Field Notes on Flourishing: The "Ineffective Macro" vs. The "Efficient Micro"
Guest: Eddy Lee, Founder of Positivity Tribe & Insight Therapy Services
In our last post, [Level 4 Unlocked], we talked about the theory of moving from “Attachment” (I need you to survive) to “Resonance” (I choose you to thrive). We explored how the Dynamic Flourishing Hierarchy (DFH) isn’t a ladder you climb alone, but a web of interconnectedness we build together.
But theory is safe. Theory is clean.
Real life is messy.
When you are actually out in the world—trying to build a business, heal a community, or just get through the day—you don’t always have the luxury of perfectly aligned “spheres of influence.” Sometimes, you are just trying to survive the bureaucracy.
That is why I am launching Field Notes on Flourishing.
This series is the “Lab Report” for the DFH framework. It is where we take the concepts of Bedrock, Safety, Sovereignty, and Connection, and see how they actually hold up in the lives of real leaders, healers, and builders.
From Prevention to Promotion
For my first Field Note, I sat down with Eddy Lee, a psychotherapist and the founder of Positivity Tribe.
Eddy and I go back to the trenches. We worked together at the San Francisco Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families (DCYF), specifically within the Violence Prevention Intervention strategy (VPI). We spent years in what we call the “Ineffective Macro”—managing massive government grants and safety nets designed to catch people after they fell.
We both saw the limitations of that system. We saw that a “Safety Net” made of policies often fails to catch the human spirit.
Eddy’s journey—from a Program Officer managing millions in grants to a Founder building a grassroots movement—is a masterclass in shifting from Level 2 (Safety/Prevention) to Level 4 & 5 (Connection/Flourishing).
Here is a look into our conversation on why we have to stop waiting for the system to save us, and how we can start “Claiming Our Moment.”
The Field Note: Highlights from the Conversation
Genevieve: We go back to the DCYF days in San Francisco. You were a Program Officer for the Violence Prevention Intervention (Strategy), dealing with some of the heaviest, most systemic safety issues in the city. Now, you’re a psychotherapist and the founder of Positivity Tribe. That is a massive evolution from preventing harm to promoting flourishing. Was it a conscious shift to move from that world to where you are now?
Eddy: The personal/ personal evolution/ progression going from DCYF to deciding to go back to grad school for mental health was certainly one where I recognized that conventional efforts—even within DCYF overseeing the VPI Strategy and portfolio of public dollars—were, in my opinion, becoming redundant and lacking innovation.
It got to a point where I felt the strategies and tactics we were utilizing in conjunction with the non-profit organizations/ agencies were redundant, wrapped with a different bow but the same package. Towards the fifth year of my tenure, I was getting burnt out. No innovation, no impact in regards to moving the dial within the violence prevention and intervention world of the City and County of San Francisco (CCSF).
So I reflected inward. I realized I only have control over what I think, feel, and my own decisions. I decided I wanted to see change from the most basic level within a person. If I can create and spark that change within an individual, that individual can potentially compound that with others they come in contact with. If one person is healed/ on their way to healing, they can impact and create that change for others.
I was looking at that compounded effect versus the net macro perspective of what we were doing at DCYF. In my opinion, DCYF/ CCSF was essentially throwing money at a problem with the same strategies that reaped no viable results. The disparity was so dramatic to me that, in my reflection, I was like, “Look, I need to focus on the micro.” I need to focus on the individual, utilizing tools and interventions to create change in one person in a manner that is not dependent on external factors that have the potential to compound.
The “Net of Humanity”
Genevieve: I love that you talked about that. One of the concepts within the framework of DFH is the Net of Humanity.
Governmental organizations try to patch up this “Social Safety Net”—structural, made of policies and funding. It’s designed to catch people after they fall. But it’s rigid, reactive, and impersonal... The reality is, we are the threads of the Net of Humanity. In order to make this a strong net, we can’t have too many fraying fibers...
Those of us operating at a higher level of the DFH are both the fibers and the weavers trying to connect the resonance and patch up the weak fibers so the collective can be stronger.
Ultimately, the stronger and more stable the micro, the more effective and strong the macro is. The more integrated the micro, the more beautifully whole the macro will be.
Eddy: Even reflecting on the healing spaces and even your focus on physiology: Our limbs, our nerves are all interconnected. But the models we have adopted in the Western world are “piece and parcel.”
“Oh, if we fix this limb, it will be fine.” Or in surgical practices, “Let’s just chop this piece off.” No—everything is interconnected.
It’s easier for us to digest in the Western world if we look at it separate and apart. It’s easier to manipulate, easier to finance, easier to capitalize on. But if we go back to Day One, we are tribal individuals. We are communal by nature and DNA. We need each other.
The symptoms of depression, anxiety, and disconnection we see now are because we’re trying to force ourselves into a framework that is not natural. We need recalibration to get back to our true center.
The Antidote: Claiming Your Moment
Genevieve: Positivity Tribe is anchored in the idea of “Claiming Your Moment.” To me, that feels like a direct antidote to the Ineffective Macro. The Macro says “Wait for the five-year plan.” The Micro says “Claim this moment right now.”
How does that practice help people move from the path of waiting to actively flourishing?
Eddy: It’s like two sides of a coin. One side is Self-Awareness—”Damn, I need change, I need to evolve.” The other side is Taking Action. That’s the part where a lot of us get stuck.
If you say “I crave change” but you don’t act on it—whether through healing spaces, changing patterns, or investigating coping mechanisms—it’s a failure to launch.
I pose this open-ended question: Does it fit? Does it fit who I am? Does it fit how I think and feel?
It’s like Michelangelo’s David. You chip away at this marble to create your true self, your true piece of art that is most authentic to you. It takes effort, intent, and action. Without that, you’re just going to be in this amoebic state trying to figure out where to land without a map.
How do you become your own catalyst? How do you not get so absorbed by the ills of the world that you forget that you also are a light?
I remember looking at a case study during my coursework. A girl experiencing depression and suicidal ideation decided she was going to take her life. In the midst of this, she went about her normal routine and went to her coffee shop for her regular order before she finalized the act.
She ordered her same drink. And in that moment, she and the barista had a moment where they were able to lock eyes with the barista genuinely asking her how she was doing. In that very moment, figuratively and literally, she was actually seen. This micro moment was pivotal to her.
That very basic human interaction—that others might dismiss as minute—was so life-changing to her that she decided to thwart her plan and not take her own life that day. Because at that moment she felt special.
How do we infuse that moment for ourselves and others based on true authenticity? We won’t save everyone’s life, but how do we create an authentic exchange? We can’t underestimate the power of these exchanges and moments.
That is why what you’re doing with HELPP and the DFH is saying: “I’m not going to wait on anybody.” You’re not waiting for permission. You’re saying, “I’m going to go ahead and start this.”
Genevieve: Thank you. It’s like you said—there’s enough negative in this world, we don’t need to add to it. That micro moment could be everything to one person.
Eddy: Absolutely. It’s about having that “Parenting Mindset” with other people—trying to create a self-sufficient person with their own agency. Can you imagine if we all, in one given day across the world, did something we felt was positive? The compounding energetic effect is phenomenal.
Genevieve: It’s 7 billion people, can you imagine? And amongst all these people… self-agency and free will are the only things that make sense logically as to why traumatic events exist at the hands of our fellow humans—because we have the choice to do good or bad. Once it’s understood that you have the power of choice, you are empowered and accountable to your choices. Why choose bad when you can choose to do good?
Eddy: If we were to understand that we are more alike than different, it would be a very different reality and impact. If I were to see the unhoused person as my brother or sister vs a “lesser than being” we would approach them differently vs feeding into a differential mindset/ approach.
Thinking “I am better than” because I am a CEO of a company versus this brother or sister working at McDonald’s—that is all ego. That is a framework conditioned to make me feel powerful by making another person feel lesser.
Our true center has been frayed.
We need to get back to the center of humanism.
The Power of the Efficient Micro
This philosophy of “not waiting” isn’t just talk. It is the engine that has kept Positivity Tribe running since 2017.
While macro-level programs often burn out due to complexity and red tape, the Tribe operates on a model of Minimum Viable Sustainability. By committing to just one weekend a month and assembling 100 wellness kits at a time, they have served thousands of unhoused neighbors over the years.
We saw this “Efficient Micro” in action recently. We were packing up from a drop-off, ready to leave. In a bureaucratic “Macro” program, this is when the doors lock and the “Closed” sign flips over. But as we were packing, Jon, a member of the Tribe, noticed an individual approaching.
Without waiting for a protocol or permission, Jon ran after them to ensure they were seen and served.
This is the power of the Micro Moment: Consistent, right-sized action that creates a cumulative impact. It proves that we don’t need to be big to be powerful. We just need to be there.
The Takeaway: Don’t Wait for the Macro
Eddy’s story is a reminder that we often wait for the “Macro” to fix our lives. We wait for the policy change, the funding, the perfect job title, or the external permission slip.
But Dynamic Flourishing happens in the Micro.
It happens in the moment you decide to regulate your own nervous system (Level 1). It happens in the moment you set a boundary to create your own safety (Level 2). And it happens in the moment you look a barista in the eye and create a thread of connection that holds both of you up (Level 4).
We don’t need a bigger government net. We need a stronger human net. And here is the secret physics of the DFH: The stronger and more stable the Micro, the more effective and strong the Macro becomes.
We often wait for a “Whole System” to fix us. But the truth is, the more integrated the Micro, the more beautifully whole the Macro will be. That starts with you claiming your moment.
Connect with Eddy:
Positivity Tribe: Join the Movement
Insight Therapy Services: Work with Eddy
Join the Efficient Micro This Saturday
Want to see this philosophy in action? You are invited to join us for the final Wellness Kit Assembly of 2025.
When: This Saturday, December 20
Where: Concord, CA
The Impact: All kits assembled will be given to SOS Richmond for direct distribution to the people they serve.
Can’t make it?
If you cannot join us in person but still want to support the movement, you can fuel this work directly.
👉 Donate to Positivity Tribe
Build the Net with Us: If you know an organization or individual who is weaving a strong net—someone who operates from integrity and resonance—we want to know them. 👉Submit a Resource to the HELPP Network