Advocacy Seth Bernard  October 01, 2008 10:11pm.    [POST REPLY]

Or should we call it "action"? Or "activism"? Or "responsibility"? (Richie Havens says that the measure of how alive we are is in our ability to respond - our repsonsibility.) There is much to do in this broken old world. So we relocalize everything and cultivate a sustainable and just local culture that meets all of our basic needs (food, water, energy, shelter, art), protects and respects the dignity of all people and the environment. Sound good? We cease to supoport institutions that dehumanize and destroy life on earth for the sake of profit. And this is what we are doing, all over the world. But still we wake in the night with sweats and questions... "How can we even begin to work off the debt of our inheritance?" "How can we possibly help to heal a world so incredibly wounded?" "How can the water be put up for sale without our consent?" (Woody Guthrie said that all we have is what we owe) What are your thoughts? I was once shown by an elder how thoughts can become words can become actions can become infused with informend passion and focused compassion and then can catch fire and change the world. Happens all the time. He asked me if I was going to let defeat and doubt about the fate of the world get in the way of my heart's contribution in this life? I have been trying not to. We are already undergoing a worldwide collapse in living systems. We are already living in an age of extinction. The end of the story and then what? We are a world ready to catch fire with the work of an incredible transformation. We are seeing a global movement toward peace and healing and reconciliation that is larger than any movement in the history of the world. (This movement has been researched and presented by bestselling visionary Mr. Paul Hawken as "The Other Superpower"). Myself, still, I truly believe that this is the yearning and the potential and the destiny of humanity as well. The dark destiny is unfolding before our eyes on screens and in person, but our other inheritance is to climb out of the age of kings and conquerors and step into a more heartfelt, soulful participation with life. With This. On earth, in the cosmos, and within ourselves. On the internets. There is work to be done! So we need work songs. We've been working on that. We also need guidance. Who's next??

Tony Roth  October 16, 2008 10:10am Call it "care", or "stewardship". Call it what you wish. It's work to be done, so work songs can't hurt. Every shovelful is one closer to a dug ditch. You are on the right track, and your efforts will bear fruit. Enough metaphors? To live in a just, compassionate, inclusive culture is all one could ask, no matter how small that culture may be initially. Part of the responsibility of those lucky enough to live in such a culture is to make those outside it aware that it exists, and that it can be had everywhere if the desire is strong enough to battle greed. Every foray outside that culture that carries the message of what lies within it, at its heart, can inspire new folks to care, with that care leading to positive action. It can get to sound a bit theoretical only, can't it? But it's real when it's really practiced. You are doing these things already. Interesting that the guide for so many seeks guidance himself. That's a good sign. It's proof that we are all needed. So, what to do next? Well, what's most important? More accurately, what's most important that we can actually do something about? Many different and good answers to that one. I have ideas, but I bet others with more creativity to offer have better ones. I'm open to suggestions, and I got a shovel. Who's next? T-Rex Mark R.  June 07, 2010 2:48pm I realize how old these posts are, but I'm commenting anyways. You've really struck a chord with the mention of needing guidance. That is key. That is everything. Our culture right now is so overwhelmed by so many other things that we are taught matter more than they should, whether deliberately or otherwise, that it's so hard to find that mission in life. The cause worth fighting for. The cause worthy of becoming a warrior for. I struggle daily with questions and priorities, and even though my whole adult life I've done what's been expected of me and what I was "taught" were the "right" things to do, I've felt empty. Empty because I can't find a cause worthy of sacrificing the norm to fight for. I admire those as yourself that have come that far, regardless of how much or how little difference you can actually make alone. I'm envious. Guidance is what we need more than anything else.