I created this blog in order to initiate a discussion around the challenges for healing in our lives, from the most immediate and intimate levels of self-family-community, out to sweeping regional and global levels as our living planet, and thus humanity, faces greater threats and changes than we've imagined in our known history of existence. Potentially, it is also my hope that this forum for resource sharing, discussion and exchange, may serve to springboard a new form of organization, one that grows from seeds of mutual respect, of shared concern and compassion, whose originating structures are based on the connection we share with one another, the responsibility we share for each other, the planet, our children and all life forms, and future generations to follow.
I have had discussions with many of you about the current structures of international development and humanitarian work, international institutional financing, aid delivery, and approaches to poverty alleviation and community "development." So much of those systems has been founded on the very (often racist and classist) structures which contributed to the creation of such inequity and suffering we now experience; for example, the systems created through Bretton Woods and WTO were not intended to alleviate suffering and facilitate local community health and growth-- they were intended to exploit to the fullest extent possible and then discard. For many of us working in international and national humanitarian and development agencies, it may sometimes feel that we ourselves are being exploited to the fullest extent, and then discarded. It may feel that the institutions in which we operate are creating barriers to what we believed were the originating intents and missions of our work: social-economic-environmental-political justice, dignity, respect, education and opportunity, health and well-being. When working to rebalance inequities and support and honor the dignity and Rights (civil/political/social/economic/political) of all human beings, why would we structure our work and systems upon the same engines created for mass exploitation and accumulation, expediency and profit at the expense of lives and the health and opportunities of generations of our descendants? [I'd like to point out that I don't think it is the individual management necessarily responsible for those experiences; the systems and structures, the global institutions have an energy and timeline--a life force!- of their own. Having been in upper management positions myself, it is clear that certain energies are slippery and powerful, beyond your grasp, and you may be lucky if you can only redirect and slightly improve their directions and flow.]
I am opening a kettle of worms, but this is what I'm asking us to talk and think about. YES it is easy to identify all the problems, all the brokenness and negativity in our world and work.
The question, the true challenge is, can we start over, clear the boards and begin organically with more appropriate systems of local, community, regional, and global healing, built from our shared wisdom and knowledge, honoring what each person has to bring to the table, learning from each other while we teach, and thus heal?
I have seen too many people in our work burn out, self-medicate with alcohol or other substances, become workaholics or machine-like while shutting down all other aspects of themselves and their lives, or just give up and start the search for a less-stressful, decently paying corporate job. In fact, many people I know expect that there will come a time when they will leave the work of building healthy communities, advocating for human rights and social justice. It is viewed as an inevitable.
The work of our lives should not chew us up and spit us out. We should be in this for the Long Haul. Our work should feed our spirits and our psyches, not just our mouths and wallets; and we should be able to connect our deepest spiritual selves with the application, manifestation, and meaning of our work. We cannot contribute to healthy societies if we ourselves are not healthy and whole. We cannot expand the numbers of people who see themselves as a part of this movement, as contributors to an energy for healing and positive transformation, if we cultivate an air of exceptionalism, the cynical toughened warrior who sacrifices so others don't have to give more than a passing thought, or maybe an occasional online donation to some non-profit or NGO.
HOW DO WE EVOLVE?
"Evolve or perish!"
This post is subtitled, "The Inner and Outer are the Same!" In many spiritual practices and faith traditions, it is believed that any separation between the spiritual realm and the physical/material realm is merely an illusion; in fact, the divisions we make with ego and separation, "mine and yours," identity and time, do not exist. The divisions help us function and evolve in this material realm, but do not wholly reflect our deepest truth. In Buddhist and Hindu and many other spiritual practices, we are all One, we are of the same, we are each other, there is no distinction between inner world of dreams and outer world of driving one's car, between "us and them," between mind-body-spirit.
I find these ideas very interesting and relevant when thinking about the work of a healthier world, the work of so many NGOs and INGOs and non-profits, the work of community activists and mobilizers, of all of us. I've had colleagues tell me sometimes they felt their work was "soul-killing." If we do not honor, protect, and work from our spirits, our souls, our psyches (or whatever language one might be more comfortable using), then our work and our lives are seeded with something poisonous rather than nourishing. How do we make a shift, honor ourselves and each other in the root, process, motive, and operations of our work, of our connections to community and to each other?
I have a lot more to say and to ask. I've been thinking about these subjects for a long while, dedicating a lot of time, energy, self-introspection and research over almost 2 decades now. Yet, before moving forward, I would like to hear what others have to say. I ask that all posts be respectful and delivered in a manner of cooperation and constructive intent. It is not a requisite that we always agree, nor should we; conflict is the opportunity for growth, self-discovery and change!
I encourage your contributions, resources, links, opinions, research work, or whatever else you may wish to bring to the table!
Welcome, my friends.
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