A Nation's Refuge
A reading of the last 4 days, 4 months, 4 years, or 4 centuries of U.S. history, taken at face value, isn’t a hopeful one. Two steps forward and one back is both putting it lightly and our way.
As today is July 4th, I won’t reprise any of our past and present here, nor offer opinions on what is unaligned or what we should do. We all know what opinions are like.? I ask you to set your opinions aside for a moment and meditate on what we stand for and what unites us. We all believe in the principles of freedom and equality. We all believe that we’re a bold and imperfect experiment courageously and clumsily taking on what no nation in the history of humanity has tried - a multiracial democracy where everyone belongs and can thrive.
As such I invite you to dwell in these shared beliefs and longing and seek refuge in them. Consider them our island of sanity. We all want an island of sanity, a refuge that is safe, where we can be hopeful and sustained by each other, and the shared yearning to express in life the perfect image of Dr. King’s “beloved community” in our hearts.
At the heart our nation is this eternal, a priori longing of not just our nation, but all of humanity - our dreams and ideals are not unique to us, but draw from numerous previous attempts by the Tlaxcalans, Greeks, and Algonquin. This dream can never fall. Regardless of whether this our last Independence Day or our one of thousands more, the ideas that constitute and unite us cannot be killed, yet sometimes they recede from view. A parable:
Many moons ago the teachings and practices of the Buddha were spread by Ashoka throughout Asia. Over time they morphed into various forms of Buddhism and influenced other religions. Their essence became ever murkier until the point of invisibility and/or hypocrisy (present similarities noted). Because of the power of these teachings and practices, a Buddhist prophecy held that they would seek refuge, remain intact in Myanmar, and resurface when the time was right. And in the last century, it did. Now the pure teachings and practices as transmitted by the Buddha have re-surfaced, been codified and have spread via Vipassana centers around the world.
While our times / circumstances / perils are immeasurably different, I believe the dream of the United States may be in a similar cycle. The dream or purpose of the United States contains the following four ideals or aspirations:
Our purpose and the form that effectuates it, a multicultural representative democracy, rapidly spread around the world over the last two centuries, taking on the local flavor of the many places and peoples who adopted it.
As with Buddhism, our nation’s purpose is no longer pure in any country, including and especially our own. Autocracy, apartheid and theocracy are on the rise, and yet our 4-fold purpose remains. It lives and breathes if we give it attention.
To this end, we need a new conservation moment, or dare I say, a religious order, to create multiple refuges for our nation’s purpose, especially as it recedes from our institutions and lived experience.
As such let us form our resistance, our religious order, our refuge together. Let us create space for it in our hearts, communities and organizations.
A Refuge in Our Hearts
We must take our nation’s 4-fold purpose into our hearts. Consider reading A Documentary History of the United States, a volume that contains our Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and key speeches, as you would a holy text. Consider study groups on the ideas and aspirations therein. Consider the “Renegades” (with Pres. Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen) and “NPR Throughline” podcasts as sermons.
领英推荐
Consider adopting the bison, our national mammal, one more expressive of our purpose than our national bird, the bald eagle, as our guiding light. The bison is:
To go deeper into the history and ethics of the bison, you can learn more here and in chapter 2 of my book, Purpose Work Nation.
Consider allowing the bison to become a sacred symbol, a reminder of who we are and what we yearn for as a people. Look for, or make, furniture, clothing and accessories made with buffalo hide and fur. Look for or make art with it’s image. To this end, and in light of how polarizing our flag has become, I offer an image of the bison approaching a steppe with 4 ridges.
Each ridge represents a core idea of our nation’s 4-fold path. You can pick up a conversation starter in the form of a sticker, mug, or apparel here. In addition to developing a personal relationship with the bison, consider activating the power of the bison in your community.
A Refuge in Our Community
We only can get through this difficult together in community. The means developing interdependence, ways of cooperating locally, as social, economic, and political entities. Instead of privileging individualism, disconnection, and competition, consider structures that optimize our lives for belonging, connection, and cooperation, such as mutual aid networks, men’s, women’s and all-gendered circles, and neighborhood and community organizations. Consider picking up a copy of We Need Each Other by Bill Kauth and Zoe Alowan about how to create authentic, lasting, and mutually enriching community.
A Refuge at Work
We spend 2,000 hours a year at work, and have an enormous opportunity to live our nation’s purpose at work. This means each of us earning a living wage (life), having the opportunity to fulfill our purpose at work (liberty), and finding the joy of connection, shared purpose, and reaching our full potential (pursuit of happiness). This means each of us belongs (e pluribus unum) and feels a sense of dignity, respect and belonging (all created equal).
The best place to begin this journey is to activate each employee’s sense of purpose and belonging in your organization in programs that feature small, diverse learning groups of 4 peers. This is the work we do at Unity Lab. You can learn more about the research and best practices that we utilize in chapters 4 and 5 in Purpose Work Nation.
Conclusion
We have a choice to give in to the despair and isolation, OR numb out with simple pleasures, OR, to seek refuge in our shared purpose. When we seek refuge in this powerful purpose, we allow it to enliven us, give it voice in our communities, and bring it into our organizations. Do not despair. Do not numb out. Do not let the forces of regress dim your spirit. Allow our purpose to take you over. Allow it to guide your personal expression of citizenship. Allow it to guide your experience of community and work.
Let’s fulfill our destiny and show the world that the flame of liberty and equality still burns bright within us. Let it become the beacon of freedom, equality, and fulfillment that the world can see. Let’s be bison.