(Not) rushing into the urgency of now (while still arriving)
Every day I face the irony of needing to hurry up to slow down, or perhaps it is the other way around, of slowing down in order to speed up my alignment with lifeforce—call it chi or God or Gaia or maybe it is just with other humans in society, thinking of society as a verb—the actions of living together through culture, work and art. My jaw still tenses, at times, evidence of strain in interpersonal relations with those I most love who persist in their own humanity: living at their own pace, according to their own rhythm. “Respect!” I holler.
“There will not be a voluntary transformation” (Keith, p. 110, DGR)
In her chapter on “Liberals and Radicals” in the Deep Green Resistance manual, Lierre Keith discusses four categories of social action, emphasizing how each can be used either liberally – in service of “a merely alternative culture,” or radically – to create “a culture of resistance” (p. 85).
Some of the radicals that I began following last year are Jacob Appelbaum, who gave the keynote talk at Germany’s Chaos Communication Conference in December 2012, and the legion of folk inspired by Aaron Schwartz. These people are risking everything to be on the front line making sure that we will be able to maintain open access to information for as long as internet communication remains. Recently Edward Snowden added the totality of his life to the whistleblower cause, following in the footsteps of Julian Assange of Wikileaks fame.
Interpreting as Stewardship
I can only offer what I know, what I have learned, slowly and at the cost of many dear relationships. Diversity matters. The differences among us are more important than the similarities, because they enable creativity. The differences between humans and the rest of the living world are the network that draws awareness and attention to the common essentials for survival. The difference between dying and living, between death and breath, is celebration and song.
Here we are, thrown into consciousness and connection. What shall we make of this precious chance?