Be encouraged, pioneers
Merriam-Webster defines the word “pioneer” as “a person or group that originates or helps open up a new line of thought or activity or a new method, one of the first to settle in a territory; to open or prepare for others to follow; to originate or take part in the development of …”
If you are reading this, I’m sure you have known people who fit the description. You may even be a pioneer.
Maybe you are the first in your family to do something no one before you has done. Maybe you have helped establish a new rule, policy, or law.
Or maybe you have been the one who has initiated needed change by speaking out in a place where no one else has attempted to speak up before.
I have been blessed to know several extraordinary individuals that
I can call pioneers, for multiple reasons.
Most often, it’s a lonely walk.
I once had a friend who took a huge risk and followed his heart. He was the first to do the first of many things in his family. He broke with tradition. He took control of his narrative.
And as pioneers will, he faced repercussions and resistance.
I penned a letter of support. I’m sharing a bit below. If you are a pioneer, I hope the following encourages you. I never knew whether or not it served him. But I’m glad I sent it, all the same.
“When I think of you, I see you turning a vessel around, shifting an enormous tide.
And you are the first in a long line. You are a pioneer in your lineage.
The pioneer’s struggle is often a misunderstood one.
Pioneers break with tradition and long-held beliefs. They tear themselves away from the familiar even if it means incredible pain.
The familiar is what most people will cling to for false security, even if it kills them — even if it wounds their kin.
Security and denial are extremely addictive. Very few have the love it takes to choose something better, above their pull.
So, pioneers go inside themselves. They feel invisible, unseen, unknown. It can feel like a very lonely journey. Because it is when you are a pioneer.
You are not only carving out a new path, you are the first one carving it out. And think of the act of “carving”...it’s extremely strenuous work. The ones we are accustomed to knowing us, having our backs — might break with us.
But what a heritage you are leaving. You won’t know all of what your actions are making possible for the generations that will follow after you. What you are doing now is making things easier for them. Even invisibly. Be encouraged.”
Be encouraged, pioneers.