In the Flow of Life and Change
… the work of pivoting to a new paradigm in which humanity along with all of nature on our planet can thrive …is deep and personal, each of us contributing to a larger collective. … Our work is work of the heart. Commitment, discipline, and consistent awareness are required. Being counter to much of our culture, using words of peace will require acts of courage, different, yet no less demanding, than engaging in battle. Read last week’s post here.
If you threaten someone’s worldview, they will often react to you as if you were threatening their physical body. … a worldview can function like a force field … Paul K. Chappell, A New Peace Paradigm: Understanding Our Human Needs
We live in a worldview that separates from our wholeness – body, mind, and spirit. This paradigm separates us from one another and from nature, the planet that birthed and sustains us. Is it any wonder that that masks and ‘social distancing’ are this paradigm’s answer to slow the spread of Covid 19, and that strengthening one’s immune system is not front and center to the strategy and conversation?
My point is not to get into the controversy over the effectiveness of masks and other approaches, but to invite us to look at the challenges and deep work required to sprout and nurture a new worldview. As I discovered (again, for the first time) this week in a blinding flash of the obvious, the worldview of separation is so deeply embedded in our being that we are often unaware of how it guides our choices. It, like water to the fish, is transparent. For the fish, awareness may not matter; for us, awareness is required.
My discovery came from a story that a member of the faith community, an activist herself as well as a counselor to those on the front lines of activism and service. It deepened my understanding of why the drive to succeed at all cost has never felt quite right. It invited me to look back at my years of workaholism in a new light.
She told of a conversation in which she was counseling a young man who had been loading food all day on an assembly line. He was so focused that he forgot to eat, hydrate, or go to the bathroom. He slept only three to four hours over five or six days. In our culture we tend to praise and admire such dedication. We might add some words suggesting some self-care.
We rarely look more deeply to the root, the worldview from which these choices arise. We accept, even honor, the dedication and commitment. It seems required in times of urgent need such as these. I too acknowledge and honor those who serve in so many ways. In acknowledging, we might say something like ‘I had no choice … it had to be done.’ Who among us has not spoken those words?
But the minister took a deeper look. She saw a deep awareness that (and I’m paraphrasing/semi-quoting her words here) ‘this system of individual performance without connection to mind, body, spirit is white, male, supremacy, domination, capitalist thinking … it is the disconnection from mother … and, we will not move from this place in the consciousness that created it.’
The connection of our performance-based approach to so much of life and this worldview seems obvious in hindsight. The minister’s story resonates deeply in my being. It shines new light on the choices I’ve made to withdraw and live quietly connecting with myself and nature. And, on how blessed I am to be able to make those choices.
It reminded me of the challenges of making personal change. And, more importantly, of the historical context of how difficult birthing a new paradigm, a new view of the world is.
The seeds of a new paradigm are sprouting all around as the old worldview fights to hold on to its old, outmoded ways. Chaotic and messy is the nature of creation. Pivoting to the new is not easy. It will often seem as if we are going against the flow of life. It is work of the heart and work in the streets. We can do this. Indeed, we must.
Nurturing Seeds Inside and Out