It was early 2019 when the Boysen Color Team came up with Color Trend 2020. One of the color palettes that was created was KINSHIP.

Human connection is at the heart of this palette, an exquisite balance of warm and cool colors. It is a celebration of our uniqueness as individuals and the importance of the tribe.

The Message of the KINSHIP Palette

The pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement were not even in our consciousness at the time but we already had this KINSHIP palette as a representation of the invocation: Unity in Diversity. We wanted a palette that says that whatever geographical or conceptual boundaries exist to bring us together or drive us apart, at the very core we know that we are parts of a whole.

Who would have thought that a year later it would be a virus that would be the common denominator that would bind us together? That if we are to survive, we must open ourselves up to defining tribe not along bloodlines but equating tribe with the human race.

Navigating Turbulent Waters and Searching for a Safe Harbor

Netizens may have read this poem, or a verse (in bold), written by columnist Damian Barr and shared on Twitter on April 21, 2020. The poem (copied from the Foundation Stage Forum website):

I heard that we are all in the same boat.
But it’s not that.
We are in the same storm, but not in the same boat.
Your ship can be shipwrecked and mine might not be.
Or vice versa.
For some, quarantine is optimal: a moment of reflection, or reconnection.
Easy in flip flops, with whisky or tea.
For others, this is a desperate crisis.
For others, it is facing loneliness.
For some, peace, rest time, vacation.
Yet for others, torture: How am I going to pay my bills?

So, friends, we are not in the same boat.
We are going through a time when our perceptions and needs are completely different. And each one will emerge, in his own way, from that storm.
It is very important to see beyond what is seen at first glance.
Not just looking, more than looking, seeing.
See beyond the political party, beyond biases, beyond the nose on your face. Do not judge the good life of the other, do not condemn the bad life of the other.

We are on different ships looking to survive.
Let everyone navigate their route with respect, empathy and responsibility.

This poem is a call for respect, empathy and responsibility. I would add that it’s a call for kindness and generosity. Let’s suspend judgment and do what we can to survive this crisis together. Expand kinship and be inclusive because we are all connected.

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Author

Annie is the Managing Editor of Let it B | MyBoysen Blog. An unrepentant workaholic, she runs this blog and her own company Talking Lions (https://talkinglions.com). She thrives on collaborating with people who are good at what they do, and working together with them to create something special. Annie learned interior styling while managing her own wholesale business in the Netherlands, importing high-end, handmade home furnishings to stock four outlets and a showroom in the country.

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