by Owen | Jun 28, 2020 | Uncategorized
What I’m excited for: New Opporunities
The wake of COVID-19 has completely changed my outlook for the next year I had planned to move states, start a new freelance life, and leave this one behind. Instead, I now have an opportunity to really take stock and work within the boundaries of our new normal. It’s intimidating having to shift every expectation I set up for myself, but further limitations mean new opportunities. Now I am looking forwards to living with friends, exploring my creativity in new ways, and having a chance at a life I never thought I would want.
by Owen | Jun 21, 2020 | 2019-2020, Weekend Reflections
What I’m Reading: Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
One of the first books recommended to me on my path of anti-racist activism. The book takes the form of a letter from Coates to his then 15-year-old son. More poetry than prose, Coates walks his son through his life, confronting a kind of fear and identity that his now teenaged son sees in himself through the murder of Trayvon Martin. It’s beautiful and bleak. How could it not be? I can never claim to understand the experiences and lessons of this book, but even its short window into this world has deeply affected the way I confront my own role and privilege. Though just a step, this has become one of the more vital pieces of my anti-racist education.
What I’m Reconciling: My Expectations
The reality of the future has never been more evident than during this pandemic. That may sound odd or counter to the confusion we are all experiencing, but that’s just it. The future has always been this way, unpredictable and unwieldy. We only see it for what it has always been. Pre-pandemic, the future we thought we knew was just a function of our expectations. We saw the lives we were racing towards, opportunities and lifestyles waiting for us to grab them. The confusion we now feel is us reconciling those expectations with the truth that none of those things were ever sure. Now we must adjust. Rather than cling to a career or lifestyle, we need to prepare to be open to change. The passing on this pandemic is not a return to normalcy. What we have learned about the nature of the future continues to be real with or without a virus. So we must adjust our mindset to prepare and be comfortable with change in all its forms. Expectations and rooted passions can unhinge us from that reality if we are not careful. The danger of the future is not the future itself but in how we confront it. Better to take what we can with open arms then deny the truth of what comes next.
by Owen | Jun 14, 2020 | Uncategorized
What I’m Reading: Manifesto For a Moral Revolution by Jacqueline Novogratz
I rarely read a new book so soon after its release. I usually like to watch how it trends for a bit and see what comes out of the word-works and what kinds of recommendations it draws. But Novogratz’s book hit my desk fast, loaded with suggestions form some of the people I respect most. To make it even better, I chose this book along with a friend as a starting point for a new book club. It couldn’t;t have come at a better time, amid the protests and calls for change. Novogratz’s manifesto is a brilliant handbook for anyone looking to break conformity and make real change in the world. Backed with stories from her time at her Non-Profit, Acumen, Novogratz brings true wisdom to a time rife with reform. While the book focuses on change via investment and business, the lessons within are applicable to any individual looking to be a force for change.
by Owen | Jun 9, 2020 | Impromptu
In the past two weeks, I have watched so many people fall into the snares of hate and denounced the intentions of Black Lives Matter and national protests. Friends, scholars, students, and intellectuals alike, as if from nowhere, have turned their backs and denied the value of human life and connection. People who have always spoken up, from all sides, are now eerily silent.
Arguments erupt in the supposed search for truth, but end up somewhere in the distance. Scrolling through comments and twitter threads, I’ve seen every kind of rationalization, ranging from the half-baked “If it wasn’t for the property damage…” to delusions of a Marxist coup d’etat. Pleas of support and change are met less with clear thought than with egregious and tangential bullying. There are guilty on both sides.
But how do we pull back the curtain on a falsely rationalized “truth?” Do you trudge along and hope they come to their senses in the wake of change? Or do you stand up and educate them on their own misjudgments? I’m for the latter.
The growing divide is less an argument for truth than an intervention on its denial. A view only possible through privilege. Those who come out on the other side, understand themselves in a new way and contribute to change. Meanwhile, the rest pull further into delusion.
The reality is that deep down, everyone, even those in denial, knows what the right thing is. Delusion is a shield. The war to be waged is not with truth, but a confrontation with our own denial. As Marcus Aurelius wrote nearly two thousand years ago: “Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.” We know what is right, there is no argument to be had, only a willingness to listen and confront our own faults.
The path forward is one of action and intervention. Choose to confront the denial around you and inside you at every turn. The truth is there, as long as you are open to it.
Resources to help you with your own intervention can be found here or here
You can also donate to bail funds here and support the Black Lives Matter Movement directly here.
by Owen | Jun 8, 2020 | 2019-2020, Weekend Reflections
What I’m Reading: Zen Mind Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu-Suzuki
I’m taking a little break from the west to expand my philosophical interest to the east. This book has repeatedly floated to the top of the list. In many ways, I find Suzuki’s messages to reflect much of what I’ve internalized in my reading of western philosophies. The book has forced me to take a more in-depth look at my meditation practices, which for all intents and purposes, is pretty sloppy. For those unfamiliar with eastern philosophy or Zen, I think this is a great place to start.
What I’m Commiting to: Active Anti-Racism
I will be the first to admit my exposure to black voices in America has been incredibly slim. But seeing and supporting the protests around the world has truly opened my eyes to how much more I have to learn and take part. There is a place for all of us in the fight for equity and justice. To that end, I am speaking up and educating myself however I can. If you’d like to join you can find valuable resources here: https://blacklivesmatter.carrd.co/
A Quote I’m Thinking About:
“I am convinced that people are much better off when their whole city is flourishing than when certain citizens prosper but the community has gone off course. When a man is doing well for himself but his country is falling to pieces he goes to pieces along with it…”
Pericles
You may say that the racial inequity of this country (and the world) has nothing to do with you. But it absolutely does. We are nothing without those around us. We have a duty to protect and stand up for those around us. What’s bad for the bee is bad for the hive.
