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Permalink Reply by Ben Roberts on May 21, 2012 at 2:25pm

Thank you Anita! It was great to hear you articulate these things on the call and I am so appreciative that you are sharing them here as well.  I loved the part at the end about getting into relationship being key to being able to act effectively within the group, and about being humble enough to know you needed to learn more about what was being done before stepping in and offering your critique/suggestions.

Also, you refer to "emergence" as a core part of what makes your work as an artist feel alive. The concept extends perfectly to our work as Change Agents as well, I believe.  The term reminds me, of course, of our Cafe Call with Peggy Holman, author of Engaging Emergence last December.  Here is the podcast for that call, which we have now posted.

I just scanned the collaborative tablecloth Google doc for that conversation and found these nuggets that feel relevant to what we talked about on today's call:

I got stopped in my tracks a year ago. I’ve been in the “neutral zone”, as described in Transitions, by William Bridges. Relates to what Doreen said about attachment. I have a ferocious attachment to old habits of being and doing. I’ve spent the last few weeks trying to be more awake to my every attachment, every thought, emotion.  surrendering to letting go without knowing what could happen next.  Playing with that.  When i think of the loneliness of being a linker, I am reminded to bring compassion to myself, to others and to the moment...and to surrender. brilliant thought leaders, we still have our attachment.

Note: being a "linker," or even a "link leader," is a way of being action that Peggy highlighted, i.e. one who connects diverse groups and ways of thinking.  It's critical work as we seek to build powerful networks and communities, yet it is often under appreciated and even experienced as disruptive.  We like to think of Occupy Cafe as a place where being a link leader is honored and encouraged, and where link leaders can gather and find support, understanding and connection.

I also found this on the tablecloth:

The movement is going through the breakdown needed for breakthrough... The only algorithm that’s going to work is working through our own internal rhythms... The movement is going to need to operate out of purpose … The bees know where they’re going, we need to as well... (OccupyPurposeProject of Terry Musch: terrymusch@sbcglobal.net) If we are going to move beyond compliance, we’ve got to do the inner work... THIS will be what brings society’s dysfunctional structure down!

And this:

Most people know what they want to move away from, but are needing systems to move into... I want to help to create succinct infographics of these new systems, and distribute them for folks coming by the OccupySolutions “community learning center”

And this:

Jack Strasburg: Can’t wait till we’re “ready” in terms of personal skills..Need to be doing something while simultaneously getting ready.  Are there enough people focused and committed to doing what needs to be done for this to work?

Peggy: Where we are is where we are with whatever energy we have.  Often there is a 10% core of adequately “energized” people to hold to the core and the space for the collective.  “Whoever shows up are the right  people” principle from Open Space Technology.  Get started where we are with who we are and have with us...and we are always “enough”.

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Permalink Reply by Ben Roberts on May 21, 2012 at 2:26pm

Oh, and one more thing, Anita!  Would you be willing to share some of the ways you alluded to so provocatively in your post that you were willing to change yourself?!

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Permalink Reply by Anita Orlikoff on May 21, 2012 at 6:51pm

Thanks for your nuggets Ben, They seem dense with interesting thoughts. Might take awhile to process.

Ways I have/am changing. Going to more places that scare me including showing up for actions, for as long as I can tolerate given my introvert inclinations, where police are active and unpredictable.

 Listening to information about tough issues that scare me and bring out other painful emotions; less avoiding in order to protect myself from overwhelm, dispair, etc.. (I dont think "waking up" is always so much the issue as being able to have a way to handle the painful stuff underneath that gets stimulated--like Jitendras helping us calm our limbic system back down).

Listening to people talk about strategies that don't fit my usual norm and that I don't think I agree with.

Re allocating my time.

choosing to do some things that are uncomfortable but seem to be essential to organizing like appraoching people through fliers and email to tell them about things. And then doing it again, and again.

Saying "I am a member of Occupy Chicago and Occupy the SouthSide" and meaning it.

Re-thinking my politics to be less of following a progressive Democrat line without having to study all the issues. Finding where I am troubled by Democrat leadership choices, even when I have a desire to stay "loyal".

Losing the distance of priveledge and seeing the tragedies behind the statistics of how unfairly so many are treated with so little recourse.

That is some of the tough stuff, but in exchange I GET TO FEEL MORE CONNECTED TO EVERYONE. AND THAT LEADS TO A GREATER SENSE OF TRUST AND BELONGING IN THE WORLD.  

In relation to the question What happens if you become inspired to act based on a shift in awareness and it is not yet clear what it is you want to create or how to create it? it occurs to me now that some of us who have been raised with middle class priveledge were taught to distinguish ourselves from those below by adopting the stance of KNOWING (WHAT TO DO) (like when I was tracked into the top groups in school and isolated from those who didnt get as good grades who were likely less "advantaged"). Part of the change is stepping back and really backing the leadership of those who have been behind, or at least letting go of the notion that I know better sometimes. So from this point of view, for some of us who are middle class, letting go of pretense, staying compassionate with ourselves when we dont know what to do and get to feel muddled, but not shut down, can be very useful. (FYI Some of this may be from RC theory)

 

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