In a culture based on doing rather than being, the idea of love as the basis of social change is usually looked upon as unrealistic or idealistic. Yet without the basis of love, true, lasting change is not possible.
If you owned a house with cracking walls and uneven floors, the foundation would be the first place you would check. If the foundation was not strong, any other changes you made to repair the walls or the floor would be temporary and cosmetic. It might make things look better for a while, it would address the symptoms of the foundation being weak, but it would not solve the problem of the foundation. Eventually you would need to address the foundation. To ignore it and think you have solved the problem by repainting the walls would be ridiculous and no intelligent home owner would do this. Yet when there is a need for social change in our political, economic, environmental or other systems, we ignore the foundation and attempt to change the appearances of things without realizing this is what we are doing.
A system is simply a structure we have created to govern. It is a set of rules and procedures to organize, regulate, protect, provide fairness, etc. While this may be the intent of the system (and of most systems) what often happens is the system falls short of the intent we have for it. The reason for this is the systems are created and run by people. Where there is a lot of fear in the people who create and run the system, the system will be ruled by fear. The result is greed, attempt to control/manipulate and cover the tracks of accountability with fancy public relations, tactical distractions, blame and censorship. When we try to change the systems by electing more responsible officials, trying to change the way the system works, protesting, educating, etc. we are still trying to change the system itself without challenging the assumptions/climate/context of the system. In so doing, we are making cosmetic changes that cannot last. Every change we make this way is subject to the underlying fear that maintains the system.
As creators of the systems, the rules of the system were created by us as mirrors of our internal processes. Even if we were not alive at the time the system was created, it was created based on the beliefs, values, etc. of humanity at the time of the system’s inception (which are usually slow to change anyway). The systems were based on a perceived need to organize, regulate, protect, provide fairness, etc. To examine the reason for the perceived need is to understand the motivation for the system. While it is important to be able to organize, regulate, protect and provide fairness, what is more important is whether we do this from a perspective of fear or of love. Where the motivation is fear based, it is difficult to govern in a way that takes the highest good into consideration in making decisions. It may be the initial intent but eventually our emotions and the collective emotions/consciousness that is part of the decision process take hold and it is hard to interact or even see beyond the climate that is created, let alone realize we have created it.
Fear creates the belief that we are each alone and need to do whatever is necessary to survive, whether it be trying to control resources, stockpile at the expense of another, maintaining power at all costs, going to war, creating enemies where there are none, and creating false justifications to cover this all up. The more entrenched the fear, the more difficult it is to change the system. Even the most well intentioned public servants have to operate in the climate of fear and usually end up unable to make the changes that were so important to them.
Those who are aware of the injustices and cover ups and who work to facilitate change are also subject to the fear that is the foundation of the system- even if they do not work inside the system. The same fear that is the foundation for the system is also the foundation for all interaction since the systems are based on our current inner state of affairs. The systems we create are designed for the climate in which they operate. They are created and maintained by us. We are the climate, we are the systems. What we believe to be true about ourselves and each other is the foundation for the system.
What’s love got to do with this? As we examine and challenge our own fears about ourselves and each other, we change our minds and open our hearts, thus becoming healers of our own lives and the structures we have to relate with each other and the planet. Even if we are not politicians or activists, we have perceptions about ourselves and each other that limit our ability to relate in ways that create nourishment and fulfillment. If we have unexpressed anger, hurt, past wounds that have not been addressed, low self esteem, fear of being alone, shame, guilt, powerlessness, etc. these will reflect in the systems we create to protect and support us. All these create a climate of fear that underlies interaction. It may be subtle enough to be mostly invisible but it all adds up to create a weak foundation for the honesty, openness and objectivity necessary to have systems that truly serve.
Fortunately this means that the answers and path is inside us where we have the most influence and ability to change. And since we create the structures, as we make the changes, the systems we use will change too. This does not mean we do not need to take action such as education, activism, election reform, etc. but it does mean that these will require much less effort and be more likely to be effective over the long haul. Changing our inner experience to one of love and healing creates a climate open to change. I thank you for taking this journey with me.
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