Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1506754
Don't Bother the Earth Spirit BY JOY HARJO Don't bother the earth spirit who lives here. She is working on a story. It is the oldest story in the world and it is delicate, changing. If she sees you watching she will invite you in for coffee, give you warm bread, and you will be obligated to stay and listen. But this is no ordinary story. You will have to endure earthquakes, lightning, the deaths of all those you love, the most blinding beauty. It's a story so compelling you may never want to leave; this is how she traps you. See that stone finger over there? That is the only one who ever escaped. Source: Secrets from the Center of the World (University of Arizona Press, 1989) WHETHER WE ARE WATCHING, waiting to be invited in, enduring the storms, or some blend of it all, we have an obligation to acknowledge the story of what is within and surrounding us. Joy Harjo writes of the earth's spirit. It's a call to acknowledge what we are all a part of, if only we are first willing to watch. When we observe what is all around and within us, we can find what is calling us. Perhaps that calling can even tell us how to lead with authenticity and purpose. But only if we watch before we move. The story Harjo shares applies to more than the story of Macon, but I see a glimpse of that delicate, changing tale here. Macon, too, invites you in. I celebrated five years as steward of this publication's story this August. The very reason I am in this role is because the previous owners of Macon Magazine, Jodi and James Palmer, invited me in. In these pages, you'll encounter countless invitations to be a part of the story. Like the listener sharing the bread and coffee, you have to go where the invitation exists. The tellers are working. They will invite you in, but the work cannot stop. Get up and find them for yourself. The mantle of leadership can be a heavy li . But so many of our stories are calling us to lead by listening, first. When I hear this, I think leadership doesn't only look like a plaque on the wall, a title complementing a name, or a suit perfectly fitted on a body. It also looks like showing up to the workshop, taking even a small chance to speak up for progress in the face of civic cynicism, or reading a book to a child. Radical? Maybe, in its simplicity. Leadership is all of this. And you get to write your own story of leadership. I am willing to bet it all: It won't be any ordinary story, not with you in it, not with Macon as the setting. I'll make one request. Don't seek the escape. Be in the compelling story – like the leaders in these pages. A er all, you can't turn a page with a stone finger. Keep reading, Susannah C. Maddux @susannahcmaddux What do you think? We want to know what leadership means to you. Join the conversation @maconmagazine or email us hello@maconmagazine.com. Editor's Letter Just before a summer storm in Linear Park, we celebrated a moment with our 5 Under 40 young lead- ers. I am ready for you to know each of them. Photography editor Julia Morrison and I, along with our entire team, welcome Sierra Stark Stevens (far left)! She's worked with us as an intern, writer, assistant editor, and on various programs. Now, she joins us as our managing editor. I am confident she's the partner we've been waiting for, and our readers will no doubt reap the benefit of her attention to detail, heart, and grit for this work. She's a leader I'll stand with. Photography by Jessica Whitley. Internationally renowned Muscogee (Creek) Nation writer, musician, and performer Joy Harjo was the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States and the first Native American Poet Laureate. She will join Middle Georgia State University September 26 for a special reading and book signing. 14 maconmagazine.com | AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2023