A lifeline within a world hell-bent on getting it wrong.
“It’s not enough to tell people to stop hating. We must teach them how to love one another.”
Chloe Valdary
In December of 2023, I caught a post by Chloe Valdary offering her Theory of Enchantment course for $96 and jumped all over it.
I first heard of Chloe during the latter part of 2021. I had been studying the likes of Kendi, DiAngelo, and Desmond Cole locally, before finding my way to Irshad Manji and many other change-makers within this sociopolitical realm, including Chloe. Chloe’s vision captivated me right away and I continued to follow her work these past few years as I embarked on this path to a deeper understanding of our society and finding my place and voice within it.
Although there was no book to read, and I wasn’t in a position to take a course at that time to learn more about Chloe’s work, I was moved to know that there were people out there transforming words into action – brave individuals using their gift to build a framework aimed at making the world a better place, through a model that could apply to any issue – not just the issue of race specifically.
Even though I had hoped to sign up for Chloe’s course for some time, I didn’t need to take it to know that her goals were rooted in love. However, I was excited at the opportunity to finally expand much deeper into why I felt Chloe was a guiding spirit on the path to a more consequential way for our society to move forward.
I dove eagerly into Chloe’s course right away, but then Christmas planning took over and the next thing I knew it was early February, and my subscription to the course was about to expire one lesson in. I am not sure why I thought I had unlimited time to finish the program as no course I have ever taken was open-ended, however, I found myself having only just touched on the learning and had missed my opportunity to immerse myself in Chloe’s vision. Thankfully, the planets aligned and I was gifted the opportunity to continue this course and take my time through parenting, work, and volunteer responsibilities within my community, which led to finally completing this intense but transformative course in early June.
Remarkably, this program was born of Chloe’s thesis as a Bartley Fellow at The Wall Street Journal. Knowing this, however, it should come as no surprise that Chloe asks us in her course to envision change in our community and to think of a possible program we might create to tackle that issue.
Between my course notebook and other documents I put together as part of an assignment or as a way to remember the lessons, I have 111 pages worth of materials. I also reflected on this journey after each lesson on Linkedin, which connected me to many wonderful people who share my love for Chloe’s vision to effect real, lasting change in our society. Chloe liked and shared many of these posts which added to the joy of this learning. I’m grateful for this interaction and that of others whose paths I have intersected with along the way.
“To love requires that you grapple with the humanity of others and with your own. To love requires that you criticize others because you care about them.”
Chloe Valdary
Our last assignment was to watch and study the Disney movie Moana. To me, not only does Moana exhibit all three principles of the Theory of Enchantment, but I see Chloe and Moana as spiritual reflections of one another. They exemplify love and hope and each sees a brighter more sustainable future through understanding, growth, and a passion for life-long learning. They see the need to accept the challenge of traveling to the great beyond to find the light they see within themselves and the world.
From de-robing Ku Klutz Klan members to leaving one’s faith and family because people showed compassion and patience in the face of hate – allowing someone to see the error in their ways – there are so many examples within this program that show us the ability of people to make drastic character transformations, which makes it easy to believe that the hard work of programs like the Theory of Enchantment is worth the possibilities its examples exhibit.
Although I had watched all of the movies we studied before, previously heard some of the music or speeches we listened to or knew of the people covered in some of the interviews, book snippets, or articles reviewed in the coursework, examining these characters through the lens of enchantment is an exercise I would recommend with any physical or digital content we consume. Learning about stoicism and appreciative inquiry and how past visionaries and change makers used these techniques, has also given students powerful tools to move the needle within our social landscapes – even if all we walk away from a conversation with is understanding.
This course permits us to accept ourselves as deeply flawed human beings capable of change, rooted in love, whose shared existence is being human. Of being affected by hate and neglect, and with a common need for acceptance, forgiveness, and a sense of community.
In a way, I am sad that this course is over because of the meaningful way it has impacted my life these past 6 months, but there is also an immense feeling of accomplishment in a world where so much of our every day never feels complete.
Before taking Chloe’s course, I had often stated that I wished visionaries like Chloe had been the first to enter the DEI realm because I am not sure these terms, or people’s openness to engage in such learning, can ever be restored given the bad actor’s that are deeply embedded within most of our institutions who have turned this practice into one of segregation and us versus them groupings, rather than looking beyond labels to the things that make up our common humanity:
- We are human beings, not political abstractions;
- We respond more genuinely when people criticize us to uplift and empower, not by tearing us down or seeking to destroy us;
- Real, meaningful change happens when we root everything we do in love and compassion.
I will be forever grateful for the Chloe Valdary’s of this world, who care more about bringing us together than fighting hate with politics. Her theory exemplifies the future I envision for my children. One of love, understanding, and the willingness and openness to have conversations across political and social divides. She is a bright light among the current darkness.
These steel city streets and the surrounding country roads of my hometown have made me who I am today. However, unlike the direct influences from those who walked this physical path with me through those first fifty years, in the age of the internet – where we are no longer constrained to happenstance role models – our opportunities for more significant and influential connections are limitless. Chloe is an exciting example of how these role models from distant paths can still travel these roads with us and help us be the people we have always known we were inside and capable of the things we have long dreamed of being.
This program certainly made me think differently about how I view my neighbor and my place within the complexities of our society. Even the Theory of Enchantment goes beyond its own labels as a DEI course, because what it truly is to me is a lifeline – a chance to get it right within a world hell-bent on getting it wrong.
“We are all mortal beings who must find and take our rightful place in the Circle of Life. We must weather the tragedy and triumph of the human condition and be brave enough not to shirk our duties to each other along the way. To do this requires that we get to know and understand ourselves intimately, not as caricatures but as layered, complex, imperfect beings who have the power to decide how we respond to tragedy and insult and malice along the way. We can respond with bitterness and cowardice or with mercy and strength. The choice is ours.”
Chloe Valdary