This morning, a member of the meditation community of which I’m a member asked, “How can we be at peace with the moment, when we know that not too far from here is the war?”
Our teacher shared a wise reflection with many parts. But what I was most struck by was how he invited us to be with the phrase “not too far from here is the war” in reaction, yes, to Russia’s violent violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty, but also that “not too far from here is the war” is a constant state of the human experience in 2022.
Not too far from here is the war of the basic human right to be, belong, and become. Not too far from here is the war of political polarization. Not too far from here is the war against billionaires and those whose interest it is to steal from the rest of us. Not too far from here is the war on democracy and democratic principles. Not too far from here is the war against another SARS-CoV-2 variant or another pandemic entirely. Not too far from here is the war against the fossil fuel industry to prevent total loss of life on this planet. Not too far from here is the war to protect humans as millions - billions - more of us are forced to migrate into new countries from all of these other wars.
Indeed, not too far from here is the war in our own communities; not too far from here is the war within ourselves.
Not too far from here is the war.
Alongside this sobering reality, I’ve had these quotes come to mind across the day:
“You cannot change any society unless you take responsibility for it, unless you see yourself as belonging to it and responsible for changing it.” - Grace Lee Boggs, lifelong activist for freedom
“It is my conviction that there is no way to peace - peace is the way.” - Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhist monk and anti-war activist (emphasis mine)
“Hope is a discipline.” - relayed to abolitionist activist and organizer Mariame Kaba by an unnamed nun
“...in the spaciousness of uncertainty is room to act.” - Rebecca Solnit, feminist author and anti-war activist
“In and through community lies the salvation of the world.” - M. Scott Peck, therapist, author, and community builder
I’ve struggled - and continue to struggle - with the concept of what constitutes enough action in the face of the many complicated, hundreds-of-years-in-the-making wars of today. When I get caught in this struggle, I get hopeless, cynical, burned out, and overwhelmed. When I try to match the scale of the problem with any solutions I can take part in, create, or support, I am overtaken by the force of the very issue I seek to address. When I try to match the scale of the problem in my solutions, I inadvertently support some of the thinking that created the problem to begin with: scarcity, urgency, individualism, heroism, and more.
I am confident I cannot be the cause of Putin’s defeat; nor can I eviscerate Greg Abbott’s war on transgendered children and their families; nor can I ensure Chevron or BP or Shell or Exxon stop extracting fossil fuels and instead pivot entirely to renewable energy production; nor can I ensure we pay reparations to Native and Black people in the United States and change every insitutionalized law or policy that advances racist thinking and outcomes; and…you get the idea. I’m willing to bet you can’t do these things either. It can certainly be upsetting to see that written that plainly, but I don’t at all believe - not for a second - that it means I or you or we are powerless. I believe we are powerful and that these realities exist because we allow them to. I believe we can change them if we want to. And I believe it takes a really different set of actions than I used to believe to do so.
In the past, I’d say my actions and beliefs of change largely would have followed a predictable pattern: donate, protest, vote, share posts, repeat. I am not advocating against any of those things necessarily - I generally think those are needed, necessary, or helpful things to do (though I’m decidedly ehhhhh, maybe not on the “share posts” one, as you may know already).
It’s just not where I’m personally centering my attention anymore because I noticed that when I was doing those things, I also wasn’t doing something I now see as one of the most important actions for change - building relationships with neighbors and building community everywhere possible - and I didn’t have enough space to identify the actions I can take as one small person in one tiny blip of time that could change the world, if just for me and a couple other people (and isn’t that enough, to say you were part of changing 2-3 people’s worlds?). And if I’m being really honest, I was much more concerned with making sure I was taking the actions that social media told me were the right ones instead of taking the actions that might actually lead to change and that I had thought through. I was outsourcing my own morality.
Today, I can’t look and find the things I’m doing to directly help the people of Ukraine. I can’t look and find the things I’m doing to directly help the people of Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Yemen, or the Palestinians in Gaza. That doesn’t feel good to acknowledge, write, or read.
But I can find the things I’m doing to build relationships with neighbors that are contributing to our collective safety and capacity to join together in the future against any war that isn’t too far from here in ourselves, our homes, or, (I truly hope it won’t ever come to this), our country. I can find the things I’m doing to help many people access tools for building their own communities of belonging, care, and accountability. I can find the things I’m doing to directly impact the material conditions of a small number of people. I can find the things I’m doing to reduce my personal impact on this planet and come into right relationship with the earth. I can find the things I’m doing to practice peace within myself and my relationships.
Of course, this is not enough. Nothing that I will be able to do will ever be enough, which is no excuse for inaction; rather, I think it’s an important call to action for all of us. Because not too far from here is the war. And if we are to avoid the next one, wherever that may be, I believe we have to take the very large, time consuming, full-of-awkward-moments steps to build community all around us. Of doing it where it’s easy and doing it where (and with whom) it is hard. Of doing it where we can, taking cues of what to do from the forces of love and interconnection. And we must couple this building and strengthening the relationship fabric between us with whatever other actions we are called to take on individually and within these growing communities of ours.
What I know is that the people of Ukraine are powerful and they are demonstrating their courage, their conviction, their heart in ways no human should ever have to. And what I also believe is that unless and until we change how we relate to each other everywhere across this planet, not too far from here is the war we might have to demonstrate our courage, our conviction, and our heart in ways no human should ever have to.
My prayer tonight is may we find the courage to build a new world together and bring peace to ourselves, our communities, and all of humanity.