As we move towards a thoughtful, gathering season in the Northern Hemisphere, I find myself reflecting on the weight and complexity of the challenges many in our community are navigating. I can’t find another word other than “challenges." After many conversations with different members over the last few weeks, I’m realizing it’s not a single challenge; the challenges are myriad. There is as much commonality as there is difference, making this feel like a big, un-nameable, unwieldy blob of challenge.

What I can hope to give voice to is the cumulative impact of those challenges on many within our community. I am speaking from the heart on this one. As I do, my hope is that my personal experience resonates.

I am tired. I am tired of feeling unsettled and uncertain. I am tired of the unnecessary vulnerability those I care for feel daily. I am tired of the work it takes to hold onto what matters: discourse without disrespect, disagreement without dehumanization, a shared sense of mattering, and a shared desire to understand.

What I am holding onto is my own rallying cry. We must persist in our pursuit of principled discussion and disagreement, because we are ombuds. And we must continue to believe in the ability to build and support healthy functioning systems and conflict-resilient spaces, because we are ombuds. We must–as our Ombuds colleague Jackie Reese implores us to do–continue to affirmatively seek joy, including as an act of resistance against the forces of despair and fear and overwhelm, because we are ombuds. We must continue the hard and good work of being in service to others, because we are ombuds. And we must persist in our belief and hope in humanity’s ability to create good, because we are ombuds.

I know I’m not alone in feeling tired. Many of us are tired: today; this week; this month; this year. This decade. And know that it’s okay to be tired, to feel numb. To be angry, indifferent, confused about the state of the world and all of the challenges it brings.

Please take advantage of our existing resources, like our quarterly wellness check-ins; our digital gathering space, CommUnity; and our ombuds program. Connect with your colleagues through our regional groups, including our RACs, and our affinity groups. Reach out to each other. Reach out to me, to the Board, to committee leadership, or to our Executive Director.

Ombuds work is often lonely. But the beauty of being part of our ombuds community is that we’re not alone. Let’s embrace these challenges together. Let’s talk, together. Let’s offer support, together. Let’s build this community, together. Because, we are ombuds.

Jennifer Mahony
IOA President