Community

Wow. I have just spent 3.5 days at the Occupy site in London this week, and what a meeting of energies!  This is the first protest I have ever been a part of, and many of the dynamics are new to me.  This protest is also much more than a protest, it our first truly global revolution.  I went with a commitment for the long haul and an openness to serve in whatever way is needed.  My eyes were opened deeply.  


The first night I met a group of people from Madrid who have come to join the London site.  They spoke of the spontaneous uprising of the 15M in Spain, its development across 7 months, the way goals were defined and made actionable, and the eventual culmination with every city in the country fully protesting on October 15th.  Their victories were sweet, and their challenges real.  I met a man from Iran who is so sweet, so pure, and we danced on the street right there.  There are Americans from all over the states of various backgrounds, and just like back home, some are much more articulate than others.  The next day I hung out with our flamboyant Italian chef and his crazy wicked drummer friends.  I spoke with a man who supported the efforts at Dale Farm and lived with them for a number of months before their brutal eviction.  He had been part of the design team for Kew EcoVillage, a year long experiment in urban ecovillage living right in London.  There is a man who camped at Parliament Square for years, protesting as we are now, and who helped the group win the legal right to stay there indefinitely.  There are solicitors who represented the student movement last year, students from that uprising, and many others. It is inspiring just to walk around and give a listening ear!  


And then, there are those who drink alot at night, who get wild, who will yell at me to f*** off with the environmental hippy s***, who will spread dissent and undermine the process because they cannot see past their own agendas.  There are those who pass by the very busy intersection and hurl insults, who tell us we are disgusting.  There are the floaters who stop by for a visit when the pubs close, and the energy is just rough.  


And yet, there are also supporters who flood us during the daylight.  Many mums and dads who wish they could camp out bring warm clothes, sleeping bags, and food. Men in suits and ties stop by to shout out, "please don't give up", and thousands flood in on the weekends to rally and shout and make a glorious ruckus :)  Nursery for the Mind  Circle of Prayer   Petition for Right to Protest

This moment is truly a meeting.  And our questions are clearly ones of community.


There is an Arabic word which means the meeting face to face of God with God.  It is mukabele, and it is the word we use for our whirling dervish ceremony.  All things in life are a mukabele, but as I watched, talked, and listened this week my main thought remained, What a BIG mukabele!  The main challenges at the camp rest in inclusivity and facilitation.  Those who are truly marginalized, the homeless, those on benefits, those who cannot access childcare or education, they are here with us, their voices are important.  And those who have been given a better life by the system, but who have never lived inside community, they are here with us, and their voices are important.  As I was present, these crucial questions began to take shape: How do we live in community with people from many varied backgrounds who have no prior experience in community?  How do we make sure that everyone feels listened to regardless of how articulate or inarticulate they are? How do we come to actionable goals without total chaos erupting?  And this is what I sat with.


I sat in mediation for two hours, some campers joined in and out, some Hare Krishnas came and chanted for awhile, and the work just got deeper and more fluid. I rested inside the silence, in the middle of the hustle and bustle and waited.  I came out from that tent and within the hour found myself facilitating a process group in the middle of the square.  Process groups are the ones charged with setting agendas for General Assemblies and for troubleshooting processes within camp communication.  Facilitation is not a popular role, one takes a lot of flack. However, it is essential if harmony and unity are to become a staple of the camp. I have now committed, every week, to train facilitators so that we do not run short, and so that most everyone, whether they join the process group or not, knows the ins and outs of communication within a community working with consensus process. I have teamed up with a wonderful man, and together we will develop a clear model based on consensus processes used in climate change camps and the model being advocated by Starhawk. Consensus Process

As the nights wore on I found myself dancing in vulnerable freedom, right there among the 2oclock shuffle, making fabulous new friends, and facing my fears with clarity and strength.  For me personally this is an initiation into service.  For my generation, this is an initiation into community.  How do we do it?  What are the models we are developing, by simply being here, for cooperative living?  What does inclusivity actually truly mean?  These questions are in the backs of all of our minds, they require some deep examination, and these ruminations will be continued in another post.....   


Until then, the energies of all beings on the planet are radically shifting.  I felt them amp up over the last few days, amp up into a spiral of delicious burning love.  I hope that you did too!  Peace~