times: Care
As we continue to find our way through this difficult time, I have been reflecting on how words can shift their meaning and impact during times of extreme change. One that has struck me recently, is the word ‘care’ and I was interested to explore this from a number of different perspectives.
In recent months, I’ve been reflecting on what I have been missing most throughout the lockdown and the various restrictions this year and last. It’s easy to focus on socialising, seeing family and friends, travel etc, but what occurred to me was that the thing I missed most was being ‘carefree’. What I mean by that is being able to decide spontaneously to do something, to be able to embark on it without concern or thought and to truly live ‘in the moment’.
For the majority of this year, we have had to carefully plan for most everyday activities we had previously take for granted – going to the shops, meeting up with friends, having a meal out. Often, we have had to weigh up the risk factors, consider the potential impacts on ourselves and others, review often conflicting information, and make a judgement call about how we proceed. So, it can feel like we’ve lost a lot of that light-hearted spontaneity in the way we live our lives. But I believe it’s worth looking at from another perspective. If we consider the word ‘careful’ instead, it can help us see what we are gaining rather than losing. While we’re perhaps not able to be as relaxed and untroubled as we were, this unique situation is encouraging us to be more thoughtful and considerate; to think of our impact on others and the consequences of our actions (or inaction) on others.
When we think about our workplaces, one phrase that has re-emerged for me, is ‘duty of care’. Once an expression used to describe the responsibilities of those in charge of organisations to those employed by them, I believe we need to reclaim this idea to describe how we all need to consider and support each other. Also, from an organisation perspective, we need to be asking what our ‘duty of care’ is for the wider global community and the planet - something also brought sharply into focus over the last year.
If living with more ‘care’ means we need to show some forethought and sensitivity, that we do need to pay more attention to the needs of others and nurture them, then perhaps it’s been worth the sacrifice of being completely ‘care free’. Of course, the word care is also closely associated with ‘love’, a word we rarely use in a non-familial or relationship way. But if we are to really progress after this most challenging period of time, then I believe we need to be unafraid to embrace this word and start to love each other and our world a little more.
