Advocacy

The power in our intentions

Journal: 6 December, 2024, morning.

Being an advocate: “As a noun, an advocate is a person who represents another person's interests, like a lawyer does. In fact, the word comes from the courtroom — it's from Latin advocare, to ‘add’ a ‘voice.’ To advocate is to add a voice of support to a cause or person.”

I was my sister’s advocate during her long years of cancer treatments: staying with her in hospitals and during days of chemo, in the five years of regularly driving her to New Orleans and Memphis, listening and taking notes and asking questions as she met with her doctors, running interference for her when processes went in the ditch, getting her an extra dish of “pot liquor” along with her mustard greens when we stopped for lunch at Cracker Barrel, because she loved to crumble her corn bread in it. Whatever she needed. Anything. Everything. I was consumed by advocating for her wellbeing, representing her interests.

Those days are gone now but I’m still an advocate. So are you. So are we all, whether we realize it or not.

I try to ask myself regularly to what cause am I adding my voice, and whether or not I’m consciously aware that I’m doing that. We can’t easily see ourselves, even with purposeful introspection. It’s hard.

Everything we say and do is advocacy. Not speaking up is advocacy. Voting is advocacy. Selecting “like” on a comment on a Facebook post is advocacy. Donations to causes are advocacy. Whatever we are doing or not doing, messages are being sent and received that *this* is the interest we are representing.

What happened early Wednesday morning—that action—was advocacy. Serving in the role of CEO of that company was advocacy.

I wonder often if we truly understand exactly what we are supporting, past the surface “cause” and the soundbites, past the party allegiances, past the dislike of the *other side*, past the easy answers and the tribal calls for loyalty, past what we want to believe.

It bears thinking about, and I do, because of how powerful our advocacy can be. You don’t think so? You’d be surprised, I’m positive of that.

I want always to advocate for the best world for all of us. That’s how I try to use my voice. It’s not easy but there’s satisfaction in knowing I tried my best.

#journalingalife