Episode 3 - Finding Purpose

Jun 8

Jessica O’Dowd is a change leader, design thinking and purpose purveyor. Her story of intent includes beautiful analogies of how she is discovering her life purpose by visioning what she wants her life to look like in the next 10 and 20 years. Jessica skillfully articulates concepts such as strength being “what lights you up”, finding your personal life values, and having the courage to explore. As a mom, she wants to ensure that when she leaves her “little human” to head to work, that meaningful impact is created for both her and those within her community. This is Jessica’s story of intent on discovering purpose. Jess was kind enough to provide her thoughts on purpose given our current climate.

This is Jessica and her Story of Intent.

“A note on purpose in the time of COVID, following the brutal murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and the elevated awareness of the Black Lives Matter civil rights movement. I believe we are in the midst of two critical, international pandemics, and for me, now especially, purpose is essential. We are each facing massively important conversations on life’s priorities, and many of us are choosing to show up in the world with more intention. There is a collective shift. Life will not be the same, and that matters. Black Lives Matter. Trans Lives Matter. Black Trans Lives Matter. Indigenous Lives Matter. And until they truly matter, I am called to learn and do better. My purpose sits at the root of my being, grounding and guiding me to serve, and inspire with, love. And I know I’m not on purpose if I don’t have an intentional, daily, anti-racism practice, if I’m not expanding my perspective, or exploring and engaging my privileged identities as a white, cis, able-bodied, educated, middle-class, Euro-Canadian mother and leader. How am I serving and inspiring with love, when it leaves out those I have traditionally marginalized?

My purpose calls me to sit with and listen to friends’ experiences of racism and oppression, to hold space for their rightful rage, to have my foundations shaken as I recognize that I have been raised and complicit in a system built by, and for the benefit of, white people. It allows me to not let my white guilt and fragility get in the way of choosing to learn, evolve, and take action. And as I get knocked around by guilt and shame and outrage, my purpose calls me back up. It gives me permission to forgive myself when I f&#k up. It gives me the strength to expose, interrupt, and mitigate my biases, to apologize without defensiveness, and to fumble towards a better way.

My purpose reminds me exactly how I want to show up here and now, more than ever.”

— Jessica O’Dowd