Dear friend
With all the recent events going on throughout the world — bombings in Israel and the ongoing coup in Myanmar — I couldn't help but feel a deep sense of heart break. We may have all the right to protest against torture and bombings, organized propaganda and so forth — but whether it amounts to anything is a different matter all together. Helplessness often ensues.
In what must have been an outpouring of tears, I found the courage to finally confess and admit the weight of these events to my partner and friend, Sue. In part, I suppose this has been due to the various Christian communities I've found myself drawn to and actively a part of. But more importantly, and rather sheepishly, I think it also has to do with my inquiry into contrasting world views that profess the same goal of hope in a crisis torn world.
Together with five American women, I have been reading a book titled Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We're in Without Going Crazy. When I first shared I would be participating in a book study with complete strangers, Sue commented, "I'm wondering if you should be spending so much time in a setting that uses spiritual tools outside your Christian faith". She was speaking in response to the summary of the book study's agenda, which reads as follows:
"Drawing on decades of teaching an empowerment approach known as the Work that Reconnects, the authors (Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone) guide us through a transformational process informed by mythic journeys, modern psychology, spirituality, and holistic science. This process equips us with tools to face the mess we’re in and play our role in the collective transition, or Great Turning, to a life-sustaining society."
Sue and I are what I hope can be characterized as 'trying Christians'; that is Christians who care enough about the world to act on our convictions. With that said, the many mission trips I've been on — both as a naive teenager and less naive young adult — has taught me that Christianity culture is never quite as homogeneous as we'd like it to be. As much as protestants share some core foundational beliefs, I'm sure cultural homogeneity is not the desired outcome. We are inevitably clouded by culture, which fosters certain dispositions. My personal approach to nuance has since been to have a keen interest in value systems that align with the Christian faith — to have an ongoing curiosity, as it were, on things we share in common. That's my take on meeting people in the middle.
Admittedly, this approach was rather new to Sue. "I'm concerned with what this 'transformational' process looks like, and what 'mythic journeys, modern psychologies, spiritualities, and holistic science' constitutes of", she remarked. Even after I explained my approach of 'meeting the world in the middle', she remained somewhat unconvinced. That put a seed of doubt in my head, you know? I wondered:
How adventurous can we be with different approaches to spirituality without losing our footing?
If I were to look at all the world has to offer through a Christ tinted window, would we come out on top or would we need a spirit of collaboration?
I didn't know then, but three sessions in I’ve found the book more edifying than misguiding — which I presume to be Sue's main concern. The book draws from a range of practices from different belief systems, including Buddhism, Native American indigenous practices, systems theory, deep ecology, and so forth. These various practices have coalesced into what Joanna Macy titles as "the Work that Reconnects", as represented in the image below:
The Work That Reconnects begins with gratitude. At the end of the first session I was paired with 74-years young Judee, and together we shared things we felt grateful for. I must say there is something remarkably cathartic about recounting things you're grateful for with a complete stranger. When put to words, the various experiences of life, both simple and profound, are brought to the forefront of your mind, and it is in the process of bringing them to spoken consciousness that you begin to recognize how incredibly blessed you are. A recent Bloomberg study ranked Singapore as the top place in the world to be during the COVID pandemic. And although we're currently going through what seems to be another outbreak ( —and consequential lock down), I'm incredibly grateful that my livelihood has not been too badly affected.
At the end of the second session, I found myself catching a lump in my throat as I shared my pain and burden for this world with Judee. It was beautiful because it empowered me to see clearly: the world is deeply broken, but there are many of us — Christian and non-Christian alike — that believe in the restoration of all that’s wrong in the world. Later, I shared what had since become a personal marker for this season: a tiny plant, Freddy junior.
"Junior" because I propagated him from larger Freddy senior.
Hopeful because the propagation nearly failed.
I’d like to think of a well governed society like that of a slow growing plant. The right infrastructure needs to be in place in order for an economy to thrive — a sense of justice, hope, and purpose all work hand-in-hand to manifest the right environment for growth. Broad strokes, no doubt, but I'd like to think that chaos ensues if a culture loses any one of these facets of human life. As I observe the once-wilting Freddy now flourishing in my bedroom-turned-office, I’ve learned so much about growth, environment, and what it means to go forth.
Singapore's government has undergone it's fair share of criticism. Plenty from myself, no doubt, but I'm wired with selfishness and conceitedness no less than the next person. But they must be doing something right with their social engineering. Our attitudes are wired for science, in support of science. Ostensibly, it's the default line of reasoning.
"Does that matter?" you may wonder. Well, I now see buses now running completely on electricity in the country. In fact, I had the privilege of riding on 1 of the new 60 electronic "eco" buses that have been recently imported into Singapore. It had clean seats and glowing screens. USB sockets lined the walls beside nearly every seat.
Though only a handful at the moment, much like the thin foliage of Freddy junior, the electronic vehicle economy will soon blossom, and grow. Eventually life with gasoline powered vehicles will be a distant memory. I’ve often felt like the deeper discipline of writing is overhearing yourself write things you didn’t want to admit about the world. For me, that admission comes with recognizing that Singapore is taking the right steps. A little reactive, no doubt, but they have the right spirit.
We are both plant and soil, insofar as we create and nuture the soil. So here's final thought about Christianity, and then I am done.
“Good values” — as the many professed in both Christian and non-Christian doctrines alike — are what help improve a society; to govern it, to make it grow. Fertilizer, you might say. But all nations are of different make and model. No one country is alike. The question, then, is if there is a universal fertilizer. One that works for every nation, people, and tongue.
My (Green) offering is that Christianity can well be one of them. But not in the way you think. First, we have to define our objectives.
What do you think? What other value systems can contribute to the climate cause? Let me know by replying this email. I love hearing from you.
Til the next one,
Daniel