The both/and of our days

At the end of the day, if COVID-19 reveals nothing to us, it will be that systems are just made of people and the decisions we make.

This is going to be hard, and probably for a long time. I want to call on every one of us in international aid and philanthropy, operating as individuals within complex systems, to mentally prepare. That is why I created this centering exercise for us do-gooders: 

I believe that this pandemic is a rebalancing. A massive, massive shift is possible. 

And it will be painful. And it will be fine. 

I saw many organizations rush to keep going with their work last week, but it’s not going to be possible in the same way anymore. Integrating this understanding into our bodies and minds and souls is now our work. 

I have real moments of dread, and then I try to remember that we were made for these times, that we are not here by accident. For many people around the world, the end has come and gone many times already. Those who rely on mutual aid already may be better off than all of us dependent on “formalized”, hierarchical systems rooted in extraction and exploitation. This is what many people and generations have been fighting for for so long – a deep, societal rebalancing of what we value in our decision-making and a recognition of care work. Because caring is the only thing that will get us through right now. 

Our deepest intentions will be tested. Amidst new rhythms and routines in this new reality, we have an opportunity to concretize – in practice – our notions of interdependence, of care and consent, and of trust. The glimmer of optimism that I cling to right now for our sector is this: we can no longer go on pretending that we’re not interdependent nor that we’re not in this whole thing together.

We are facing destabilization of many kinds. The variability of the global impacts of coronavirus cannot yet be known. It’s time get really good at being uncomfortable. Let’s heed this time as an ancestral call to heal, to let Mother Earth breathe. We are all reeling from the impact of capitalism’s grind on ourselves, our bodies, families, organizations, and ecosystems. 

Our job now is to pause, and listen to ourselves – our intuitions, our ancestors, our dreams, our rage, our longing – and not rush to erase the uncertainty of now by reacting without a greater awareness of what is at stake. 

Our job is to get right about what it means to protect the sacred. 

Our job is to trust that we can reimagine everything and demand systemic changes, but only if we move together. 

COVID-19 is a reminder that, despite our best efforts, we cannot control change. So can we call forth the creativity that can emerge from chaos, to take huge leaps in terms of strategies that tend to the larger collective, not just organizational goals?

This time will require immense generosity of body and of mind, materially and emotionally, and the assurance of our spiritual practices that goes beyond intellectual understanding. 

We must do the work that our souls most need. 

At this time, when everything is up in the air, it is absolutely incumbent upon us to learn more about the ‘real work’ of building and strengthening the fabric of community – our own first – and then take this learning into how we do our work going forward.

What is possible right now that wasn’t possible before? 

What are we being called into at this time?

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  1. Pingback: Submit To Not Knowing The Right Way All The Time | Marianne Brittijn

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