Taking Time to Listen: A Message from Marian Kaanon
Dear Friends,
In preparing for my three-month sabbatical, I’ve been letting colleagues know that I am stepping away from all work functions from July 7th through October 6th. The common response I get is “What will you do?” It’s been interesting to see the blank looks when I respond, “Absolutely nothing!”
To be clear, I have planned several trips with family and friends. I have some hikes and house projects on the calendar. But mostly, my ‘to-do’ list consists of the following:
Wake up
Be quiet
Listen
So, there’s very little ‘doing’ on my to-do list. After nearly thirteen years of joyful and challenging work at the helm of Stanislaus Community Foundation, non-doing feels like an impossible luxury, especially given the profoundly distracted world we now live in. Every moment is filled with noise. There is no shortage of images, news headlines, opinions, memes, emails and texts. And there is no shortage of change.
There is a shortage of awareness and attention though.
In an increasingly distracted world, I have found myself fragmented. I sometimes struggle to pay attention, to listen deeply, to notice. I am usually racing from one meeting or conversation to the next.
Yet sometimes, in the quietness of a Sunday morning, I will hear birdsong outside my front window and find myself startled with delight. These moments are fleeting though. So, I am using this sabbatical to return to that level of listening.
Because how can we serve others if we are not paying attention?
As the alarm bells ring daily – political volatility, widening economic divides, public vitriol, the seismic disruptions of AI, the impacts of climate change – leaders will have to respond with great discernment and intention. Cultivating wisdom and fortitude helps us not add to the tumult; we can then move deliberately to reduce the suffering of those around us.
Rest is evident in nature too: farmers know that letting the land lie fallow is necessary for future growth.
Those cycles of rest followed by fertile growth exist for organizations as well. Stanislaus Community Foundation has an enduring mission to serve our region through generational change. We have launched multiple large-scale initiatives in the past decade, granted tens of millions of dollars, and worked with hundreds of donors, leaders and residents across many issues. And I know that there is as much good work ahead of us as behind us. This new work will require an entirely new level of love and energy.
I am grateful to our visionary Board of Directors for recognizing the importance of a sabbatical and supporting my decision to step away. I am thankful to our incredible team who will continue to advance our work in my absence. Melissa Van Diepen will serve as Acting Chief Executive Officer and will lead our staff across multiple work streams.
As for me, I’ll slip into what the ancient Greeks call Kairos time. Greek philosophers had two names for the passage of time: Chronos, which is linear, qualitative and measured in seconds, minutes, hours, days and months. Kairos, however, is more subjective and refers to flow, ease, presence and … grace.
Kairos time allows for stillness, serendipity and ultimately awe. All these qualities can surely serve us well at this time.
The rabbi Abraham Heschel, known for his concept of radical amazement, once said, “I did not ask for success. I asked for wonder. And you gave it to me.”
My sabbatical wish for you is that you find yourself startled by delight at something small and trivial. My hope is that you experience awe even amid the hardships and challenges of this world.
I think reflection and rest can transform our despair at the state of the world into faith for a better future. A future created day by day, with compassionate and courageous action. I hope to restore my faith in what’s still possible during my sabbatical period. I look forward to serving from this place when I return.
In service,
Marian Kaanon
President/CEO