Despair-Work: part four
Tao Te Ching
by LAO TSU
Translation by Gia Fu Feng
and Jane English
Eight
The highest good is like water.
Water give life to the ten thousand things and does not strive.
It flows in places men reject and so is like the Tao.
In dwelling, be close to the land.
In meditation, go deep in the heart.
In dealing with others, be gentle and kind.
In speech, be true.
In ruling, be just.
In daily life, be competent.
In action, be aware of the time and the season.
No fight: No blame.
Despair-Work: Community
To work through a sense of hopelessness for the future of humanity seems to be a process requiring a great deal of courage, and also some patience. Fortunately one does not need to look to one’s own supply of such commodities; they are provided by the very dynamics of the process itself. For in letting go of old defenses new strengths are found. They are also found in the community. In the synergy of sharing comes power. This is true in the sharing of most deep feelings and perhaps particularly so in the case of social despair, rooted, as it is, in our sense of interconnectedness with others.
Despair-work, therefore, is not a solo venture, no matter how alone one may feel. It is a process undertaken within the context of community, even if a community of like-minded others is not physically present. This is important to remember, given the tenor of our culture and the sense of isolation it attaches to despair. Just to know that one’s feelings are shared gives a measure of validation and support.
Many kinds of community can be used for the doing of despair-work. On-going groups devoted to personal or spiritual growth are well suited by virtue of the openness and trust they tend to build. Many of those that now meet for purposes of consciousness-raising or the study of psychological or spiritual disciplines, could provide the environment for the kind of sharing that despair-work involves. Groups that have been constellated for the purposes of social action may also be appropriate, particularly the kind that have emerged in the peace and safe-energy movements. “Affinity groups” set a high priority on mutual trust and support, which are essential strategies of nonviolence.
My son, an environmental engineering student in Boston, had a dream about his Clamshell Alliance affinity group that conveys something of the sense of strength generated in such community. In the dream he and his affinity group are standing together looking out over a darkened city. All is black and cold. Through their linked hands he feels the current of their linked energy. They chant and the current grows stronger; lights begin to appear and soon the city is aglow, empowered by the energy of their trust and commitment.
Fortunately such ongoing groups, while profoundly supportive, are not necessary for doing despair-work. Special workshops, conducted over a weekend or for a day, or even a few hours, are very useful. These have been developed to provide a safe setting and structured process for sharing our deep feelings about the present situation in ways that overcome psychic numbing, isolation, and burn-out. By breaking taboos against despair and permitting it to be openly expressed in imagery, ritual, tears, rage and plain talk, these workshops release blocked energy. It is healing to find that deep anxieties for humanity can be spoken without appearing ridiculous, morbid, or socially destructive. In that release and communication comes stronger commitment to our common task of humane survival.
In gatherings or workshops devoted to intensive despair-work, certain conditions or “rules” have emerged as important. An undisturbed space and uninterrupted time are required to foster the trust necessary for this kind of sharing. Even more crucial is that the focus be kept on feelings, not ides. In this context, the discussion of views and opinions is counterproductive: it can be an avoidance mechanism and it is divisive. Debate and argument are often a dodge, an evasion of the fear or anger or grief that threaten to erupt. Only by staying on the feeling level can we confront and release our despair-and find the deeper unity we need. In that unity our roles fall away. A corporation executive and an anarchist drop-out trade images of fear and catastrophe, a military officer and a peace activist hold each other as the tears come…such instances would not have occurred if the workshop had dwelt on the cognitive level, discussing issues of national security or problems of nuclear waste disposal. In each of us, whatever our politics, livelihood or lifestyle, lurks anxiety about what is happening to our world, our future-and it is that we must honor and own.
In the process a deeper discovery is made. Through our despair something more profound and pervasive than our despair comes to light. It is our interconnectedness, our inter-existence. Beyond our pain and because of our pain, we awaken into that. For our feelings of despair for the planet and its beings are concerns that extend beyond our separate egos. Therefore they testify to our essential unity-and by owning them we re-experience that unity, emerge into it afresh. In that dawning we recognize that the very crisis of our time can open us to new dimensions of awareness, a sense of our mutual belonging so real that the response is often one of wonder, even joy. That is why the workshops are often called “Despair and Empowerment.”
Despair-work, experienced in this fashion, is consciousness-raising in the truest sense of the term. It increases our awareness not only of the perils that face us, but also of the promise inherent in the human heart. Whether we “make it” or not, whether our efforts to heal our world succeed or fail, we live then in so vivid a consciousness of our community that the most obvious and accurate word for it is love. And that seems, in and of itself, a fulfillment.
Joanna Macy
Reprinted from Evolutionary Blues
Summer/Fall /81
Twenty-two
Yield and overcome;
Bend and be straight;
Empty and be full;
Wear out and be new;
Have little and gain;
Have much and be confused.
Therefore the wise embrace the one
And set an example to all.
Not putting on a display,
They shine forth.
Not justifying themselves,
They are distinguished.
Not boasting,
They receive recognition.
Not bragging,
They never falter.
They do not quarrel,
So no one quarrels with them.
Therefore the ancients say, "Yield and overcome."
Is that an empty saying?
Be really whole,
And all things will come to you.
[ part one, part two , part three, references and citations, Table of Contents]
by LAO TSU
Translation by Gia Fu Feng
and Jane English
Eight
The highest good is like water.
Water give life to the ten thousand things and does not strive.
It flows in places men reject and so is like the Tao.
In dwelling, be close to the land.
In meditation, go deep in the heart.
In dealing with others, be gentle and kind.
In speech, be true.
In ruling, be just.
In daily life, be competent.
In action, be aware of the time and the season.
No fight: No blame.
Despair-Work: Community
To work through a sense of hopelessness for the future of humanity seems to be a process requiring a great deal of courage, and also some patience. Fortunately one does not need to look to one’s own supply of such commodities; they are provided by the very dynamics of the process itself. For in letting go of old defenses new strengths are found. They are also found in the community. In the synergy of sharing comes power. This is true in the sharing of most deep feelings and perhaps particularly so in the case of social despair, rooted, as it is, in our sense of interconnectedness with others.
Despair-work, therefore, is not a solo venture, no matter how alone one may feel. It is a process undertaken within the context of community, even if a community of like-minded others is not physically present. This is important to remember, given the tenor of our culture and the sense of isolation it attaches to despair. Just to know that one’s feelings are shared gives a measure of validation and support.
Many kinds of community can be used for the doing of despair-work. On-going groups devoted to personal or spiritual growth are well suited by virtue of the openness and trust they tend to build. Many of those that now meet for purposes of consciousness-raising or the study of psychological or spiritual disciplines, could provide the environment for the kind of sharing that despair-work involves. Groups that have been constellated for the purposes of social action may also be appropriate, particularly the kind that have emerged in the peace and safe-energy movements. “Affinity groups” set a high priority on mutual trust and support, which are essential strategies of nonviolence.
My son, an environmental engineering student in Boston, had a dream about his Clamshell Alliance affinity group that conveys something of the sense of strength generated in such community. In the dream he and his affinity group are standing together looking out over a darkened city. All is black and cold. Through their linked hands he feels the current of their linked energy. They chant and the current grows stronger; lights begin to appear and soon the city is aglow, empowered by the energy of their trust and commitment.
Fortunately such ongoing groups, while profoundly supportive, are not necessary for doing despair-work. Special workshops, conducted over a weekend or for a day, or even a few hours, are very useful. These have been developed to provide a safe setting and structured process for sharing our deep feelings about the present situation in ways that overcome psychic numbing, isolation, and burn-out. By breaking taboos against despair and permitting it to be openly expressed in imagery, ritual, tears, rage and plain talk, these workshops release blocked energy. It is healing to find that deep anxieties for humanity can be spoken without appearing ridiculous, morbid, or socially destructive. In that release and communication comes stronger commitment to our common task of humane survival.
In gatherings or workshops devoted to intensive despair-work, certain conditions or “rules” have emerged as important. An undisturbed space and uninterrupted time are required to foster the trust necessary for this kind of sharing. Even more crucial is that the focus be kept on feelings, not ides. In this context, the discussion of views and opinions is counterproductive: it can be an avoidance mechanism and it is divisive. Debate and argument are often a dodge, an evasion of the fear or anger or grief that threaten to erupt. Only by staying on the feeling level can we confront and release our despair-and find the deeper unity we need. In that unity our roles fall away. A corporation executive and an anarchist drop-out trade images of fear and catastrophe, a military officer and a peace activist hold each other as the tears come…such instances would not have occurred if the workshop had dwelt on the cognitive level, discussing issues of national security or problems of nuclear waste disposal. In each of us, whatever our politics, livelihood or lifestyle, lurks anxiety about what is happening to our world, our future-and it is that we must honor and own.
In the process a deeper discovery is made. Through our despair something more profound and pervasive than our despair comes to light. It is our interconnectedness, our inter-existence. Beyond our pain and because of our pain, we awaken into that. For our feelings of despair for the planet and its beings are concerns that extend beyond our separate egos. Therefore they testify to our essential unity-and by owning them we re-experience that unity, emerge into it afresh. In that dawning we recognize that the very crisis of our time can open us to new dimensions of awareness, a sense of our mutual belonging so real that the response is often one of wonder, even joy. That is why the workshops are often called “Despair and Empowerment.”
Despair-work, experienced in this fashion, is consciousness-raising in the truest sense of the term. It increases our awareness not only of the perils that face us, but also of the promise inherent in the human heart. Whether we “make it” or not, whether our efforts to heal our world succeed or fail, we live then in so vivid a consciousness of our community that the most obvious and accurate word for it is love. And that seems, in and of itself, a fulfillment.
Joanna Macy
Reprinted from Evolutionary Blues
Summer/Fall /81
Twenty-two
Yield and overcome;
Bend and be straight;
Empty and be full;
Wear out and be new;
Have little and gain;
Have much and be confused.
Therefore the wise embrace the one
And set an example to all.
Not putting on a display,
They shine forth.
Not justifying themselves,
They are distinguished.
Not boasting,
They receive recognition.
Not bragging,
They never falter.
They do not quarrel,
So no one quarrels with them.
Therefore the ancients say, "Yield and overcome."
Is that an empty saying?
Be really whole,
And all things will come to you.
[ part one, part two , part three, references and citations, Table of Contents]