Over the years I've probably been to a dozen different rallies, marches and sit-ins. That's not counting all my organizing activity with Occupy Oakland's non-violence caucus, which often was done in meetings, not marches.
One bit of clarity I've come to as I consider my role in responding to a concerted effort to normalize authoritarianism in my country is that my days of "showing up to be counted" are over.
I don't think it was ever really me. Not only am I an introvert by energetic nature, but I also have a social anxiety disorder that was exacerbated by being in Manhattan at 9/11/01. (Oddly enough, I actually dreamed about that attack and its aftermath the night before. In fact, just a week prior I also asked my row mate on a plane flying over Manhattan why they let the planes fly over the city and didn't they worry about the planes flying into the buildings.)
Regardless of why, the reality is, that's not my jam. But I do have one.
To me it isn't a question of whether we will play a role in this human social evolution experiment, but simply what role we choose to play.
My protest now takes less confrontational forms, like donating to organizations and candidates who pursue my intentions for me, writing in a way that hopefully motivates and instructs others productively, and living as an example of the world I want. There is a significant component of that last piece that is about embodying the love, inner peace and balance that I hope to see in the world within my daily life and my relations with self and other. I believe I literally amplify the vibration of that way of life when I do so, and this is vitally important. There has to be something that we are for.
Ultimately, we each find our own ways, and no one can tell another what their way should be. I can only tell you that you must find your way, because to deny that you have a role to play when the future is being decided for your species (and this is indeed a global assault on life itself) is to live a lie.
And that lie does not go down softly. It sticks in your throat, backs up your digestion of all that is good, and slowly squeezes the life out of you.
Live your truth. It's your job to figure out what that is.
(Photo source: Pixabay)
To make a permanent change we need a shift in people minds. People are the the fuel of change and the guarantee of its stability afterwards. I personally belive that efforts shall be more focused in educating people. If the change was driven by a group of people it can be easily reversed by another group, but the change in collective minset is what sustains the new system.
Very good points. And I think we each play different roles in creating that mindset shift. As much as I disagree with the current US president, I believe he is playing his proper role, if only by helping people clarify more than ever exactly what they are for or not for. My role I see as very different than his, and again very different from another person over there. For some ridiculous reason, I'm actually hopeful, with faith that we are creating a symphony that allows ever increasing diversity while still cohering. I believe that ultimately, things do not fall apart. But we'll see.
He is playing a proper role only if he didn’t manage to change people mindsets, or conveying his views to them. But I am hopeful because those who don’t take diversity seriously can’t win more supporters over time.
That's an interesting topic, I coincidentally have discussed some minutes ago with my girlfriend. I stated how unworldly I have become over the past years and contrary to the common belief that this is not a good thing, I see it as a compliment. 😀
The real revolution happens on the inside and may or may not find an expression in the outer world. To be honest, I am losing more and more the belief, that there is an outer world at all. That's also a good thing by the way 😄
If I may be so bold as to posit for another, I do think that your role is to hold that state of awareness that is beyond dualism (as much as a physical being can), so that there is less density to this experience for us all. At a certain point, if it is all taken too literally, we just collapse in on ourselves. It's just too much.
While I believe the game is worthy of our play, and our really involving ourselves in that play with all of who we are shaping ourselves to be, I also believe that we need some wisdom keepers to repeatedly remind us that we are something that actually exists above the level of the game.
I love your new definition of my role. That could be, but I didn't plan it or defined it by myself like this - it's just a natural overflowing of what I am. So no concepts involved here.
Thank you for shining your light! Much Love! ❤️
Here, here... I totally agree with you.
I too used to be much more an activist for standing "publicly" for what I believe and while I do share some things on social media at times to get certain "truths" I see out there, I much more prefer to be more an introvert and be what I prefer to see and experience in the world. As science and spirituality come closer and closer to one another, it seems more and more to be self evident that what we "think and feel" is out there that we "think and feel" we live within really seems more to all be projections of what is really rooted within us. The older I get the more clear it seems that it all starts within.
Be that change you wanna see! That's literally all we have to do.
I've personally never been one to go to those events either, even though I also don't like the way things seem to be heading. Love will conquer all in the end, that's why I think the personal work is more worthwhile in the long run, being our true self in love so we enable others to do the same!
Cool write up, there's been many a time I feel like I'm living a lie, even if it's a small one
You got a 33.83% upvote from @ocdb courtesy of @indigoocean!