Thank you Dan, for this energising post. I've also been oscillating between anger against business as usual, and optimisism for the small actions by concerned individuals. Reading this I felt I wasn't doing enough, i felt like jumping right into action - yet there's a reality of powerlessness.
And perhaps this is the greatest tool in the arsenal of this unjust system. Powerlessness. An ancient eastern prophecy says - there will be a generation in which people will be given a choice of being bad people or helpless people. Choosing helplessness might be the hard choice most have taken to avoid being bad, but it can be deceptively disempowering.
You don't have power over the external condition, but you power over your internal choices. If we can build tools that empower more people to be exercise their internal power, the system changes as people change - afterall we are the system.
hey Abdul - thank you for reading! And lovely insights - I was a bit raging when I wrote this. And I can feel all these emotions, hope, denial and frustration in one day sometimes!. Maybe I'm too naive and a dreamer, and I still can't quite accept that powerlessness with power - but you are right - lovely wisdom, it made me think of this “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.”
Powerful quote... Took me a few to decode it :). Only the master 'with a dismantled mindset' can dismantle the house - perhaps with tools built for dismantling.
Naive... Me too, I'm wondering why it feels like that though, 'naive', 'dreamy', 'chasing a mirage', 'alone - because no one sees what you see 'in your dreams', sometimes demotivating.?
Thank you Dan, for this energising post. I've also been oscillating between anger against business as usual, and optimisism for the small actions by concerned individuals. Reading this I felt I wasn't doing enough, i felt like jumping right into action - yet there's a reality of powerlessness.
And perhaps this is the greatest tool in the arsenal of this unjust system. Powerlessness. An ancient eastern prophecy says - there will be a generation in which people will be given a choice of being bad people or helpless people. Choosing helplessness might be the hard choice most have taken to avoid being bad, but it can be deceptively disempowering.
You don't have power over the external condition, but you power over your internal choices. If we can build tools that empower more people to be exercise their internal power, the system changes as people change - afterall we are the system.
I just tweeted your wisdom here, thank you, timely reminder - be well
hey Abdul - thank you for reading! And lovely insights - I was a bit raging when I wrote this. And I can feel all these emotions, hope, denial and frustration in one day sometimes!. Maybe I'm too naive and a dreamer, and I still can't quite accept that powerlessness with power - but you are right - lovely wisdom, it made me think of this “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.”
– Audre Lorde
Powerful quote... Took me a few to decode it :). Only the master 'with a dismantled mindset' can dismantle the house - perhaps with tools built for dismantling.
Naive... Me too, I'm wondering why it feels like that though, 'naive', 'dreamy', 'chasing a mirage', 'alone - because no one sees what you see 'in your dreams', sometimes demotivating.?
Am keen to hear how you deal with that too.