Dear all,
I think of three threads from the past month: The first is an uneasy relationship with a “return to normal”. Chuck is steadily getting better, but do we want to go back to all our habits that were broken by his fight with cancer? COVID has eased and opportunities seem to be opening up, but it seems unlikely that the old normal is around the corner.
Then there is spring, which is pure delight (I could go on and on…). And finally, I’ve been aware of the joys of my work in early childhood—building vision and community in a leadership and advocacy fellowship, being part of heartfelt appreciation at an awards ceremony, co-creating stories for our newsletter that give voice to people who are often unseen. I’m noticing my deep engagement in relationships which are foundational to everything.
I could use some help in promoting my writing. If you have ideas about event venues, interview opportunities or effective ways to use social media, or if you’d like to be part of a support/accountability team, please let me know!
And I am taking in the full moon and looking forward to witnessing the sun rise tomorrow morning.
Love,
Pamela
Alignment
With the invasion of Ukraine, a dedicated and powerful climate activist was trying to get her mind around war. Engaging in her own crash course on the military industrial complex and leverage points for change, she was exhorting her considerable following to do the same. To be anything less than powerfully in motion here, she suggested, was to abdicate our inherent power. I couldn’t disagree, but the thought of it just made me tired.
How much force can one person exert against counterforces that are so much bigger? Reaching for a perspective beyond guilt-infused exhaustion, a series of sailing adventure books from my childhood came to mind. Following these children on the water, we learned a lot about the wind. You go fastest, of course, when it’s at your back. But you can still make progress against a headwind. You just can’t do it head on. You have to go at a diagonal, tacking first to the left then to the right, adjusting your sails to harness the power of the wind. This image has its own power, suggesting the potential of alignment with forces that are larger than ourselves.
As I work with this idea, fruitful possibilities begin to emerge. First is an offering from Frederick Buechner: “Your vocation in life is where your greatest joy meets the world's greatest need.” You don’t sacrifice yourself for the sake of a noble cause. Rather, you find the point of intersection where you flourish as you make a contribution to a larger whole.
I think of my longing to put my skills to their best use in the climate movement, and how I found a place offering individual attention to a handful of dedicated young climate activists. I think of the imperative of relating to indigenous rights, and finding my way into a mutually life-giving relationship with a Haudenosaunee community.
I think of my recent struggle to stand with water defenders against pipelines. Putting my body on the line a thousand miles away in the midst of COVID seemed like facing too strong a headwind. Writing a letter to the president seemed so insignificant as to be pointless, but perhaps a letter a day, along with an invitation to others to do the same, would be better than nothing. The practice on my morning walk of reaching for three or four sentences that connect me with native people, one good man and my love for the earth has been unexpectedly grounding. And who knows? That steady drip of loving call to right relationship might even have an impact.
If we’re facing strong headwinds, we need a good and life-supporting boat. I think of my local public banking coalition, and all the ways that group is nourished—by growing friendships, by drawing on and openly celebrating a variety of strengths, by our resident poet’s offering at the start of each meeting. As we navigate the choppy waters and gusty winds of local politics and rigid bureaucracies, the sturdiness of our vessel is no small part of the story.
Speaking of joy, my mind goes to a scrappy group of Quaker-related climate activists who set their sights on our local electric utility and the imperative to transition to renewable sources. One of their actions involved blocking doorways, and they decided to do it with a dance party. So they turned up the music and invited everyone to join in the electric slide.
There are other ways of aligning. Align with the earth, paying enough attention to the turning of the days and the seasons that we are in tune, drawing nourishment and strength, rather than opposing its forces. Align with physics. It’s amazing the size of a rock that can be moved by a strategically placed lever. And we can stay open to the unexpected. Sometimes a fresh breeze might catch us and draw us along, even though that hadn’t been part of our plan.
There may be occasions for just putting our heads into the wind, drawing on all our resources of sheer determination and pushing toward a goal. At times stubborn opposition may be all that we have available to us. But constant straining against overwhelming odds drains both energy and joy—and it’s hard to invite others in.
I can’t mobilize all my strength against every new injustice. But I can decide to look, grab a hand, consider what is mine to love, and seek ways to align with greater forces that are already at work around me. I can find my place in the arc of the universe that bends toward justice. As we practice this alignment, stepping out from under the oppressive weight of obligation and joining with the great creative spirit that is alive in this world, I wonder if this might be the way we get to be our biggest selves.
Oasis
I’ve picked this little triangle
between park and gas station
clean of winter’s trash,
refresh it every morning now.
As I rest in the beauty
I wonder about others
passing by.
Do they notice
what is no longer
there to be seen?
Or is it just a little less
grit in the shoe,
sand in the eye?
Dare to imagine: A new economy is possible!
Guaranteed income
A universal basic income has been discussed for many years, as the simplest way to address financial need. Experiments in more targeted programs that guarantee income have been tried out in a variety of places over the years, and are becoming more widespread.
A prominent example is the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration, which put $500 a month into the hands of 125 low-income residents of Stockton, California, for 24 months. Data gathered from the SEED project found that the cash significantly helped recipients stabilize their finances, acquire jobs, and improve their mental health, compared with a control group. Two more recent ones in New York City and Atlanta are showing how modest monthly cash payments to low-income women of color can make a huge difference in alleviating race and gender-based economic inequities.
https://www.yesmagazine.org/economy/2022/02/11/guaranteed-income-projects-economy-more-equitable?
Some things that have made me hopeful recently:
Successful union efforts at both Starbucks and Amazon that are shaking up power relationships in the far-reaching food service and warehousing industries.
https://www.vox.com/recode/23005336/amazon-union-new-york-warehouse?
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/seattle-starbucks-workers-vote-to-unionize-hoping-to-send-a-signal-of-change-to-the-food-service-industry/
The collaboration of Finnish Indigenous knowledge holders and scientists to rewild and protect peatlands, revitalizing local ecosystems and economies while expanding carbon sinks again.
https://news.mongabay.com/2022/03/traditional-knowledge-guides-protection-of-planetary-health-in-finland/
Examples of indigenous tribes regaining control of ancestral lands—in Virginia and California—with the potential in California of safeguarding old-growth forests and endangered species.
https://nativenewsonline.net/sovereignty/after-350-years-the-rappahannock-tribe-gets-land-back
https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/california-redwood-forest-indigenous-guardianship
Denver’s program to dispatch mental health teams instead of police, that is so successful that it is expanding five-fold.
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/denver-star-program-expands-in-2022/?utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_medium=weekly_mailout&utm_source=23-03-2022
Resources
Alive in this World
A book of poetry in three parts: A Home with the Trees, Commuter Encounters, and A Home with the Earth
That Clear and Certain Sound; Finding Solid Ground in Perilous Times
A book of essays from this blog.
Public Banking Has the Potential to Truly Revolutionize Our Economy
An article on my experience with the public banking movement as revolutionary reform.
https://truthout.org/articles/public-banking-has-the-potential-to-truly-revolutionize-our-economy/
Envision or Perish; Why we must start imagining the world we want to live in
An article I co-authored with George Lakey
https://wagingnonviolence.org/2021/02/envision-or-perish-why-we-must-start-imagining-the-world-we-want/
The Financial Roots of the Climate Crisis
Link to a talk I gave at a church in Houston
https://vimeo.com/showcase/7910215
Money and Soul; Quaker Faith and Practice and the Economy
If money troubles your soul, try this down-to-earth Quaker perspective on economies large and small.
Money, Debt and Liberation
A video of a talk I gave at Pendle Hill in January, 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7nP8eJ5vy8
Toward a Right Relationship with Finance; Debt, Interest, Growth and Security.
The growth economy is failing to provide equitable well-being for humanity and a life-sustaining future for Earth. However our institutional endowments and individual retirement are dependent on that same growth economy. This book:
• offers background on our current economic system--how it is based on unearned income on the one hand and debt on the other, with a built-in momentum toward economy inequality and ecological overshoot;
• frames the conversation within the context of our deepest values and beliefs;
• suggests plausible and historically grounded alternatives to the current system, particularly with regard to financing retirement; and
• invites everyone to imagine new forms of durable economic and social security, and to help create the relationships and institutions that will make them a reality.
With many people now counting as never before on the performance of Wall Street for retirement security, how can this system be challenged with integrity and effectiveness? Can we break with our dependence on financial speculation and build up new structures of security in a transformed, life-centered economy?
To read it on line, go to http://www.quakerinstitute.org/?page_id=5 and scroll down.
Muscle Building for Peace and Justice; a Non-Violent Workout Routine for the 21st Century--an integration of much of my experience and thinking over the years: New link: https://www.peaceworkersus.org/docs/muscle_building_for_peace_and_justice.pdf (or just google the title)
More resources
Finding Steady Ground
If you need reminding of some simple ways to stay grounded in challenging times, I recommend this website, which I helped a friend develop following the last presidential election.
www.findingsteadyground.com
Other resources from my friend Daniel Hunter
Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow; An Organizing Guide. http://www.danielhunter.org/books/building-movement-end-new-jim-crow-organizing-guide
Climate Resistance Handbook, or I was part of a climate action. Now what? https://commonslibrary.org/climate-resistance-handbook-or-i-was-part-of-a-climate-action-now-what/
Leading Groups On-Line. https://www.trainingforchange.org/training_tools/leading-groups-online-book/
Posts on other web/blog sites:
In http://www.classism.org/gifts-american-dream/, Pamela Haines locates her family's homey DIY celebrations on a class spectrum of different connections to upward mobility.
http://www.transitionus.org/blog/unlikely-suspects-–-deep-outreach-diverse-initiating-groups-–-pace-building-trust http://www.classism.org/demolition-derby
sand in the eye?
Dare to imagine: A new economy is possible!
Guaranteed income
A universal basic income has been discussed for many years, as the simplest way to address financial need. Experiments in more targeted programs that guarantee income have been tried out in a variety of places over the years, and are becoming more widespread.
A prominent example is the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration, which put $500 a month into the hands of 125 low-income residents of Stockton, California, for 24 months. Data gathered from the SEED project found that the cash significantly helped recipients stabilize their finances, acquire jobs, and improve their mental health, compared with a control group. Two more recent ones in New York City and Atlanta are showing how modest monthly cash payments to low-income women of color can make a huge difference in alleviating race and gender-based economic inequities.
https://www.yesmagazine.org/economy/2022/02/11/guaranteed-income-projects-economy-more-equitable?
Some things that have made me hopeful recently:
Successful union efforts at both Starbucks and Amazon that are shaking up power relationships in the far-reaching food service and warehousing industries.
https://www.vox.com/recode/23005336/amazon-union-new-york-warehouse?
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/seattle-starbucks-workers-vote-to-unionize-hoping-to-send-a-signal-of-change-to-the-food-service-industry/
The collaboration of Finnish Indigenous knowledge holders and scientists to rewild and protect peatlands, revitalizing local ecosystems and economies while expanding carbon sinks again.
https://news.mongabay.com/2022/03/traditional-knowledge-guides-protection-of-planetary-health-in-finland/
Examples of indigenous tribes regaining control of ancestral lands—in Virginia and California—with the potential in California of safeguarding old-growth forests and endangered species.
https://nativenewsonline.net/sovereignty/after-350-years-the-rappahannock-tribe-gets-land-back
https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/california-redwood-forest-indigenous-guardianship
Denver’s program to dispatch mental health teams instead of police, that is so successful that it is expanding five-fold.
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/denver-star-program-expands-in-2022/?utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_medium=weekly_mailout&utm_source=23-03-2022
Resources
Alive in this World
A book of poetry in three parts: A Home with the Trees, Commuter Encounters, and A Home with the Earth
https://bookshop.org/books/alive-in-this-world/9789768273260
That Clear and Certain Sound; Finding Solid Ground in Perilous Times
A book of essays from this blog.
https://bookshop.org/books/quaker-quicks-that-clear-and-certain-sound-finding-solid-ground-in-perilous-times/9781789047653
Public Banking Has the Potential to Truly Revolutionize Our Economy
An article on my experience with the public banking movement as revolutionary reform.
https://truthout.org/articles/public-banking-has-the-potential-to-truly-revolutionize-our-economy/
Envision or Perish; Why we must start imagining the world we want to live in
An article I co-authored with George Lakey
https://wagingnonviolence.org/2021/02/envision-or-perish-why-we-must-start-imagining-the-world-we-want/
The Financial Roots of the Climate Crisis
Link to a talk I gave at a church in Houston
https://vimeo.com/showcase/7910215
Money and Soul; Quaker Faith and Practice and the Economy
If money troubles your soul, try this down-to-earth Quaker perspective on economies large and small.
https://bookshop.org/books/quaker-quicks-money-and-soul-quaker-faith-and-practice-and-the-economy/9781789040890
Money, Debt and Liberation
A video of a talk I gave at Pendle Hill in January, 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7nP8eJ5vy8
Toward a Right Relationship with Finance; Debt, Interest, Growth and Security.
https://bookshop.org/books/toward-a-right-relationship-with-finance-debt-interest-growth-and-security/9789768142887A book that I co-authored on Debt, Interest, Growth and Security.
The growth economy is failing to provide equitable well-being for humanity and a life-sustaining future for Earth. However our institutional endowments and individual retirement are dependent on that same growth economy. This book:
• offers background on our current economic system--how it is based on unearned income on the one hand and debt on the other, with a built-in momentum toward economy inequality and ecological overshoot;
• frames the conversation within the context of our deepest values and beliefs;
• suggests plausible and historically grounded alternatives to the current system, particularly with regard to financing retirement; and
• invites everyone to imagine new forms of durable economic and social security, and to help create the relationships and institutions that will make them a reality.
With many people now counting as never before on the performance of Wall Street for retirement security, how can this system be challenged with integrity and effectiveness? Can we break with our dependence on financial speculation and build up new structures of security in a transformed, life-centered economy?
To read it on line, go to http://www.quakerinstitute.org/?page_id=5 and scroll down.
Muscle Building for Peace and Justice; a Non-Violent Workout Routine for the 21st Century--an integration of much of my experience and thinking over the years: New link: https://www.peaceworkersus.org/docs/muscle_building_for_peace_and_justice.pdf (or just google the title)
More resources
Finding Steady Ground
If you need reminding of some simple ways to stay grounded in challenging times, I recommend this website, which I helped a friend develop following the last presidential election.
www.findingsteadyground.com
Other resources from my friend Daniel Hunter
Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow; An Organizing Guide. http://www.danielhunter.org/books/building-movement-end-new-jim-crow-organizing-guide
Climate Resistance Handbook, or I was part of a climate action. Now what? https://commonslibrary.org/climate-resistance-handbook-or-i-was-part-of-a-climate-action-now-what/
Leading Groups On-Line. https://www.trainingforchange.org/training_tools/leading-groups-online-book/
Posts on other web/blog sites:
In http://www.classism.org/gifts-american-dream/, Pamela Haines locates her family's homey DIY celebrations on a class spectrum of different connections to upward mobility.
http://www.transitionus.org/blog/unlikely-suspects-–-deep-outreach-diverse-initiating-groups-–-pace-building-trust http://www.classism.org/demolition-derby
