05/09/2025
Who Is Shaking The Jar: When division is engineered. How can we hold the lid open for others?
https://youtu.be/F6IS7VILSrg
This post is such a striking reminder of how division is often engineered-and how easily we can become complicit in conflict without questioning its source.
🧠 In the Six Stages Framework, we call this Stage -1: "Distancing and Deflecting"—when individuals focus on difference and blame, without acknowledging the systems shaking the jar.
🫂 But transformation begins when we locate ourselves (Step 0) and move towards Stage +1: "Noticing and Naming". This means courageously asking:
* Who is shaking the jar?
* What systems benefit from our division?
* How can we step back and see the bigger picture?
🤝 When we develop equity literacy, we stop fighting each other and start dismantling the conditions that keep us trapped in the jar.
💭 What jar are you in? And how can we hold the lid open for others?
“This powerful metaphor was originally shared by [Fred Suadwa] — thank you for such a thought-provoking post. It prompted me to reflect using the lens of my Six Stages Framework…”
“A powerful reflection by Fred Suadwa: ‘If you put 100 black ants and 100 red ants in a jar... the real enemy is the one shaking the jar.’
This striking metaphor aligns deeply with my Six Stages Framework—specifically, Stage –1 (Distancing & Deflecting), where we blame each other rather than questioning what's shaking the jar.�From there, transformation begins with Stage 0 (Locating Ourselves), shifting to Stage +1 (Noticing & Naming). We must ask: Who’s orchestrating our division? and Which systems benefit from it?�Cultivating equity literacy lets us move beyond conflict, address underlying systemic conditions, and reflect on how we can hold the lid open for others.
Thanks again, Fred, for sparking this important conversation.
”
This post is such a striking reminder of how division is often engineered-and how easily we can become complicit in conflict without questioning its source.?...
