Two days ago, Aki, Ben, and I visited the Student Intifada at UofT to demonstrate our support and solidarity with the students. Taking Aki to protests has truly sparked something within him. Each morning, he wakes up chanting "Free Palestine" and "No Justice, No Peace." While he doesn't grasp the full complexity of the situation, his body and spirit resonate with the purpose, passion, and genuine energy of coming together in a community for a greater cause.
What we're seeing in the pro-Palestine campus movements is an unbreakable and undeterred human spirit, a generation prioritizing the well-being of humanity over individual privileges. These protests communicate something so powerful: that our purpose is so much bigger and more valuable than what the systems had us believe. Our purpose goes beyond university degrees, monetary gain, and meaningless jobs that perpetuate oppressive regimes and capitalist agendas. All of us are coming together to stand up for Palestine, humanity, and the land everywhere and at all times.
Community, in its simplest definition, is belonging. I think about how oppressive systems have severed us from our humanity and perpetuated the "othering" in the name of white supremacy.
This "othering" takes on countless sinister forms, with Muslims and Arabs unfairly branded as terrorists being just one egregious example. Yet, in its calculated and subtle machinations, the system also works to estrange us from our very own local communities. Every facet seems crafted to sow division and discord among us. The system's agenda? To render us reliant on its authority rather than on each other's solidarity. It engineers these divisions through the arenas of sports, the mechanisms of the military, the corridors of education, the ensnarements of cults and celebrity culture, and myriad other ways.
I remember soccer stadiums back home being more like battlegrounds than gatherings of unity to watch a game. The fans would literally hurl grenades at each other, set stadiums ablaze, and escalate to the point of bloodshed after the matches.
I'm not into sports; in fact, I couldn't tell you the first thing about them, and I despise watching them. However, I have friends who are avid fans, and I spend a lot of time thinking about things.
I think about how oppressive systems utilize sports to cultivate rivalries and animosities between different teams, diverting attention from organizing against the system itself. Dividing communities along sports team lines can undermine collective resistance to injustice. These dominant structures promote aggressive behavior and competition in sports to redirect potentially dissenting energies into more manageable outlets. Sports serve as a release valve for societal tensions by providing an arena for expressing competitive instincts. And let's not overlook how athletes are commodified, bought, sold, and traded solely for their skills.
Similarly, when I think about the military complex, I'm overwhelmed by a shattering pain for (specifically) all the boys who grew up fatherless for myriad reasons. I mourn for those disconnected from their sacred masculinity, for the boys transformed into tough men who may have never been allowed to express their emotions or were never taught how to. The boys who were misled, indoctrinated, their childhoods stolen. Boys who sought belonging, only to be ensnared by systems that coerced them into serving and protecting under false pretexts.
All around, the communities that have been created for us rarely actually serve us. Whether it's celebrity culture, spiritual communities, or the self-help industry, they all have one thing in common: they exploit our vulnerabilities for their own capitalistic gain.
We're conditioned to seek belonging in everything and everywhere but within ourselves, each other, and the Earth. This has left us feeling profoundly lost and vulnerable, to the extent that we'll gravitate towards any gathering, any sect, follow other people's lives, or join institutions, military, fraternities, etc..all in search of even a semblance of meaning, purpose, and belonging.
"You cannot change any society unless you take responsibility for it unless you see yourself as belonging to it and responsible for changing it." Grace Lee Boggs
Belonging and co-liberation start with recognizing the deep connections between our spiritual, ecological, social, and political lives. Just like the intricate web of nature, our individual and collective experiences are complex and interwoven. Grounded in love and stillness, these elements are natural to us as living beings.
We can, and indeed, we are meant to depend on each other. The only system that truly matters is the intricate network of our nervous systems—interconnected with the Earth's ecosystem. We can dismantle all other systems that fail to honor and value human life. The forces of oppression understand this well; they know that weakening the nervous systems of individuals and communities is essential for control and manipulation. It's a stark reality: our health lies in unity, connection, and imagination. Our strength lies in breaking free from the hypnosis where individual privileges matter more than our collective liberation.
I've been thinking about this since visiting the student encampment in Toronto. How Palestine and the global student uprising are profound teachers, illuminating the immense power of community, the true essence of our purpose, and the boundless potential for a new world. Palestine is showing us what the ongoing struggle for justice and liberation looks like, inspiring solidarity across borders and awakening us to the urgent need for systemic change. This transformation can occur far more rapidly than we might anticipate, but it demands that we dismantle perhaps the toughest of systems—not those external to us, but the ones within that keep us in slumber.
I think of my son and how inspired and activated he becomes at and after the protests, and I wonder: what truly ignites and motivates us? Is it affiliate marketing and obsessing over numbers on our social media and bank accounts? Is it seeking attention, living in a facade, buying brands, and cluttering our lives with things we don't need to impress people we don't know? Is it seeking solace in spiritual sisterhoods that offer pretty words but lack follow-through on actions? Or is it something grander and far simpler? Something that doesn't demand us to fawn over others for acceptance? Something that invites us to delve deeper, in pure awe?
Something that requires us to fight, but it doesn't feel like one. It feels like reclaiming our rights, and the rights of others.
Do you notice how all these gatherings and systems in the self-help world always demand more from us? More classes, workshops, purchases, manifestation modules, blindly following another guru, spending more to gather in sisterhood. The thirst for more perpetuates endlessly because it's a cycle of taking. These systems, consciously or not, are rooted in white supremacy and oppression.
But there's something more straightforward, effortless, and profoundly humane: reconnecting with our inner child. It's a resource already within us, accessible to all. This is the lesson from Aki, from Palestine, from students—a reminder of what truly matters. We must recall our sacred hearts, inherent knowing, and the vision within. Let that drive the change we seek. We know what's right. We know who we are. Our humanity, in Palestine, Congo, Sudan, and all around the world, is bound by the courage in our hearts. Our humanity thrives on the cycle of reciprocity: Generosity. Reclamation. Empathy. Solidarity. Justice.
In nurturing these values, we sculpt a future where instead of white supremacy, compassion and connection reign supreme.
With love,
Vanja
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