This may be a recent realisation for you, or you may always have known this to be true, somewhere in your mind and heart.
But whether new or old, this knowledge has left you with a question, one which feels more urgent by the day:
What can I do about it all?
Whether the 'all' that distresses you most right now is racism and white supremacy, sexism and misogyny, dis/ableism, homophobia and biphobia, transphobia, religious bigotry, classism, vast and growing wealth inequalities, or the inexorable progress of climate change, it's easy to feel disempowered and helpless in the face of so much injustice and harm, happening every day.
Even reading the list in that last paragraph might leave you feeling that way. (I know I feel close to despair reading it -- and I'm the one who wrote it!)
I would guess that you're already trying to do your bit: supporting campaigns like #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo with your social media posts or even street actions; interrupting racist, sexist, dis/ableist etc. 'humour' and commentary in your day to day interactions, when you feel able; reducing, reusing and recycling, where facilities exist.
But engaging with the world and what is happening right now -- all the harm that is being done, often in our names -- is hard and it's painful.
You often feel like you can't ever do enough.
You're worried about doing it wrong, and even fear you might be doing more harm than good.
You lose confidence in your ability to choose which action to take or what words to use.
You hate confrontation and fear conflict, and don't know how to tackle it when it comes up.
You often feel overwhelmed and have to step away, then feel guilty for taking care of yourself when all of these issues feel so damned urgent.
Sometimes, you feel alone and confused. You yearn for support, nourishment, and above all community, but can't seem to find it, or feel like you have to leave parts of yourself behind to be accepted when you do.
All of us who are engaged in work for social and environmental change feel these things.
We are firm in our commitment to doing what we can, when and where we can, to move the world towards justice, love, and liberation. But often we don't have access to the emotional support, anxiety-free learning, and deep inner nourishment that would empower and enable us to be clear, confident and joyful in our activism.
Many of the most resilient and effective activists have been those who have a strong grounding in a practice and community of faith or spirit.
Mahatma Gandhi.
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Starhawk.
Joanna Macy.
And so, so many more.
Regular grounding in personal practice that connects us to that which is beyond our everyday experience, greater than our place in time and space, is one of the deepest ways that we can support our activism. Especially when done as part of a group or community of practice, it nourishes us, supports us, and provides us with resources to draw on when we face the day to day challenges of acting to move the world in the direction of social and environmental justice.
But for those of us who do not belong to mainstream religious or spiritual traditions (especially those of us who are white, or who benefit, personally and substantially, from white privilege) it can be difficult to find that grounding, that practice, that community. It often feels like we are faced with a choice between taking on beliefs and practices of religious institutions which are harmful to us and those we love, or alternatively harming those who have already been harmed so much, by appropriating the practices and traditions of indigenous communities and other peoples of colour.
There are other ways.
One of them is to work with me.
Hi. I'm Elinor Predota.
I support you to build your inner resources of resilience, of awareness of self, society and environment, and of confidence and humility in your activism. In the one-to-one, group and DIY programmes I offer:
- we work with our place in the world and in social structures;
- we enter into our stories, our bodies, and our energy;
- we connect with human and more-than-human support;
- we learn together, as peers;
- we become present, where we are, with all that we hold: our blessings, burdens, joys and challenges
- we face our responsibilities as members of society, as co-creators of culture, and as a part of the web of nature, together.
All without dogma, without judgement, and with as little appropriation as humanly possible.
Join me on the sacred ground where the yearning of our hearts, souls and spirits meets our social, environmental and political commitments.
Want to get to know me better?
I'd like to get to know you, too, so let's chat!
We'll meet for a Zoom call, for 20-30 minutes, with no fee, and no agenda: just you and me, hanging out, having a conversation.
If you ask for information about how I can support you, I will tell you about any of my services or products that I think might be a good fit for you.
If you don't ask, but it seems from our conversation that you might benefit from my services or products, I won't talk about them unless I have your active consent.
I look forward to meeting you!
in love and solidarity
Elinor ♥