Last week after Common Art, I found myself remarking in a rather ironic statement to my supervisor, the Rev. Pam Werntz, that all the action at Common Art takes place on the stage. In the back of the room is a large stage that some folks opt to sit or lie down on. I’ve noticed over the last few weeks that this tends to be a hotspot for any commotion or behavior that may need some checking in with. This was the case this past week as some tensions arose near the stage a few times throughout the day.

In particular, I experienced a first when working with a community member who did not want to follow the guidelines for using a face shield. If they were unwilling to wear the face shield, I was going to have to ask them to leave the building. The idea of asking this person to leave made me feel quite uncomfortable and uneasy, yet we have guidelines in place to care for and protect each other in the space. In the end, it was a happy ending as I was able to work with the community member to successfully wear the face shield so they could participate in the day’s activities.

That feeling of unease stuck with me, however, and I felt a little bad that the idea of asking someone leave felt so hard; after all it was what I needed to do. I held onto this topic to discuss in supervision and realized something important when I was there. My supervisor reminded me that it’s a good thing that I was uncomfortable. It doesn’t often feel comfortable or easy to do things like ask someone to leave the program, and it shouldn’t either. The tug between empathy and doing the right thing for the space is a challenge.  I realized I was being a bit hard on myself; of course it shouldn’t be too easy. Moving forward at Common Art, I want to keep noticing where I may feel comfortable or uncomfortable and check in with myself. Sometimes it may be a good opportunity to challenge myself, and other times like this past week I may need to be a bit gentler with myself.