Joan Halifax
UPRIGHT IN THE MIDST Roshi Joan Halifax As we bear witness to the turmoil in our country and in our world, I am sitting with two very basic questions, and many of you must be too: Do we understand how much character matters in relation to how we show up in the charnel grounds of political and social unrest and the environmental chaos we are currently experiencing? How do we stand upright in the midst of threat and respond with integrity and courage? Further, we can ask: what is the measure of our humanity? This is the vital question as many of us find ourselves in sorrow, rage, and grief. What remains inviolable? What is the irreducible essence of our humanity? When fear fragments us and the narrative of individualism has paved the way for authoritarianism, how do we measure ourselves not by what we fear or exclude, but by our capacity to meet suffering with courage and care? The measure of our humanity, we have learned, is not found in isolation but in relationship. Not in dominance but in solidarity. Not in violence but in peace. Not in what we possess but in how we care. And in the midst, we need to keep our democracy open, even as we see it being dismantled by visible and invisible forces with the breakdown of moral character and authoritarianism forcing its way into democracies everywhere. Here are five things that might serve us at this time, providing a foundation for us to act from: • Number one is to keep clearing the mind of psychosocial debris to the extent that we can and stay aligned with integrity and care. • Two is to educate ourselves about of transmissional delusion, including: infoshum or information noise that can distract and confuse. Then there is also gish gallop, a form of gaslighting, where overwhelming amounts of disinformation are being authoritatively and rapidly delivered. And, finally, moral outrage, which is a combination of anger and disgust that is contagious and builds negative tribalism. • The third is building our communities of care, conscientiousness, compassion and connection. We really need each other at this time, and we need to have the heart and mind clear enough to hear the cries of suffering in our world and respond as individuals and as communities of action and courage. • Fourth is to engage: talk to people, build relationships across the divide, rehumanize, but also write, get out the vote, organize, organize, organize. Do not be afraid to take action. Time is of the essence. • And five, is in the midst, find beauty in our broken world and let that resource us as we engage hazard in every quarter. This from the author Terry Tempest Williams. I always think about the old-time presidential candidate A. J. Muste. During the Vietnam War, Muste stood in front of the White House, night after night, with a single lit candle - many nights he was all alone. A reporter interviewed him one evening as he stood in the rain. "Mr. Muste," the reporter said, "do you really think you are going to change the policies of this country by standing out here alone at night with a candle?" Muste replied, "Oh, I don't do this to change the country. I do this so the country won't change me." We have to stay aligned with our values and act skillfully and courageously. Beloved writer Terry Tempest Williams has written that there is no more waiting here. She quotes the French philosopher and anthropologist Bruno Latour who wrote, “We are all living in ‘Critical Zones.’” Yes, so true, and this is a critical time. We must act, and act now, to keep our democracy open. We and our communities must be a lamp for all in this critical time.
