Action in No Action
A wet and grey morning by the sea. The temperature sits at 56 degrees fahrenheit. Today is Monday. A day of rest in the name of Cesar Chavez.
The weekend was dedicated to learning, visiting, and taking a slow drive across the city to join an artbuild project with CodePink. Talk about energy!
For those who don't know CodePink, they are the women who disrupt politics as usual and keep the message of peace alive. Decidedly feminist and intergenerational. Their work has mostly been seen in news reports that show women being pulled out of hearings in congress, public meetings at commissions that oversee our ports, and other public gatherings where important issues are being decided. Lately, it has been to stand for peace in Gaza, to prevent war with China, and to protect Asian Americans from violence. We live in violent times and it is hard to know why we keep choosing to go down this path.
This is a time when we have to accept that action actually comes out of no action. (Think not voting in protest, resulting in opening th eway for this moment in political life.). The non-action might be silence (often for good reasons), and ignoring the news (again, for good reasons), and conflict avoidance (classic). So if it is baby steps that get us to move out of "no action" then, maybe it is time to take a first baby step. If showing up at a protest is not on the menu of things that you can do, maybe making a phone call or writing a letter, or easier yet for those in 'no action' mode - add your name to a petition.
It feels like we got here because so many people were in the mode of 'no action' and we forgot that in no action, things happen and not always things that are good for human beings. Living in modernity has made it a challenge to understand where our attention needs to stay. In between the times we must spend with those in our closest circles, we might catch a story in the news or listen to a podcast, but that was it. Realizing that the non-action has led us to this moment has raised the question once again, "Why are we here?"
Emphasizing being and not doing has been misunderstood. It is awesome when the being is doing. And even more awesome when the being/doing is in the service of caring, of building peace, of making a connection with those who are literally just trying to survive. In every part of the planet, there are communities, families with children and elders - just trying to stay alive, and both domestic and international examples are plentiful. And these are places where the being/doing person needs to show up.
As you read the news stories or listen to the podcasts, consider how your being can become doing in service of stopping violence wherever you are. We all have something to do, without having to add much to what already calls us in. Figure that one out.