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| Infinite Pathways - LiDoña Wagner |
I appreciate constant reminders from the Women’s/Sister
Marches that we are engaged in a marathon and not a sprint. After ignoring that
advice for the last five months, I am now trying to figure out what it
means. I've found a refreshing article by Joanna Macy on ‘active hope’ helpful. She says active hope involves four stages: Coming from Gratitude,
Honoring Our Pain for the World, Seeing with New Eyes, and Going Forth.
Coming from Gratitude
The January 22 women’s marches that brought together 6.5
million people across the US and in over sixty countries around the world came
from a place of gratitude. Spearheaded and largely attended by women, it was a
testament of gratitude for the advances made in bringing respect for women, for
the healthcare provided by the Affordable Care Act, and in particular for the
role Planned Parenthood has played in saving women’s lives. There were no acts of violence and no arrests despite the masses involved. People who participated
said it was transformative. Dianne Feinstein said participants were ‘radiant’.
Anyone who has ever attended a rock concert knows what a tribal experience it is. Everyone synchronized with the beat produces an aura of unity in which the individual becomes absorbs into something larger than him or her self. Singing played a similar role in these marches. It brought participants together and helped create a memory of their power.
Marching established that memory in their bodies.
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| Radiant - LiDoña Wagner |
Honoring Our Pain for the World
Following the marches people began to organize as a way of
addressing the pain of a national administration that promised to repeal the
Affordable Care Act and throw millions of Americans out of health insurance.
Organized resistance began to be visible as people protested an executive order
that was discriminatory and unconstitutional. The resistance took on form with hundreds of
town hall meetings with members of congress.
When conservative congress members refused to meet their constituents, people got creative about having them anyway. Some put out “Missing” ads to reveal their congressional representative’s refusal to meet with them. Some held town halls with a cardboard replica of their representative.
When conservative congress members refused to meet their constituents, people got creative about having them anyway. Some put out “Missing” ads to reveal their congressional representative’s refusal to meet with them. Some held town halls with a cardboard replica of their representative.
A focus of the town halls was having people tell stories
about how the ACA had saved their life or that of members of their family.
Stories are important because they connect us to our emotions. They provide a
way for us to remember our own pain and to connect with the pain of others.
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| Breaking Light - LiDoña Wagner |
Seeing With New Eyes
For decades corporations and special interest groups have
lobbied our congressional representatives to get breaks and have legislation in
their favor. Suddenly a whole new group of lobbyists had emerged and they were
not in Washington, DC. They had risen up like summer wheat across the vast
plains of America. They were saying clearly that they will not stand for
discrimination against any religious group. They were proclaiming their
commitment to the Affordable Care Act.
For decades wealthier states have contributed to Medicaid
and other federal programs that help the disadvantaged. A few states provide
more than they receive and many states receive considerably more than they
contribute. Suddenly California announced that if ACA were repealed and
discrimination against immigrants was condoned, they would keep their money in
their own state, thank you very much. Without the financial contributions of
wealthier states such as California and New York, people in poor states would
lose many of the benefits they have come to take for granted.
We all tend to be myopic. We see only what is immediately in
front of us. We listen only to the people who look like us and agree with us.
We hold on to ideas we imbibed from parents along with the milk they fed us. I
have long believed that every child should spend at least one year living in
another culture than the one into which he or she was born. Such an experience
breaks into myopia and cultural hypnosis.
The United States is experiencing a great awakening, a new
way of seeing the wider web of resources upon which we all depend.
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| Duality - LiDoña Wagner |
Going Forth
With new eyes we are able to see and identify our vision for
action and to clarify the required practical steps. We are not who we thought we
were. We are not the greatest country in the world. Among us are those who do
not read and write, who repeat what is fed through biased social media, who
cannot tell the difference between fantasy and reality, and have no knowledge
of civics and their role as citizens.
This past week the towns of Madison, Wisconsin and Abita Springs,
Louisiana opted to become 100% based on renewable energy. Louisiana has been devastated
economically and environmentally by the fossil fuel industry. As the global economy has changed, Wisconsin has
suffered extensive job loss. Citizens in Abita Springs and Madison awakened and recognized
that clean energy jobs can help their economies and provide the clean water and
clean air necessary for human life. Through awakened leadership, the state of
California elected to enforce lower emission standards on cars sold in their
state because they also want a clean environment in which to raise their
children.
While powerful interests have gridlocked our federal
government, grassroots involvement brought a halt to an attempt to repeal the
Affordable Care Act. While the fossil fuel industry reigns supreme in the
current federal administration, people across the country are marching into the
future committed to a clean environment.
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| Infinity - LiDoña Wagner |
Healing the World
Life has been on earth for 3.5 billion years. During that time
there have been five mass extinctions. Without active hope human beings could
be the sixth mass extinction. But if enough people (like those in Madison,
Abita Springs, and California) figure out the role they can play in caring for our
precious planet, such an extinction does not have to happen.
What is your unique role? How are you called to give the
gift of ‘active hope’?
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| Infinite Pathways - LiDoña Wagner |
