The act of ‘waking up’ is taken for
granted in North America. It is an act we follow on a daily basis, a movement
into controlled consciousness, thought and action. We are no longer caught in a
dream-state; instead we find ourselves on earth and begin to live within it as
human beings. But ‘waking up’ is far more than transitioning between sleep and
consciousness. It is the complicated task of realizing that you exist in what
is referred to as ‘here and now’. It requires the efforts of a plethora of
functions in your body working in beautiful unison to come out of a slumber,
yet we do it on a very regular basis. So, what does it really mean to ‘wake up’? Some say North America currently is in a
deep sleep, not figuratively, but as a collective. We have let go of our inhibitions
as humans and as active citizens and separated ourselves from our bodies and
our spirit.
If there’s anything I’ve learned in
university, it’s that philosophical approaches such as the aforementioned must
be compared to real moments in human interactions. The issue is this: how do we
frame activism in North America and what does that say about the constitutions
of social change? If you get paid, are you still considered an activist? If it doesn’t involve marching down the middle
of Main Street chanting ‘fuck the system!’ and holding signs with cliché
remarks, can we qualify it was activism? Can our spirituality be included in
this?
Spiritualism has many manifestations as
a vehicle for social change, but it is this exact diversity that in turn
strengthens the movement. By embracing self-reflexivity, activists in North America
can both improve their level of impact and become more creative in their
approach. Imagine recreating something like our traditional manifestations of
‘education’ in the global South as a tool for social change and spiritualism instead
of enforcing status quo. Remove all notions of competition, classism,
exclusivity, hierarchy or power abuse and examine what is left: an educational
structure that values common voice, participation and social transformation.
Yes, students can be activists, too – both inside and outside the classroom.
Do I sound hopelessly naive in this
post? I hope so. I can already sense the scoffing of some of my readers as
I jump off the deep end. I used to do that, too – turn my nose up at every
radical idea I stumbled across, until I realized that I was taking the easy
route. I stopped being idealistic. I stopped dreaming. All because I was told
it was wrong; it was better to beat the pulp out of every well-intentioned
do-gooder with an idea that seemed far-fetched. My mind was diseased with
analysis paralysis. Now…..I am an activist. Are you?
This post was inspired by Alan Watts’
lecture on nothingness:
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