In her book, The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World, Robin Wall Kimmerer describes a way of understanding our ecosystem that flies directly (and effectively) in the face of the commodified world that is generated by fear and greed.
As the current government demonstrates willingness to put us all in significant threat we are each going to feel a wide variety of internal responses:
At times we will grieve.
This is not the dream we dreamed for a better tomorrow. The consequences of policy and budget decisions threaten both quality of life and life itself for many people. As caring and empathic people, that can be hard to take.
At times we will fight.
Some of us refuse to accept powerlessness. Our desire to advocate for people and planet will rise up in a readiness to fight. We will double down on creativity and ways to intervene from the most minute opportunities, to grand scale change movements.
At times we will deny.
Carrying the weight of all that’s happening and trying to happen sincerely is too much at times. We need to come up for air. We need to recalibrate and remember the things that are good. If we allow our bodies to perpetually generate stress hormones without any counterbalance, we will literally wear our bodies out. We can’t help anyone or anything if we are either incapacitated or no longer alive.
At times we will dig deep.
We need to find a rootedness that gives us strength. Some people root in spirituality and/or religious practice, reaching out to something or someone beyond ourselves for context, inspiration and comfort. Some root in a humanism that compels us to care sacrificially for others. However we understand these things, the need to connect to forces beyond our limited humanness is essential.
Held in balance, each one of these responses has its place in our resilience. Taking a note from Robin Wall Kimmerer, each of these responses can also be an opportunity to exercise “enoughness.”
We are not alone. We are part of a much bigger ecosystem. Conscientiously practicing the kind of gratitude and reciprocity Dr. Wall Kimmerer describes brings us into balance in ourselves and with one another. Together, we are a powerful force for good.
How can you join with others in the kind of social economy that treats all things as gifts, instead of as commodities?
Stay tuned to this space for more resources and opportunities!
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