Ramblings
Where do we go from here?
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”
―Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
It feels like a wild old time to be alive at the moment. It would be easy to feel like a leaf on the wind, blown about by external forces we have no control over. Global media and communications brings us every grim story from anywhere, and given the old adage ‘if it bleeds it leads’, the media, old or new, centralised or social, will largely focus on the worst, with the outrage effect hard at work.
What I am thinking about is what do we do with that, where do we go from here? I don’t believe we have the luxury of despair, and as Thich Nhat Hanh wrote “no mud, no lotus”. And if we look beyond our screens and our bubbles, there is light to see as well as dark. Starting with ourselves and in our decisions and our actions. I am sure we have a lot more power than we realise, over ourselves and more broadly in the world around us. Our own actions may seem small and inconsequential alone, but collectively, as a movement, that is a whole other matter. A drop alone, an ocean together.
Every action we take, every dollar we spend, is a powerful decision with impact and consequence and if we can be present for all of them, I believe we make an impact. Did I let someone in when driving, say thank you to the barista, give a coin to the person in need? How did I spend my money, where did I send my attention, call out one behaviour or support another? Every action we take, every thought we have has an effect, while we can have an affect.
I think that is exciting really, to know while we feel like the leaf we might also be the wind. That everything we do has impact and consequence. What the Buddha called dependant origination, which states that all phenomena arise in dependence upon other phenomena: “if this exists, that exists; if this ceases to exist, that also ceases to exist”. The basic principle is that all things (dharmas, phenomena, principles) arise in dependence upon other things.
I acknowledge that I am hopeful by nature, but it is a conscious choice and I would rather claim agency and power than give up. And we only need to look to those who have made a real difference if we feel hopeless and helpless. There is no doubt they did at times as well. The marvellous quote from Nelson Mandela is worth remembering at these times.
“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
―Nelson Mandela,Long Walk to Freedom
So let’s claim our presence and our power, let’s fight the good fight. And remember the words and the message of the Fab Four when we need to be energised. For after all, all you need is love.
