From time to time, I cannot resist the need to speak openly on a subject that is just so frustrating for me. It is a subject I have thought about, studied, coached, taught and written about. You can always ignore me. But it remains deeply important to me and seems to apply to this moment, so here I go. xo
We are ignorant of all sorts of things; it is the human condition, partly due to circumstance, partly out of choice--conscious or not, and mostly, the reality of the magnitude of life.
We have become aware recently of a kind of ignorance that carries within it, a sense of alienation and shame. A sense of not belonging. and arising from that hurt, at times a defensiveness that may sometimes appear as belligerance, rebellion, anger, cruelty, bullying. An image of a being who has become that which he wishes to rise up against. A man at war with himself and society, trying to survive.
This experience of a lack of inclusion may naturally evoke suffering. As soon as that loss is felt, we lose a sense of belonging. In defense of that feeling of "naked exposure" or helplessness, disorientation, we often reach for garments of identity to protect ourselves from this shame of invisibility. Any identity that offers inclusion also offers us recognition, a kind of security and protection. We are saved from our feelings of loss of self.
This is especially likely if one never "knew" or "felt" a self and has known nothing but an identification with, for example, occupation, a union, a religion, a team, a region, etc. If one has little experience "working with oneself", meaning she cannot be still or alone with herself to be able to listen to her feelings, much less thoughts or emotions that arise, then it is much less likely one will "process" the loss, heal and problem-solve, utilize self-inquiry in an endeavor to create a next step, a new path. In other words, she cannot be a comfort to herself and is unaware or unable for whatever reason ( and I grant you, there are some very good reasons, in which case, I hope quality therapy is available to you.) If that is so, it is convenient and initially "life-saving" to "identify" with a group that resonates with ones state of being during that vulnerable period.
Recruiters of all stripes, from the military to religious groups to even terrorists and gangs, not to mention credit lenders, all capitalize on people in this predicament. I don't mean to imply that these groups are all predatory or that all outcomes of this outreach are negative. I only mean to draw attention to this particular scenario and its relationship to politics. Exploitation of the disenfranchised is nothing new, but tends to explode at times and places where extreme economic imbalance has meant a precipitous drop in unemployment.
Capitalism has never had, at its heart, the notion that the system benefits to the extent that each and every individual flourishes in health and personal growth and education. In strong disagreement, promoting the well-being of each individual benefits all of us, it seems to me as a life-long teacher. Caring for and nurturing the health and education of each of us benefits all of us. NO, that has never been our common truth. We have always had division between the humanist/socialist leaning and the capitalists (by many other names and political parties). Over time, the hyper-capitalists have succeeded by showing the humanists how they could have their cake and eat it too. Dark, hidden, off-shore, groups like Citizens United, etc and simply the concept that what we don't know won't hurt us. Ignorance really is bliss, for some of us.
Until it isn't.
That same mentality that was comfy with enslavement has more recently been cozy with off-shore banking, off-shore movement of jobs, freelance and adjunct workers, hidden ownership through LLC, straight-up lying and propaganda and all sorts of other financial arrangements that have worked for the interests of the very wealthy.
All of it. ALL of it arises from the lack of a FEELING of BELONGING. Are we happy continuing to squander our opportunity to let go of the idea that capitalism is synonymous with FREEDOM? Because what if we had the courage to feel? First, feel our interconnectedness with NATURE/LIFE (the universe aptly named), then, stretching to include the humans within this nature---feel this belongingness. (NOW's a convenient time to check out the reality of that, in case you can't really FEEL it.)
Remember how COVID spread? Didn't that give you a growing sense of how connected we are? It was never just about you, right?
Why are we all so exhausted by our politics? We experience the disgust and fear of the divisive language and propaganda but also the pain of the actual division--implicit in the word division is the existence of wholeness.
What if each and all of us had the courage to feel? (Yes, our bodies---and the feelings and senses within them.) You know if you are feeling your body because you automatically feel empathy and connectedness. We wake up to the world when we wake up to ourselves. Not our opinions. Not our monkey minds.
Did I say this was easy? Did I claim to be free of any of this? No and no. But I do feel connected to you all, and I appreciate you all reminding me of these kinds of things when I am feeling lost. So I hope you all take this in knowing that we are all here to learn from each other, to wake each other up from time to time and to feel, really feel, that we all belong to each other in this life.
PS. If you're a dog eat dog believer, go ahead on. I see you and I get that that is one way to live. I am fortunate to not be living in a predicament where I might be tempted to be that way and I'd prefer to keep it that way so I can be of some help. Thanks for listening.
your voice : from the inside out 