An Activist's Call

"The world is run by insane people for insane objectives and I could be locked up and called insane for saying so, that's what's insane about it"
- John Lennon

So here we find ourselves people, brothers and sisters of humankind. Right here today, beneath this glorious star in our galaxy, bearing life on this majestic blue and green Earth. This moment is revolutionary because of the urgency of our situation. We are now a species at risk by our own devices. This new generation is literally at the helm of the fate of our existence and our very survival, responsible for the continuity of humanity through the overcoming of our capitalistic nightmare.

Let us shed this collective poverty of imagination and let us cultivate new visions. Not visions born of greed and ownership, but visions born of equality and the well-being of human and non-human communities across the world.

And from where do these solutions and answers arise to create this new vision?

From creativity and desire.

Creativity begins by following one's intuition.

And stillness is the path to uncovering your intuition.

So sit still.

Breathe.

Feel your body and the light of life that pulses throughout it and into the beyond.

Contemplate your place in this world.

Meditate on your kindred relationship with other humans and with the natural world.

Let us listen wholeheartedly to the cries of the Earth and head her warning signs of despair. We see the solutions, we know the answers that pass by before us among the garbage of lies, but until the truths that ring out before us are resonating deep within the core of humankind's collective existence, her mind, her heart and her soul, then we risk having change be superficial and not lasting, not revolutionary. We need leaders who embody these transformations and whose pure intentions and efforts are not dissolved by the manifestations of greed and evil arising from the primacy of suicidal and myopic corporate entities.

So for today, shed your skin of socialized behavior.

Invite the dissolution of reactionary emotion.

Refuse to defend so sacredly the meaningless differences that keep us divided and see them for what they really are and what they are being used for by those in positions of power and control.

And for today, see and feel your role in something bigger than the participatory perpetuation of this ecocidal and suicidal culture and for today, do not ask yourself,

"What do I have to do?", but instead think of,

"Who do I want to be and what do I want to be a part of?"

Let us build a better dream.

Spirituality and the New Socialism

It was a pinnacle moment in my pursuit of social activism in Vancouver. It was all very strange. My girlfriend and I were at the Rhizome Cafe at Broadway and Main for a documentary screening of a recent movie from Venezuela capturing yet another glimpse of the social transformations taking place throughout the country. It followed the shutdown of an industrial factory and the subsequent operative recovery by the workers.

The documentary, the story, was good. Like a lot of Chavez' rhetoric it was clever propaganda, but it was true and it was inspiring.

The showing was organized by a local Marxist group involved with spreading news out of Venezuela. We spoke with a few individuals afterward and I told a man my age about my plans to volunteer with the Prout Research Institute in Caracas. When I described the spiritual aspects of the internship and the spiritual basis for the socioeconomic principles outlined in the Proutist philosophies he questioned me, a little perplexed,

"But what does spirituality have to do with Marxism and the transition towards Socialism?"

I invited my own bewilderment and responded,

"How can you possibly separate the two?"

Any serious discussion about social transformation and the pursuit of true eqality must originate with critique of our relationships with each other and with the natural world around us. The strengthening of these kinships happens through the seeking of purity of heart, mind and soul and thus a deeper sense of values. A spiritual understanding of our place in this world nurtures the process of creating social harmony and equality, of building a better vision. Communities and inviduals are thus empowered when treating the wounds of capitalism and finding new ways to organize society.

Food secure. Sovereign. Locally-driven. Community-minded. Spiritual.

Is there a more sane way?