Resisting the real danger
As fall turns toward winter, we can gather our power, our faith, and our energy to resist the dangers of bigotry, hatred, violence, and mindless consumerism.
As the leaves fall, in this northern hemisphere, we take stock of our landscapes: what needs pruning, what needs mending, what needs replacing. And we take stock of our human family - now over eight billion members. How do we best care for one another as we head into the next season?
Too often, we wake to news of violence, aggression, and fear, targeted at the most vulnerable among us. Even more ubiquitous are messages of inadequacy bombarding us, designed to prompt us into consumer behaviors that will benefit those at the top of the economic pyramid. We are too fat, too thin, our hair is the wrong color, our home is the wrong color, we are out of fashion, out of step; fortunately, our laundry can smell better, our homes can send a better message, our bodies can better attract attention (or repel it) just by purchasing… whatever is being sold.
Battered by messages of fear and inadequacy, we might find ourselves vulnerable to simplistic paternalistic solutions. “Someone” needs to solve these problems. “We” need to protect ourselves against “them.” We look for villains and heroes. If we are not mindful, we can be convinced of our own powerlessness, all while being distracted from the true threats to this big, beautiful human family of ours.
Like the plants retreating into their winter protections, growing scales and coating their tender buds with laquer; like the ones that throw their seeds in profound faith that they will find fertile ground; like the creatures sealing up their winter homes against the coming cold - we can gather our power, our faith, and our energy to resist the dangers of bigotry, hatred, violence, and mindless consumerism. We can instead focus on the nurturing we need to thrive, together.
May this transition into winter be kind to you, and may you realize your essential value, exactly as you are, in this moment.