The Revolution is Within You

I was sitting in a citizen’s initiative group the other week that has been gestating since August of 2024. We are five individuals passionate about discovering the art of bringing people together across socio-political divides to connect and heal- from the inside-out!

As we were exploring the points of union and differentiation within our group, someone asked why I use the term “cultural division” rather than “political division” when referring to the work I see us doing. I really appreciated the question because it helped me get clear about some beliefs I hold, which are:

1. Culture refers to the beliefs and practices of a people that encourage that group to survive and, ideally, thrive;

2. Culture is inherently adaptive and therefore always changing along with ever-changing environmental circumstances;

3. We, the people of our United States cultural group, have the power and responsibility to shape our culture; and

4. The political realm (policies, politicians, and political rhetoric) is the fruit of our collective culture.

This is not to say that the political realm doesn’t have real impact and influence on its citizens, but it does mean that the ultimate, long-standing power in any society resides within the hands and hearts of its people, not its government. So, the simple act of slowing down and noticing what I am creating with my thoughts, words, and actions, is truly revolutionary. It is the ground for any real change.

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My actions are my only true belongings.    
I cannot escape the consequences of my actions.    
My actions are the ground on which I stand.      

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

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I opened an email the other week from American filmmaker and social alchemist John Wolfstone. I am subscribed to this listserv because I watched the documentary, “The Village of Lovers”. Though I rarely open these emails, this one called to me. Perhaps because of its intriguing subject title, “The Integration of Paradox: From Resistance to Resilience”.

I am sharing some of John’s words with you because they precisely, concisely, and compassionately articulate some of what has been on my heart these past weeks. If you’d like to read the entire email, you can do so at this URL.

I hear the same question whispered, sometimes shouted: What do we do now?!…The common refrain is: Stop fascism…I feel that same urgent tug myself…

Still, in spite of the collective adrenaline, it strikes me that slowing down could be our wisest move. It takes deep listening to consider how to respond without inadvertently creating the very thing we aim to dismantle….

Revolutionary times are typically marked by divisiveness—by a deep chasm of socio-political polarity. And so this next evolutionary leap isn’t just “topple fascism,” because we did that in 1945 (and other times), and yet here we are again. Perhaps we are being asked to integrate the polarity rather than merely resist it.​
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Perhaps we are being asked to move from Resistance to Resilience.

Front-line activism and other forms of resistance are absolutely worthy and necessary, but by themselves they often rest on polarizing paradigms: “They’re bad, we’re good.”It feels righteous to shout “Fuck Trump” or “Musk Must Be Stopped,” but the flavor of othering and blame in these cries is the fabric of fascist ideology itself.
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Instead, what if we look for the medicine on all sides? What if we examine where we, too, might slip into oppressive thinking—or wear the robes and scepter of a tyrant on a smaller stage?

Since Trump’s inauguration and the socio-political upheaval that has followed, I have noticed my response being distinctly different than it would have been in the past. I attribute this inner change to the awakening I had during the Biden administration- one characterized by cognitive dissonance and the subsequent reorganization of my worldview, uncertainty and a renewed sense of openness to nuance and complexity, and grief- lots of grief- followed by rebirth.

With this new perspective, I have noticed taking on more of a witness role (rather than a player) in the never-ending drama of left versus right. I am like an open vessel- witnessing the storylines of both sides, discerning my best estimation of “reality” based on this information and the totality of my experience, and intuiting my best response from a heart-centered, ground-anchored place. I admit it appears like I’m doing next to nothing in response to socio-political happenings- whether I agree or disagree with them. But in reality, I see enormous value in taking on a more neutral-witness role, because in this role all sides of the story can be heard and seen for the morsel of truth they hold, and this integration of the whole is precisely what promotes healing in individuals and society at large.

In a recent download of “The More Beautiful World Progress Report”, Charles Eisenstein describes the story of separation as being the fuel that perpetuates the never-ending human drama of us versus them. He states, “The awakening is the completion of that drama, and it is transitioning to a new act.” He goes on to say that for this awakening to occur, two realizations are required. Firstly, we must see how the play is not working for either of us. And secondly, we must see how it cannot work for either of us if it’s not working for both of us, for we are all interconnected.

What will the “new act” look like? That is up to each one of us. For our thoughts, words, and actions are creating the future. Let us choose them wisely.

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I will leave you with words from Václav Havel, a playwright, dissident, prisoner, and then president of Czechoslovakia (1989-92) and the Czech Republic (1993-2003). Havel spoke these words in an address to the U.S. Congress in 1990, a few months after Czechoslovakia freed itself from communist rule.

…the salvation of this human world lies nowhere else than in the human heart, in the human power to reflect, in human modesty, and in human responsibility. Without a global revolution in the sphere of human consciousness, nothing will change for the better.

Therefore, my friends, let us venture forward into our lives with a renewed sense of insight, empowerment, and responsibility to be the change we want to see in the world. Even the smallest act- be it strictly internal (e.g. noticing thoughts that propagate suffering for self and other) or subtly external (e.g. listening to someone’s story out of curiosity and compassion, especially when it’s hard to do so)- is significant and worthy in the creation of a more beautiful world.

Peace and Blessings,

Amali