Becoming a “neutral activist” (#1)
Am I becoming a “neutral activist?”
I say “becoming” because I’m not a neutral activist – not quite yet. In fact, I’m not even sure if it’s possible. But it’s certainly been a desire of my heart (and an obsession in my head) for many years.
Seems like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? Activists are people who know how they feel about a cause. They know what side they’re on, feel the emotional charge, and are compelled to work toward (and sometimes “fight for”) that which they believe.
I’ve been one of these activists for most of the past 20 years. I’ve even been paid to be one these activists for over a decade. And now I’m ready to do it differently because I have experienced fundamental shifts in HOW I want to “do” activism, how I want to bring about social change. This has to do with being “neutral” as a way to actually strengthen my vision and to achieve real positive change at the deepest level possible.
To be clear, neutrality is not apathy. I’m not interested in neutrality because I’m tired or getting lazy. I’m not interested in it because “that’s what happens as you get older” – you sell out and compromise away your ideals. In fact, I’m not really interested in neutrality at all. The truth is that neutrality is interested in me. It has been seeking me out for years, and slowly, synchronistically, methodically changing how I am and how I interact with the world.
I imagine that a misconception could be that becoming a neutral activist means you let go of all you’re working toward – that opinions slip away as you see all sides and don’t take one. That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m interested in being neutral by making peace with “what is” (often the “problem” that rallies the activist in me to begin with). By accepting “what is” I can move forward toward creating a vision, without my energy being drained by focusing on the perceived problem or the players (aka “the opposition”) or the traits I don’t appreciate yet in others.
The real question behind all of this for me is how can I most effectively contribute to the greatest good of the planet, humanity, and all life? Have you ever asked yourself a version of this question? Have you ever asked yourself how you can be joyful, happy, loving, free, and abundant in a world that boasts of pain? Does creating change really have to be filled with hardship and burnout? Am I not a “real” activist if I want a calm, serene life?
It’s time to consider new ways of being an “activist.” I propose neutral activism as one possible framework. Rather than disengaging, this is an extremely active and practical way of clearing my own energetic space so that I’m fully open and present to create the vision of a better world, and then act upon it.
May this be just the beginning of the conversation on what “new” and neutral activism looks like.
[From my writings, Reflections on Becoming a Neutral Activist, Sept. 2007]