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“When you see people call themselves revolutionary, always talking about destroying, destroying, destroying but never talking about building or creating, they're not revolutionary. They do not understand the first thing about revolution. It's creating.” — Kwame Ture
A way to describe our collective state of mind is we are stuck in a loop of outrage and condemnation, perpetually moving between how best to express and disseminate our outrage, and who deserves our condemnation the most. We condemn those responsible for destruction of people and planet, and then when nothing changes, we condemn those who do not condemn.
One thing is clear, the dark forces sweeping through our world are intent on one thing and one thing only: destruction. Of people and all beings, of institutions, of culture, of values, of relationships, of life. And while some might revel in our systems being gutted, those doing the destroying are not intent on creating anything new in its stead. They are only interested in destruction.
All that matters is power, and whether real or perceived, they are wielding their power for unlimited growth, expansion, extraction, and anything or anyone who gets in the way will be eliminated. We are, as Nate Hagen suggests in a conversation with Iain McGilchrist, in a time of power versus life.
Unfortunately, those of us who care have not quite understood what power we do have. So we seek and employ the same destructive power. But, McGilchrist says, we don’t need more power, what we need is wisdom. If we have more power but not the wisdom to know how to use our power, we will destroy ourselves and the world.
We tend to get things back to front, he suggests. We think the rules, the procedures, the things we do are the important things, but it is the dispositions that matter.
This problem stems from thinking too much with the left hemisphere of the brain, where we see everything as a series of problems that must have solutions. We try to understand the world through simple cause and effect, but the world doesn’t work like that. There are many causes for every effect and they interact with one another.
The right hemisphere, on the other hand, is the creative part of the brain, it is interested in vision, the bigger picture, it’s about the ‘how,’ and the ‘why,’ and in what spirit we do things. This part of the brain is more likely to understand that we need cooperation to survive, and we also need goodness, truth and beauty. This is where wisdom can be found.
Can we shift our thinking?
We must recognise that for most of us, the shift in mindset that is required, means first and foremost, an unlearning process. McGilchrist suggests people ask themselves: “what is it that I’m doing that I should stop doing? And what is it that our culture now is stopping us from seeing?”
Indigenous people the world over have been withstanding destruction for centuries. Their survival is rooted in deep knowledge and wisdom about how to live on this planet collectively and creatively. We can learn a lot from them, not in a superficial or extractive way, but with great respect and humility, something that is sorely missing in our world today.
In Sacred Instructions, Sherri Mitchell, also known as Weh’na Ha’mu’ Kwasset, says when we succumb to ideas we see in the mainstream, when we spend our time pointing to them, condemning them, giving them attention, we are creating more of the same. So while we must understand the forces that are trying to destroy us, we must shift our attention to the reality we wish to create.
We could begin by stopping to do things that are harmful, from self-destructive behaviours to harming nature. Divesting, for example, where we withdraw our investments from organisations or businesses that are destructive, is a creative act, Mitchell says.
We must also build creative communities, however small, where we can re-examine what our values are, repair relationships and explore how we can seed the future that needs to be created. Place where we can practise new ways of thinking and new ways of talking.
McGilchrist says that we don’t know what outcome thinking and talking in new ways can have. So we shouldn’t be discouraged by the idea that we’re too small or what we can do is not important. “What you can do is extremely important,” he insists, if it’s “directed towards the purpose of enlarging what is good, beautiful and true in the world.”
Words, Veronica Yates and illustration, Miriam Sugranyes
‘Iain McGilchrist — Wisdom Over Power: Why Contemplation & Wonder Are Essential for the Future of Humanity,’ The Great Simplification, with Nate Hagen. Watch/listen here.
The Matter with Things: Our Brains, Our Delusions, and the Unmaking of the World, Iain McGilchrist.
Sacred Instructions, Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit Based Change, Sherri Mitchell, Weh’na Ha’mu Kwasset (She Who Brings the Light).
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, Robin Wall Kimmerer.
Restoring the Kinship Worldview: Indigenous Voices Introduce 28 Precepts for Rebalancing Life on Planet Earth. Wahinkpe Topa (Four Arrows) and Darcia Narvaez, PhD.
Restoring Sanity: Practices to Awaken Generosity, Creativity & Kindness In Ourselves and Our Organizations, Margaret J. Wheatley.
‘Fascism and Isolation vs. Democracy and Interconnection: The Narrative Antidote to Authoritarianism.’ Mónica Roa, Puentes. Read it on the Horizon’s Project (see further references).
Sensuous Knowledge, Minna Salami.
“He who blames others has a long way to go on his journey. He who blames himself is halfway there. He who blames no one has arrived.” — Chinese proverb
“I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.”― Maya Angelou
“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.” — Groucho Marx
“We must recognise and nurture the creative parts of each other without always understanding what will be created.”― Audre Lorde
“Our natural systems are designed to function perfectly in relationship to one another. It is only when we break these natural systems down into fragmented pieces that the problems begin.”— Sherri Mitchell, Weh’na Ha’mu’ Kwasset
