It feels like in the last few months I’ve been constantly reflecting on the following concepts:
Consent
Boundaries
Authenticity
Accountability
Its highly likely you may have been thinking about some of these concepts too. I mean after all these terms have all recently been inducted into the trendy hall of self-care fame! While I may be poking fun at the trendy hype attached to these words, I’m not ignoring the significance of their meanings. Here are some common definitions:
Boundaries: something that indicates or fixes a limit or extent Authenticity: not false or imitation; true to one's own personality, spirit, or character Accountability: an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions Consent: Consent is clear, informed and voluntary agreement expressed through affirmative and mutual communication understandable to all parties involved in support of a designated action or opinion (I created this definition myself).
This week so many global and humanity disasters are beckoning for our attention. I imagine grief and uncertainty have more than likely overwhelmed your emotions. How do we manage to do all the things when the things keep coming?
Here are a few quotes that capture some of my feelings around the horrific happenings we see in Haiti and Afghanistan:
“Can we evolve beyond a construct of constant enemies, constant crisis? Does emergence mean eventually leaving Earth—or never leaving Earth? How are we resilient during apocalypse? “-adrienne maree brown
To know love we have to invest time and commitment...'dreaming that love will save us, solve all our problems or provide a steady state of bliss or security only keeps us stuck in wishful fantasy, undermining the real power of the love -- which is to transform us.' Many people want love to function like a drug, giving them an immediate and sustained high. They want to do nothing, just passively receive the good feeling.” -bell hooks
“Attention is drawn to the ‘spectacular event’ rather than to the point of origin or the mundane.”-Mariame Kaba
I feel like we may be able to find some solace as we grapple with ideas presenting in these quotes and the meaning of the concepts I shared. I think we need to examine how these ideals tangle with both our individual and collective lives. I would love to hear from you all what these concepts mean to you. Moreover, what role do you believe these concepts play in our collective labor to manifest shared humanity and how might examining these concepts ground us in hard times?