Simple States of Active Being
A reflection on being present, active hope, and controlling what you can as we approach insurmountable change ahead.
Being Present
As I visited with my best friend over the holidays, we both reflected that many people we know right now "just are". We're not great, we're not terrible, we just are. New Year's came and went with less pomp and circumstance than most years; we just are.
While this in itself might sound depressing, there's something humble about just being. In some ways, learning to just be—not needing or wanting more (or less)—is something to aspire to. Being in the present moment is one of the pillars of mindfulness, reminding us to focus on what is in our immediate surroundings and immediate control at this moment.
Most of us don't need more stuff, more gadgets, more plastic, or more products that advertise that they are not plastic. We need to live with what we have, care for it, and give it conditions to thrive in itself rather than need more. Regeneration is not about acquiring more but improving what we have to create more life. This is true both small and large - from everyday individual consumption habits to absurd mindsets that America colonize more land. Instead of forcefully taking over other countries and renaming geographical boundaries as our own, we must take care of what we have. In this way, a regenerative act of ‘just being’ is not an act of doing nothing, but one that is active, even if only subtly. It's an act of consciousness, awareness of ourselves, our actions, and our surroundings.
Mindless being, moving through the world unaware of our actions and the actions of others is ignorance. While some might call that bliss, I'd call it dangerous. Disregarding the multiplying cracks in a foundation will eventually cause the house to crumble. There are many examples of this in our surrounding world - people waking up and asking, "How did we get here?" It's been the years of unchecked white privilege, power, wealth inequality, and gender inequality that have been quietly ignored by too many. In the tumultuous world around us, on the verge of becoming even more chaotic - to sit back and ignore the injustices, the robberies, and the steps towards dictatorship, and patriarchal fascism will only allow the fire to spread.
As I watch the horrific fires burn through southern California, I can't help but think of the metaphorical fires burning through our country right now. If we sit back and do nothing - the fires will continue to spread. Yet, if we shout at them in anger, our winds will spread more fires. This is how we got here - 8 years of division, tantrums, fighting, paying attention to what tears us apart instead of what brings us together. To fight the fire now we must be active but patient, paying attention to what passively got us here and the blustery winds around us—being present in this space between.
More than just a Day On
I was reminded of this same in-between space when my neighbor asked me how I planned to spend January 20th. He contemplated having people over to share their thoughts and feelings about the inauguration, and the disgraceful coincidence that it lands on Martin Luther King Jr Day. My initial reaction was a sense of flatness - I just can't. I have an urge for an inactive sense of being. Eight years ago, like more than half the country at the time, I was fired up - attending the Women's March, protesting the inauguration, Marching for Science, writing letters, doing all the things. This time around, I'm exhausted and deflated. But I must resist the urge to hide in bed with covers over my head and tune out the horrors of the world. At the same time, I also don't have the energy I did in 2017. Now is a time to practice this state of active being. An inbetween of doing nothing, unconsciously moving through the world and roaring through the world with fury and anger.
This year, January 20th is not only the inauguration but also Martin Luther King Jr Day. A day that in 1994 President Bill Clinton signed into law as a national day of service, it is not a day off, but a day on. It, too, is a day for active being. Many communities create service events and gatherings each year to remind us of this. This is where I feel called to bring my energy - not just for the one day, but for this new time period we are in. I must resist the urge to check out to the point of inaction completely. I also acknowledge that I don't have the same energy to protest in anger at the larger systems beyond my immediate control. It's about finding a sense of active being. Being on to serve my immediate sense of self and community. Being on to control what I can. Being on to engage in the consciousness of my actions and those around me.
Regeneration is about starting with self, with a state of active being, and from there, new life can grow.
In the same way that we preach "Earth Day is Every Day," the mindset of "the day on" must be every day, and not just MLK Day. Active being is something to celebrate and continually practice. While many of the problems in the world right now feel overwhelming, finding what is in our immediate circle, in our immediate sense of control, can provide grounding and a space for action. Simply asking yourself - Who and what am I connected to? How do I show up and interact in this world? What can I do in my community? Finding these threads not only strengthens our state of active being but also has the potential to create regenerative energy for those around us.
Finding the Active Hope
Joanna Macy expresses a similar idea as the thesis in her book Active Hope. Macy defines active hope as "something we do rather than have. It involves being clear what we hope for and then playing our role in the process of bringing that about". At the heart of the practice of active hope is what Macy calls the spiral (illustrated below). Starting with where you are, Macy's spiral begins with gratitude for what is around us, then moves to honor the pain and injustices we encounter, and from that, seeing our surroundings with new eyes and creating action going forth. This spiral of active hope creates a path for our feelings and actions instead of a spiral out of control in disbelief and disarray.
In the days, weeks, and years ahead, we will be confronted with many actions that might cause us to want to spiral our thoughts out of control. The congressional hearings alone are enough to set one off. The incoming administration wants many of us to be angry, to argue in disarray, and to blow angry fire that continues to divide us. But rather than go down that path, it's essential to re-ground in a state of active hope and in simple states of active being for what we can control and what will unite us.
adrienne marree brown reminds us that "what we pay attention to grows". This message is at the heart of her Principles of Emergent Strategy and a core tenet of Pleasure Activism. At this moment, if we pay attention to the spectacles, the political decisions beyond our direct control, and the overwhelming destruction beyond our reach, we risk becoming a wildfire of our own. Paying attention to what is in our direct control and what surrounds us in our communities can help build one's capacity to take on the larger issues ahead.
Regenerating Beyond Likes
Writing on Substack can be a funny thing. I'm not here to make money, sell online classes, or cultivate followers for my podcast, and I'm certainly not a celebrity writing my random thoughts. When I began this platform, it was a simple place to write, but now it is filled with options to favorite, respond, chat, stack, and feed into all the social media algorithms. Each time I post something, I may generate a few likes. But more meaningful to me are the surprises that come not in "hearts" but in heartfelt messages. A friend who sends a text about what I wrote reminded them of something. A colleague sent a letter in the mail written on their vintage typewriter with a copy of a zine they once made that is somehow related to what I wrote. My high school English teacher, whom I have not seen since 1988, sent me a long message of how inspired she is by me. Most recently, my Aunt Louise sent me a book of poetry in response to my post Enough. These are the seeds I sometimes need to remind myself to pay attention to - moments of genuine connection, conversation, regenerative conversation, and the reason I started this at all. Regeneration is not about "quick likes" and hearts and tick-tocks. Regeneration is about active hope, active connection, and active being, which goes far beyond anything clicking a like button can do.* So I'll end with this quote from the book of poetry I received, reminding us that when breaks happen we need to pay attention to the rhythms that feed us.
"Those who could see into the future predicted the storm long before the first settler stepped on the shores of the Mvskoke story. What was known in both worlds broke. In jazz, a break takes you to the skinned-down bones. You stop for a moment and bop through the opening, then keep playing to the other side of a dark and heavy history."
- Joy Harjo, Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings
* and also, a huge heartfelt thank you to my followers, new subscribers, strangers who hit the like button, or forward this on to a friend. In fact… you can do that now!