Wheel and Come Again

I was having a tough day. Three client cancellations and lots of anti-DEI backlash in the news.

I expressed my distress to my aunt, and she sent me a text:

“You have to wheel and come again. Find a new way to deal with workplace dysfunction.”

There is a Jamaican phrase or proverb for every situation. This one means “Make adjustments, find a new approach, and don’t give up.”

I could hear her Jamaican accent and emphasis. I felt it in my spirit. 

It was exactly what I needed in that moment. It grounded me, snapped me out of my wallowing, and reminded me of who I am: the descendant of a long line of strong people who survived the unimaginable. Kidnapping, the Middle Passage, enslavement, brutality, emancipation without economic support, the Great Depression, and more. Their sacrifice made my life of relative privilege possible. 

I can’t waste time feeling sorry for myself. “Wheel and come again!”

So, what adjustments will I make? Focus on using my voice in my sphere of influence: my clients. I can help them figure out how they can safely continue to do the work of inclusion to which they are committed. 

I can also speak out when I see injustice and illegality, using my own words and amplifying the voices of others. 

We have come too far to sit quietly while our rights are taken away.

As another Jamaican phrase puts it: “Better must come.”