My wife introduced me some time ago to a great word: “liminal.” It means, according to my Oxford, “occupying a position at, or on both sides of, a boundary or threshold.”
In terms of the election, our nation, and perhaps even the world, we are definitely in a liminal space.
We are between Election Day (or Election Season) and the inauguration on January 20. We are between the initial reports of vote counts and the final certification of those counts. And, we are watching the Trump administration implement some last-gasp destruction, even as the Biden administration starts gearing up to repair things.
Forward Kentucky is also in a liminal space. When we started in 2016, I said my goal was to stay committed to the work through the 2020 election. We’ve done that. So, now what? Expand? Contract? Stay the same? Stop completely? That discussion and that thinking are going on right now, and will continue through the end of the year, at least.
The one thing I know is that when you are in a liminal space, one of the best things you can do is “possess your soul in calmness.” Wait. Listen. Don’t try to push; allow the next door, the next step to come to you. It will, in time.
In the meantime, we’re going to “keep on keeping on,” as my father used to say. And if you find what we do valuable, one way you can show that is to become a member, if you aren’t already. Every membership helps us to imagine the future with confidence, even as we wait in the liminal space.
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