Opinion: Connection, A Balm in Troubled Times

Do you need a few moments of peace, a balm, a brief rest?  I do.  I can only put my attention on the election, the likely coup attempt, the rise in coronavirus deaths, violence against Black people, and climate change for so long.  Then I need something to revive my spirits.  I’ve been finding it in getting outdoors, noticing the natural world, and experiencing a sense of connection to it.

The Indigenous perspective that we are part of the natural world — not separate from it, not rulers over it — but deeply interconnected in the web of life, restores me and heals me when I take even a brief time to immerse myself in it.  The song, “We Belong to the Earth,” helps me remember.

I was recently on a Zoom call with a group of activists who are fully engaged in the election and various social justice organizing projects — people who regularly face what deeply troubling times we are in.  We started the meeting with a brief personal check-in by each of us.  We were all experiencing hard feelings – fear, depression, exhaustion, and busyness.  Those who seemed to be faring the best were the ones who also reported taking breaks to work in their gardens, go for a bike ride, or take a walk.

Marama Davidson
Marama Davidson is a Maori environmentalist and human rights advocate.  In 2015 she was elected to the New Zealand Parliament as a member of the Green Party, of which she is now the elected co-leader.  A friend in New Zealand sent me a link to her inaugural speech in Parliament.  I’ve used a paraphrase of her words as the tagline to my personal email account ever since.  Ms. Davidson spoke of the need for us to

“reconnect with each other and our living systems.  The challenges that we are facing today are borne from disconnection. Everything is supposed to be connected.  We are supposed to be connected to each other as neighbors and as a global community.  My wellbeing is supposed to be connected to yours.  We are supposed to be connected to the life systems that nourish us”.

So I invite you, in the midst of your activity, worry and busyness to take some hits of time to reconnect with others, to reconnect with the natural world around you, to reconnect with our shared humanness. I think we will do well to permanently incorporate a deep awareness of these connections into our world view.

Being With People — And Listening Exchanges
I’m finding that in addition to time outdoors, I need time with people  — in masked, physically-distanced walks, connecting on Zoom, or on the phone.  I’m finding it helps me to have time just to be with people without doing any work or figuring anything out.  It also helps me to have structured listening exchanges where another person and I agree to listen to each other (often for just 5 minutes each), without interruption or judgment, so we can each share and unload how we are feeling and what thoughts go through our minds.  I find these chances to unload the emotional burdens of these times help clear your mind and restore your energy.

I wish for you, the balm of connection, and energy for the work you want to do.

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For the next two weeks I hope we can all be part of a renewed push to turn out voters and win the election. So many things we care about are at stake.

While I think the bulk of our energies should go into the election itself, I also invite you to take some step to prepare for the possibility that the Trump will try to stay in power after losing the election.  If you haven’t already, you may want to read my column from two weeks ago, “Call It a Coup.” 

There are many groups organizing and offering online trainings.  Below are links to some of them.  If you find others that you would recommend, please put them in the comment section of this post.  Thanks for all you do!

Choose Democracy
The Frontline
Hold the Line
Transition Integrity Project
Count on Us
Civil Liberties Defense Center
Protect the Results

Russ Vernon-Jones was the Principal of Fort River Elementary School from 1990-2008.  He is a co-facilitator of the Coming Together Anti-Racism Project in the Amherst area.  He chairs the Racism, White Supremacy, and Climate Justice working group of Climate Action Now of Western Mass, and blogs regularly on climate justice at www.RussVernonJones.org.