I connected so much with your path of unlearning here, and in particular this: “I was trained to believe that every campaign, every march, every protest needed to push for a specific outcome or demand—new legislation, a policy change or the removal of some official.” This too has been my training as an activist. And as as you say, this thinking has its place, but sometimes there is no right plan or right lever for which to reach right away — especially in a world in which the powers that be are quietly removing the levers available to the voting public so they can do as they please. And, if there is such a thing, we can’t imagine we are omniscient and can know which one is the best or will work out. Sometimes it makes more sense to pray in public for the world we love and the world we want to build, and to be willing to let forces bigger than us find us there and carry us along. I am in a place of learning both how to pray and how to be carried. I’m grateful to you for putting words to an experience that goes beyond words.
Hi, a friend forwarded this to me. I appreciate the way you write about the difference between walking as prayer, vs. walking for an outcome. It's a worldview thing that many of us need to realize. We need the ceremony of walking/praying/protesting to show ourselves the worldview in which we live. Many great points in this post. Thank you
Thank you so much Kazu!! I read this first thing on waking this morning and it's remained the mainstay of my day. YES! to what you so beautifully describe as prayer, where we collectively share the steps and feel the help of powers greater than our own. So different from "demands." Makes me want to share this complementary way of framing it from a Peruvian teacher: https://landing.pachamama.org/arkan-2025 This is the lesson I think we have to learn now.
This piece met me in a deep way, as I am in the midst of nurturing a new interfaith coalition, and asking a lot of questions about what it means to dream beyond the constraints of past iterations of this kind of work, as well as our sense of what we are working toward. The sacredness I experience in our gatherings is what propels me, and your essay reminds me that this spirit is what matters most. Thank you.
Tusen hjertelig takk. Köszönöm szépen. Thank you from the parts of my heart that live beyond the bounds of my body. Your words reach deep into a place of struggle/yearning that has been tempted to give up. You have gestured to lift up a way of walking (and quite literally walking) that could honor and hold it all without gripping or dropping (or smashing, which also has been tempting lately). May the spirit that led you to walk and write animate me, as well. Thank you so very much. 🙏🏻
I connected so much with your path of unlearning here, and in particular this: “I was trained to believe that every campaign, every march, every protest needed to push for a specific outcome or demand—new legislation, a policy change or the removal of some official.” This too has been my training as an activist. And as as you say, this thinking has its place, but sometimes there is no right plan or right lever for which to reach right away — especially in a world in which the powers that be are quietly removing the levers available to the voting public so they can do as they please. And, if there is such a thing, we can’t imagine we are omniscient and can know which one is the best or will work out. Sometimes it makes more sense to pray in public for the world we love and the world we want to build, and to be willing to let forces bigger than us find us there and carry us along. I am in a place of learning both how to pray and how to be carried. I’m grateful to you for putting words to an experience that goes beyond words.
Hi, a friend forwarded this to me. I appreciate the way you write about the difference between walking as prayer, vs. walking for an outcome. It's a worldview thing that many of us need to realize. We need the ceremony of walking/praying/protesting to show ourselves the worldview in which we live. Many great points in this post. Thank you
Thank you so much David!
Such a beautiful and powerful piece. Thank you so much for sharing this! ❣️🙏🏾❣️
Thank you for reading it!!!
Thank you so much Kazu!! I read this first thing on waking this morning and it's remained the mainstay of my day. YES! to what you so beautifully describe as prayer, where we collectively share the steps and feel the help of powers greater than our own. So different from "demands." Makes me want to share this complementary way of framing it from a Peruvian teacher: https://landing.pachamama.org/arkan-2025 This is the lesson I think we have to learn now.
So great to hear from you here Louise, thank you for reading!
This piece met me in a deep way, as I am in the midst of nurturing a new interfaith coalition, and asking a lot of questions about what it means to dream beyond the constraints of past iterations of this kind of work, as well as our sense of what we are working toward. The sacredness I experience in our gatherings is what propels me, and your essay reminds me that this spirit is what matters most. Thank you.
Thank you so much Lauren, for reading the piece and for the work you are doing in the world!
I appreciate you massively. 💜
Beautifully said! Lifting up your heart-based, soul-based experiment. It is awkward. We have not met these times before. 💞
Thank you!
Tusen hjertelig takk. Köszönöm szépen. Thank you from the parts of my heart that live beyond the bounds of my body. Your words reach deep into a place of struggle/yearning that has been tempted to give up. You have gestured to lift up a way of walking (and quite literally walking) that could honor and hold it all without gripping or dropping (or smashing, which also has been tempting lately). May the spirit that led you to walk and write animate me, as well. Thank you so very much. 🙏🏻
Thank you so much for reading and for your comment!!! It means a lot!
That we are here together in this time, honest and messy, is a gift. 💝