In the face of all that is stupid and ignorant and violent and and unjust and wrong in this world, what can I do?
Sitting pretty in my quiet little country town, I have no idea of the practicalities of exactly what I can do to lend my voice to help. I haven’t said anything sooner simply because I didn’t know what to say.
And all of the following is an opinion, just an opinion, which are not in short supply in the world. I’ll call it “support” because I am in the business of supporting people be “better” (such a vague term, but one that actually makes sense when you hit the sweet spot and do better, right?), and hope no one spots my hypocrisy.
Oops. Anyway:
What can I do to help?
Against the background of the brutal deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and so many others, what can I do about against racism and entrenched violence?
I know nothing. I live in a privileged bubble: Safe, secure, unthreatened.
I did google “Black Lives Matter, what can I do?”, and that had some practical ideas. Sign a petition, donate some funds, ways to educate myself etc.
But it seems so small, so insignificant.
The fact is also that I’m a monk. I’m so much more comfortable with peace. I really don’t like confrontation. I’m getting better at speaking out when I know something is wrong, but I’d rather preach love – and that’s been part of my delay in speaking up. It’s now obvious that sometimes the world has changed because people got so angry they did something about it.
Is outrage necessary? I don’t think so. Is following the spark of passion when it knows something isn’t right? Yes, I do think so.
My expertise is in not doing, but being. Although I don’t know what to DO, I’m on more solid ground when it comes to how to BE “better”.
While my activist friends may tell me I’m being far too passive when I say this, but whatever you choose to do, know that the foundation is – always is – within you.
I know I can be calm, even in the middle of a storm, or I can lose my sh*t to the drama.
One of these is useful to get clarity on an effective course of doing; the other is a recipe for blind, unconscious reaction, defense, and exhaustion.
A choice for calm clarity affects more than you know; I am certain of that.
I also know this:
I can be generous, understanding, patient, loving, kind, accepting, compassionate, and occasionally I am allowed access to some small wisdom.
I can also be impatient, angry, intolerant, willfully ignorant, and a coward. (And a bunch more, no doubt.)
I have seen both sides play out in my life, and whatever good has come from my existence has come from the willingness to be better.
The journey of being better is vastly uncomfortable, for my ego would rather present an image of having it together rather than actually having it together – that means seeing the cockroaches and the cracks of one’s patterns and beliefs in such clarity that I can move beyond them.
Not a pretty picture. It would be so much easier to hide, but I think it’s necessary to see: all of it.
How to be better?
Can you educate yourself and help and do to make the world a better place? Absolutely, action is necessary.
But fundamentally while we may all have darkness and limitation in our minds, I’m convinced our hearts are pure.
Remembering that and making a rock-solid connection with what is already loving, open, accepting, and at peace will always be fruitful.
It’s not a replacement for action or education. But it is the foundation for the purest action and education you can come up with.
For me – from that foundation, I’ve seen that I care and I’m angered and I’m sad beyond words, and I need to say so. I need to say this is wrong.
Beyond a small donation, and this writing, the only real answer in this moment to “how can I help?” comes down to education. To see the problem in myself and the world so I can do what’s right to end racism, and all -isms for that matter.
2020 has been quite the year. Hopefully it’s an awakening for love and understanding and equality and compassionate courage rather than division and fear and hate. Let's see what I can be and do to help make it so.
That’s all I got.
I love you, thank you for reading, I hope this helps in some small way. It certainly helped me to write it.
And as always, I’m listening. What do you need? What do you need to tell me?