We were lucky to catch up with Margaret Spalding recently and have shared our conversation below.
Margaret, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
My cousin, Walker Percy, wrote “The search is what anyone would undertake if he were not sunk in the everydayness of his own life. To become aware of the possibility of the search is to be onto something. Not to be onto something is to be in despair.”.
People who have found their purpose and feel they are sufficiently acting upon it are inspiring. I see it manifest in others. For me, however, “purpose” has been the illusive antagonist. It whispers from all sides… “You have such passion, Margaret. You are good at things. You are so close, don’t you see?”. Maybe this is despair. Or maybe this is the calling. If I can spend time giving of myself in ways that contribute, I must believe that I am onto something. So, maybe my purpose is the search. And learning to trusting it, and again, and again.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am a freelance creative and environmental conservationist. In 2019, after a decade of working with agencies, I flew the coup and never looked back. Has it been easy? No. It’s a continual reinvention of sorts, but it allows me the freedom to work on wildly different things. One day it’s strategic advocacy, the next it is conceptual logo design.
I work part-time as the Executive Director of a grassroots riverkeeper, the South River Watershed Alliance. The South River is a hidden gem, a mystery to most Atlantans. This is so because of where it begins and where it flows – across southeast metro Atlanta’s historically Black neighborhoods. Today, more people than ever know and love the river, but there is no end in site when it comes to urban river restoration. Our greatest ally is our ability to connect with the water and to see it as inherently deserving of respect. Indeed, to know the river is alive is to be alive.
One of my favorite things to do with SRWA is spend time with kids, either discussing nature and the river or experiencing it together. Kids are not so far removed as we are, with our jobs and our traffic and our personas. They know without thinking, or with a gentle nudge they remember, that the earth is alive. Empowering kids to protect nature is like leading them towards the wisdom they already have.
As a creative, I love a good concept. But I find myself most inspired when I make time for dada – or goo goo gaha. Making or moving or composing physical things in space or on a page – collage, mixed media, a floor plan, arranging a shrine of life’s collected objects. Finding time for that kind of “doing without attachment” (letting go to the process without concern for product) can be hard. I am very good at feeling and day dreaming and thinking. But it is only in doing, or just being with intention, that I can start to let go of attachment to outcome. It can be illusive, but glimpses of it are vast like time stood still.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
As an undergrad, I devoured my work in Anthropology, African Studies, and Studio Art. In doing so, I learned how to think, how to be strategic and curious, how to hypothesize and problem solve. Evolutionary psychology and linguistics made my imagination run wild. What was it like for the first humans? How did we get here? Why do we behave as we do? I use those skills to this day, in my career and to generally entertain myself. If there is something you love, dive into it whether Uncle Sam thinks it’s practical or not. Be curious. Worry less about the right or wrong way. Boredom is information not to be ignored!
In 2020, I was separated and going through divorce. I was lucky to spend most of the year alone in the Georgia mountains. I got lost in the microcosms around me and rediscovered myself. I became obsessed with observing nature in miniature and took thousands of macro photos. You could say that nature guided me through a difficult time. It also took a willingness to surrender to curiosity without attachment.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
My father, Dr. Phinizy Spalding, was the most passionate person I’ve ever known. As a professor and scholar of history and a historic preservationist, he manifested his purpose tangibly. This could be why I feel my purpose is not so obvious. He inspired so many with his clarity, verve, and quirky panache.
My mother, Margie Spalding, is an accomplished equestrian and painter. She is the most stalwart person I know. She lives intentionally and acts with integrity. I watched her quietly reinvent her life, not herself but her life, after my father died. She has always been a doer. In childhood she urged me to recognize when I was frustrated and to get busy doing something – be creative or go outside, she’d say! These were the first in my collection of tools – things I can do that help jostle me out of a rut. Some are as simple as making a cup of tea. When I find myself sinking into the velcro of over-feeling and over-thinking, my handy toolbox is there.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://margaretspalding.com
- Instagram: margaretspaldingllc
- Linkedin: margaret spalding
Image Credits
all images credit Margaret Spalding.
A sampling of mixed media; analog collage; and macro photography.
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
