I have kept very quiet this week in the wake of the Zimmerman trial verdict.  I have read many a tweet, article, reaction, and analysis of what happened and why.  I am a person who largely keeps my head in the sand regarding current events and world news because I find it makes me sad/anxious/defeated. I feel woefully uninformed and uneducated, unworthy of making any sort of statement regarding any of it, not so much out of fear that I will get lambasted,  but rather just because I don’t want to mouth off about something I really don’t understand.  

The simplicities and complexities abound in this situation, but for me it boils down to –

Be Nice to Other People

Be Nice to Yourself

Always Look for Another Solution

About every 6 months or so, my mother has to talk me down from a ledge about yet another apocalypse fear.  One time it was about the impending shortage of potable water, leading to societal breakdown and every man for himself, tribal warring and the return to might makes right.  One time it was about the bees. One time it was about martial law overtaking our government, whether via foreign invasion or just simply too many angry people with guns deciding they’d had enough and just bulldozing what civility we have left.  Here in Tucson we actually have a Laser Tag Zombie Apocalypse scenario set up in an old slaughterhouse! http://www.tucsonzombies.com/?p=1533 

This fear used to happen to me regularly, so much so that I was able for some time to set my yearly clock by it. I have several plans for how I might handle it, and several books in my cart on Amazon about how to survive in extreme situations, how to find and grow food, field medical techniques, etc.  Note however that they are in the cart.  I feel that this is important in that the fears have yet to take me so far that I sink my money and time into actually preparing for this.

The good news here is where the School Lunches come in.  A friend of mine a few years ago posted on Facebook about some sort of change that had been made in the standard of school lunches where he lives that deeply affronted him, as he is a parent and cares greatly about the nutrition of his child.  While I was on board with that in many ways, I also thought to myself: if something is not going to be provided for us, even under the current agreements upon which we’ve come to rely, it is then an option to get creative.  Our power lies not just in our ability to protest and fight.  It lies in our ability to bounce off that wall like a quarterback and find a different direction to reach our goals. 

So someone makes a decision that infringes upon my rights and access to the quality of life I enjoy, whether it’s Monsanto, a jury in Florida, a governor in Texas, my boss, Al Qaeda, or the HOA in my neighborhood. Often my initial reaction is to go ahead and keep doing whatever I want; screw them.  I will fight to the death for what I believe is right.  Then I take a breath.  And sometimes many more breaths. Then I reflect on how that has worked for me in the past.  (Hint: the opposite of well)  So I start to get creative.  What are some ways I can find access to that which brings me the greatest joy and does not cause harm to myself or other people?  In the case of the school lunches, some thoughts I had were: start a community garden and grow food for the people in the neighborhood so everyone has access to healthy food.  Or, even the 99 cent store has produce, even organic produce.  Really.  There is an organization here in Tucson that sells produce that grocery stores get rid of because it’s near to expiration (but not!) where they sell up to 60 pounds of food for $10.  Options abound.

Recently I was told that one of the options that I offer in my yoga classes is no longer going to be allowed for safety reasons.  My initial response was to push back.  I teach safely and safety! My students get empowered to do things they don’t believe they can, and I don’t want to take that away from them.  One person gets hurt in all these years and the whole system changes?  Screw that!  I’m going to keep teaching the way I want to and just not tell anyone!

Then I took a breath and reflected on how that’s gone in the past.  Again, the opposite of well. So I thought, what CAN I do?  I can teach options that fall within the parameters laid out for me that still allow for empowerment.  With regard to Trayvon Martin, I can continually be dedicated to rooting out the seeds of prejudice and judgment inside myself and act accordingly in the world. I can kindly and gently role model loving behavior. With regard to the apocalypse, I can live each moment fully with gratitude, and handle things as they come my way rather than living in fear of what my come to pass.  Roberto Benigni’s character in Life is Beautiful, Viktor Frankl, Nelson Mandela, who found beauty and space in the most rigorous and limited of scenarios, demonstrate for us all that we always have power.  No matter what.  There is always a choice to treat others with kindness, treat ourselves with kindness, and continually look for creative ways to empower ourselves.  And so it is.