by Pink

I wonder if any of the alleged parties at Downing Street might have kicked off with Pink’s Get the Party Started? After all the song it contains the lyric:

Everybody’s waitin’ for me to arrive.

Perhaps you are waiting for a political rant now. I could certainly write that as whilst the alleged parties were occurring, we had been prevented from seeing my mum who then passed away. But, whilst political anger is important, it needs to be directed in the right place, campaigning for political change. Instead, I’d like to focus on another lyric from this song and the insight it might bring in to how we can respond to situations when we feel powerless:

Makin’ my connection as I enter the room. Everybody’s chillin’ as I set up the groove.

When we feel angered by those with leadership roles, whether political, or maybe even in our work places or in other situations we encounter in life, it’s easy to feel disempowered and angry. But these lyrics hint at something else, to look for what we can do and what influence we might be able to create.

A few years ago, I saw the feminist Russian punk protest band Pussy Riot. A number of members of the band were imprisoned for their protest performance in a Moscow cathedral. Singer Maria Alyokhina recalls in her book how when she first arrived in prison every day she was ordered to strip and do squats in front of prison guards. Yet Alyokhina states how it was at this point that she realised her agency, that she always had choice.

Despite her circumstances Alyokhina chose not to follow the orders of the guards. She adds that this came with the consequence of being sent to a prison in Siberia, but ultimately became part of the case which helped her to be one of the first women to win a case for abuse in imprisonment against the Russian government.

When we see situations which make us angry because of the lack of justice it is easy to allow that anger to overcome us and for us to feel disempowered. Yet there is an alternative. We too can connect with others and seek to set our own tune. This might involve us making some tough choices, but empowerment always begins with choosing to set our own groove.

Want to think about this more? Why not book an appointment with the author, Dr Dave Wood?