Choosing Revolutionary Love

Dear friends, 

Whew! What times we are living in. How are you doing? 

Election Day is Tuesday and the stakes are high. Many are bracing for a messy (or worse) aftermath. 

The violence in Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine, Sudan, and other places continues. 

In the last month hurricanes have devastated parts of the U.S. Other parts of the world have also experienced destruction from climate catastrophes.

During that same time I've gone twice to hear Valarie Kaur speak about her vision of Revolutionary Love. The vision is grounded in the stories of the ancestors, those who have made it through hard times before us. In her book See No Stranger, she defines the term:

“Revolutionary love” is the choice to enter into wonder and labor for others, for our opponents, and for ourselves in order to transform the world around us. It is not a formal code or prescription but an orientation to life that is personal and political and rooted in joy. Loving only ourselves is escapism; loving only our opponents is self-loathing; loving only others is ineffective. All three practices together make love revolutionary, and revolutionary love can only be practiced in community.

I find myself turning to these words over and over, asking myself questions: 

What is mine to do? What is ours to do? 

Within that, where do my/our willingness and capacity meet? How can I/we expand capacity?  

And then, how can I/we root action in joy rather than pain? 

Another way to ask that is, how can I/we root in connection rather than disconnection?  

Sometimes answers are clear. I breathe deeply and prepare to take action. 

Sometimes the answers are murky. I breathe deeply with the hope that clarity will find its way through me and us.

Breathing deeply always serves. 

These are exercises in trust and patience. Perhaps you are practicing these, too.

If you have answers to the above questions, I'd love to know them.

My offerings are a few of my answers. If any of them speak to you, I hope you'll join me. 

In the meantime, let's keep breathing.

Let's keep turning toward one another.

In this time of All Saints, All Souls, Dia de los Muertos, Samhain, let us turn toward the connection and wisdom of the ancestors. They lived through tumultuous times. We are living proof that they made it. We, too, can find our way through. Together.   

May we orient ourselves toward the vision of what can be, even if it's a far-off vision.

With hope and gratitude, 
Cory