In this chapter, Joanna and Chris make the important point that very little worth accomplishing is achieved without overcoming obstacles. In the case of activism this can be in terms of setbacks, such as events going in the wrong direction to the goal, and threshold guardians in the form of opposition from Business as Usual and their allies. Our own doubts can also stand in our way.
They point out that change is often discontinuous, with a lot of effort being expended for apparently minimal gains, until suddenly the water crashes through the dam. This is echoed in Rebecca Solnit’s book Hope in the Dark, which I will doubtless continue to reference!
Nelson Mandela’s quote is shared: “It always seems impossible until it is done.”
Chris talks about his own story as a junior doctor in the UK fighting for change in a system which was forcing doctors to work in conditions of extreme sleep deprivation endangering the health of both doctors and patients. He faced pressure from his own bosses that pursuing his campaign would be detrimental for his career and a lack of support from the doctors’ own union, who considered it to have zero chance of success.
Chris says, “when a change wants to happen, it looks for people to act through.” Who are those people other than us? In Zen terms, we are the thousands of hands and eyes of Kannon bodhisattva.
When we move towards change, we almost always find previously hidden sources of support, just as Chris had lawyers offering their services for free in order to bring about necessary change.
Questions:
Do you have your own story of doing something despite strong opposition or internal doubts?
What helped you to overcome those threshold guardians?
What are the threshold guardians stopping you from taking more action now?
Feel free to also do the exercise on p196 in Identifying Your Goals and Resources.
I have completely lost track on who is doing which chapter, but it would be good to have two weeks to work with this one before continuing on.
Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday-
-
They point out that change is often discontinuous, with a lot of effort being expended for apparently minimal gains, until suddenly the water crashes through the dam. This is echoed in Rebecca Solnit’s book Hope in the Dark, which I will doubtless continue to reference!
Nelson Mandela’s quote is shared: “It always seems impossible until it is done.”
Chris talks about his own story as a junior doctor in the UK fighting for change in a system which was forcing doctors to work in conditions of extreme sleep deprivation endangering the health of both doctors and patients. He faced pressure from his own bosses that pursuing his campaign would be detrimental for his career and a lack of support from the doctors’ own union, who considered it to have zero chance of success.
Chris says, “when a change wants to happen, it looks for people to act through.” Who are those people other than us? In Zen terms, we are the thousands of hands and eyes of Kannon bodhisattva.
When we move towards change, we almost always find previously hidden sources of support, just as Chris had lawyers offering their services for free in order to bring about necessary change.
Questions:
Do you have your own story of doing something despite strong opposition or internal doubts?
What helped you to overcome those threshold guardians?
What are the threshold guardians stopping you from taking more action now?
Feel free to also do the exercise on p196 in Identifying Your Goals and Resources.
I have completely lost track on who is doing which chapter, but it would be good to have two weeks to work with this one before continuing on.
Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday-
-
Comment