Being holistic, and being oneself
It’s a lovely fall day, yet I’m preoccupied with my own melodramas. I feel like telling people: No, I'm not crazy -- just stressed and weary!
Here’s my beef: straight talk about personal economic realities shouldn’t be taboo. I haven't been emotionally well for several years, people don't believe I'm being harassed, and I've been dependent on my mother for most of that time (forcing her to remortgage her home, and eventually move altogether), so yes, I'm feeling more than a little desperate.
No one can quite imagine my situation, coupled as it is with insidious surveillance. So no one can fully appreciate how bloody twisted the authorities are in carrying out their unscrupulous activities. I have LOTS of indirect evidence, yet no power or resources to do much of anything.
People may not believe me today (and it suits the authorities, if people are discrediting me), but maybe when every single thing I've mentioned or analyzed about local, national, or global politics comes true, folks may be forced to reconsider their positions or personal beliefs, and they may even understand my ongoing sense of urgency and desperacy.
Thinking about economics holistically is something I learned by working and travelling in Asia and India. Come to think of it, my thinking about economics, period, was developed while I was overseas. Before, I used to be a 'bleeding-heart Liberal,' and an outspoken advocate of socio-political causes, yet I had very little concept of economic frameworks. I'm a changed person.
Being in Asia, I could see the effects of globalization on both a micro- and macro-scale. We're pretty sheltered here.
Through my experiences abroad, I also understood how my previous efforts at, say, setting up paper-recycling, reusing stuff, buying used clothing, carrying my own cup and tupperware, and so on - in short, trying to make a smaller ecological footprint - were almost pointless, feel-good endeavours in comparison to the actual wastage going on. I also saw that disproportionate socio-political power means one person can render the efforts of many people completely meaningless.
(Note: I'd be the first to admit that, while I'm interested in ecologically-friendly approaches, I'm hardly a live-off-the-land type. I do like my hot showers. But I live pretty simply; I don't have a car, no TV, no microwave, no dishwasher, sometimes do my laundry using the Wonder-Washer, and so on. At one point, however, I had a deep fear of public places and drove a gas-guzzling car for a year. My peers in a grad program may recall this, yet, they still fail to understand where I was at.)
Living in India, I better understood the need for democratic, grassroots economic development and autonomy.
Several people I greatly admire happen to be from India. Two particularly inspiring people are freedom-fighter Mohandas 'Mahatma' Gandhi and Kiran Bedi, India's first woman police officer. Profound visionaries, both Bedi and Gandhi have/had an unlimited scope of interests, covering such diverse topics as: social reform, environment, economics, personal development, sports, health, spirituality, and so on.
I had the immense honour of meeting Kiran Bedi. What the first article doesn't mention is that Bedi helped turn the world's largest prison, one that was rife with abuse and corruption of a magnitude many people cannot even conceive, into a place that recycled all it's natural waste, did community gardening, had prisoners engage in daily meditation and yoga, created a prisoner's fund for families of convicts by starting a bakery and selling homemade baked goods, encouraged impoverished, socially-dysfunctional inmates to teach one another useful work skills (instead of reinforcing ways to be more delinquent or violent), and so on. Miracle doesn't nearly describe her work. But, while Bedi has had 'Breakfast with the (U.S.) President' and has received many international awards to recognize her phenomenal work, few people know about her accomplishments. I feel what Kiran Bedi has done, and strives to do, is on par with Mother Theresa - and she's had far less social support and goodwill behind her.
My overall point is:
1) Holism is necessary for creating effective change -- economics cannot be separated or compartmentalized;
2) Discussing economics openly doesn't make one an innate capitalist, or even financially astute (look at me for chrissakes), and
3) Don't judge a book by its cover; no single group or race has a monopoly on integrity, or other positive traits. Even if my daily experiences try hard to convince me otherwise.
Too bad that in today's rationalistic, Descartesian society, people have grown so accustomed to separating things in a dualistic fashion, and will only accept the rational or logical aspects. Even Descartes, the founder of modern-day rationalism, was a far more whole being. He was widely travelled and wrote many essays on spirituality and metaphysics. Unfortunately, he never published these out of fear for his life, under the Church's iron rule.
People still favour rationalistic ways, without allowing or acknowledging personal emotions or spirit -- yet, these are central to our very beings.
I'm not good at communicating or embodying a 'new way', but I do try to envision it. I've seen glimpses of it and believe it is possible. Our worst enemy -- contrary to prevailing attitudes in social or environmental circles -- are not capitalists, or even capitalism. Our worst enemy can also be our best friend, and the answer may be found in a book, written by a friend, whom I met while working in Hong Kong.
The Search for Earthy’s Best Friend (http://www.earthy.com.hk/)
(Have you guessed who your best friend may be...?)
I’ll probably spout more about life, work, and travels in Asia later. It was a profound learning experience. At one point, I lived on a beautiful island with organic farms and no cars, and met interesting people from all over the world. This helped remind me that the planet is, in fact, round.
Environmentalism has many allies, supporters, and practitioners -- modern and traditional. We need to appreciate everyone in all their beauty and diversity, and somehow bridge the gaps by embracing new and inclusive ways of thinking, seeing, and being together.
I know I’m a damaged person; I also live in an unhealthy society on an ailing planet. If we don’t start acknowledging these things, there will be no future...except perhaps for those who can afford to migrate to outerspace. And that ain't just science fiction anymore.
I fear there will be no one like environmentalist Tooker Gomberg in the future. Tooker was an inspiration and a guiding light. If we, as activists and truth-seekers, explore and make new realities together, then perhaps responsibility and suffering would not fall on the shoulders of a few.
(For the record, I questioned Tooker Gomberg's unexpected passing in some detail. I had been concerned about his safety and, I believe, I was even able to pinpoint some irregularities by analyzing the unlikely sequence of events before his death. However, with due respect to his surviving loved ones, I'm putting this issue to rest for now. Yet I do consider it an unresolved tragedy, which I believe holds serious implications for all activists and conscientious objectors.)
That said, also know that undercover 'moles' are many and are well-placed. They pass so well! It's extremely easy for them to take up positions, and appear to be doing good work, while quietly monitoring activities, or subtly manipulating things behind the scenes - just by being there. They have the resources, connections, power, and influence of the government behind them. Please also remember: while most activists are unpaid volunteers, who are busy getting burned out, these people are actually being paid.
Not to be all negative and hopeless, I do believe change is possible. But in troubled times, co-operation and mutual understanding are key.
If we speak in circles of wise council, change is not a burden: it is a healing, energizing, and transformative space. In circle, I can actually sit down with someone I dislike or distrust, and still find meaningful connections. It is possible.
StudyCircles.org - http://studycircles.org
PeerSpirit.com - http://peerspirit.com
The Secret of Great Groups - http://leadertoleader.org/leaderbooks/L2L/winter97/bennis.html
Innovation Means Relying On Everyone’s Creativity - http://leadertoleader.org/leaderbooks/L2L/spring2001/wheatley.html
Here’s my beef: straight talk about personal economic realities shouldn’t be taboo. I haven't been emotionally well for several years, people don't believe I'm being harassed, and I've been dependent on my mother for most of that time (forcing her to remortgage her home, and eventually move altogether), so yes, I'm feeling more than a little desperate.
No one can quite imagine my situation, coupled as it is with insidious surveillance. So no one can fully appreciate how bloody twisted the authorities are in carrying out their unscrupulous activities. I have LOTS of indirect evidence, yet no power or resources to do much of anything.
People may not believe me today (and it suits the authorities, if people are discrediting me), but maybe when every single thing I've mentioned or analyzed about local, national, or global politics comes true, folks may be forced to reconsider their positions or personal beliefs, and they may even understand my ongoing sense of urgency and desperacy.
Thinking about economics holistically is something I learned by working and travelling in Asia and India. Come to think of it, my thinking about economics, period, was developed while I was overseas. Before, I used to be a 'bleeding-heart Liberal,' and an outspoken advocate of socio-political causes, yet I had very little concept of economic frameworks. I'm a changed person.
Being in Asia, I could see the effects of globalization on both a micro- and macro-scale. We're pretty sheltered here.
Through my experiences abroad, I also understood how my previous efforts at, say, setting up paper-recycling, reusing stuff, buying used clothing, carrying my own cup and tupperware, and so on - in short, trying to make a smaller ecological footprint - were almost pointless, feel-good endeavours in comparison to the actual wastage going on. I also saw that disproportionate socio-political power means one person can render the efforts of many people completely meaningless.
(Note: I'd be the first to admit that, while I'm interested in ecologically-friendly approaches, I'm hardly a live-off-the-land type. I do like my hot showers. But I live pretty simply; I don't have a car, no TV, no microwave, no dishwasher, sometimes do my laundry using the Wonder-Washer, and so on. At one point, however, I had a deep fear of public places and drove a gas-guzzling car for a year. My peers in a grad program may recall this, yet, they still fail to understand where I was at.)
Living in India, I better understood the need for democratic, grassroots economic development and autonomy.
Several people I greatly admire happen to be from India. Two particularly inspiring people are freedom-fighter Mohandas 'Mahatma' Gandhi and Kiran Bedi, India's first woman police officer. Profound visionaries, both Bedi and Gandhi have/had an unlimited scope of interests, covering such diverse topics as: social reform, environment, economics, personal development, sports, health, spirituality, and so on.
I had the immense honour of meeting Kiran Bedi. What the first article doesn't mention is that Bedi helped turn the world's largest prison, one that was rife with abuse and corruption of a magnitude many people cannot even conceive, into a place that recycled all it's natural waste, did community gardening, had prisoners engage in daily meditation and yoga, created a prisoner's fund for families of convicts by starting a bakery and selling homemade baked goods, encouraged impoverished, socially-dysfunctional inmates to teach one another useful work skills (instead of reinforcing ways to be more delinquent or violent), and so on. Miracle doesn't nearly describe her work. But, while Bedi has had 'Breakfast with the (U.S.) President' and has received many international awards to recognize her phenomenal work, few people know about her accomplishments. I feel what Kiran Bedi has done, and strives to do, is on par with Mother Theresa - and she's had far less social support and goodwill behind her.
My overall point is:
1) Holism is necessary for creating effective change -- economics cannot be separated or compartmentalized;
2) Discussing economics openly doesn't make one an innate capitalist, or even financially astute (look at me for chrissakes), and
3) Don't judge a book by its cover; no single group or race has a monopoly on integrity, or other positive traits. Even if my daily experiences try hard to convince me otherwise.
Too bad that in today's rationalistic, Descartesian society, people have grown so accustomed to separating things in a dualistic fashion, and will only accept the rational or logical aspects. Even Descartes, the founder of modern-day rationalism, was a far more whole being. He was widely travelled and wrote many essays on spirituality and metaphysics. Unfortunately, he never published these out of fear for his life, under the Church's iron rule.
People still favour rationalistic ways, without allowing or acknowledging personal emotions or spirit -- yet, these are central to our very beings.
I'm not good at communicating or embodying a 'new way', but I do try to envision it. I've seen glimpses of it and believe it is possible. Our worst enemy -- contrary to prevailing attitudes in social or environmental circles -- are not capitalists, or even capitalism. Our worst enemy can also be our best friend, and the answer may be found in a book, written by a friend, whom I met while working in Hong Kong.
The Search for Earthy’s Best Friend (http://www.earthy.com.hk/)
(Have you guessed who your best friend may be...?)
I’ll probably spout more about life, work, and travels in Asia later. It was a profound learning experience. At one point, I lived on a beautiful island with organic farms and no cars, and met interesting people from all over the world. This helped remind me that the planet is, in fact, round.
Environmentalism has many allies, supporters, and practitioners -- modern and traditional. We need to appreciate everyone in all their beauty and diversity, and somehow bridge the gaps by embracing new and inclusive ways of thinking, seeing, and being together.
I know I’m a damaged person; I also live in an unhealthy society on an ailing planet. If we don’t start acknowledging these things, there will be no future...except perhaps for those who can afford to migrate to outerspace. And that ain't just science fiction anymore.
I fear there will be no one like environmentalist Tooker Gomberg in the future. Tooker was an inspiration and a guiding light. If we, as activists and truth-seekers, explore and make new realities together, then perhaps responsibility and suffering would not fall on the shoulders of a few.
(For the record, I questioned Tooker Gomberg's unexpected passing in some detail. I had been concerned about his safety and, I believe, I was even able to pinpoint some irregularities by analyzing the unlikely sequence of events before his death. However, with due respect to his surviving loved ones, I'm putting this issue to rest for now. Yet I do consider it an unresolved tragedy, which I believe holds serious implications for all activists and conscientious objectors.)
That said, also know that undercover 'moles' are many and are well-placed. They pass so well! It's extremely easy for them to take up positions, and appear to be doing good work, while quietly monitoring activities, or subtly manipulating things behind the scenes - just by being there. They have the resources, connections, power, and influence of the government behind them. Please also remember: while most activists are unpaid volunteers, who are busy getting burned out, these people are actually being paid.
Not to be all negative and hopeless, I do believe change is possible. But in troubled times, co-operation and mutual understanding are key.
If we speak in circles of wise council, change is not a burden: it is a healing, energizing, and transformative space. In circle, I can actually sit down with someone I dislike or distrust, and still find meaningful connections. It is possible.
“We need to remember that we can do little alone and yet much together. To be effective, leaders [organizations, communities] must look beyond the walls of the corporation, the university, the hospital, the agency -- and work to build a cohesive community that embraces all its people....” - Frances Hesselbein, 'Managing in a World That's Round'
StudyCircles.org - http://studycircles.org
PeerSpirit.com - http://peerspirit.com
The Secret of Great Groups - http://leadertoleader.org/leaderbooks/L2L/winter97/bennis.html
Innovation Means Relying On Everyone’s Creativity - http://leadertoleader.org/leaderbooks/L2L/spring2001/wheatley.html
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