I have been writing a lot about my preferred form of activism, which has more to do with being yourself than fighting the system. But I want to clarify something, because I know this stance can be off-putting to those who are beyond frustrated with the current affairs and are desperate for change. Or for those who, without standing up to the machine, would feel they enable it to keep going.
I’m not against these forms of activism, and I think they have their place. I admire people who can get out on the streets of Minneapolis and stand up to ICE patrols, basically risking their lives, as proven. Or the people of Iran, desperate for change, dying in masses to protest their regime. Or the people of Israel and Palestine, out on the streets calling for a much needed regime change. You have to have serious balls to put yourself against the power of people in uniform. I don’t have that kind of courage.
But at the same time, my courage finds its place in other ways. In exploring the darkness within. In taking responsibility for my projections on others. In not continuing wars, and to take it even further, creating alternative spaces where peace can flourish.
Who is to say which form of activism is the ‘right’ one? For one person, posting something on facebook that aligns with their moral compass is their expression of what they can do in the world. It’s what they feel they can do in the moment. For another, it might be a realization that their energy needs to go elsewhere in order to maintain their wellbeing.
I once gave a workshop that had to do with left and right politics, and one person stated they really were not interested in politics, they don’t follow it, they don’t like it, they don’t know anything about it. I didn’t see this as ignorance. I saw it as a brave person taking care of their energetic needs. Not everyone has the same role in our society, and each person has a unique contribution to it, many times experienced in their presence and being, not only in their doing.
We have plenty of wars and battles going on. If fighting about how to address these battles becomes another battle, then man, we’re digging ourselves deeper. Let’s give each other a little space to figure things out and grow, instead of boxing each other in to ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ ways to make a difference.