By Tom Robinson for FāVS News
My 72nd summer is nearly here, and with that promise of newness and growth, I find myself again reflecting on the choices I will make in this new season. There are lawns and gardens to resurrect and outdoor adventures to be planned. From family vacations to the backyard BBQ’s these are part of outdoor life when our weather turns nice here in Spokane. While I look forward to such planning, since becoming involved in the New Story Movement, and with the destabilization of our politics and social structure, this annual reflection has taken on a new meaning for me.
Summer reflection brings new questions about community
While I put effort into my vacation and summer plans, I am also asking myself new questions. Things like, “How do we change a culture that has become too toxic and uncaring and make it more equitable and fairer for all?” “How do we develop more ‘community’ with each other?” And “How do we deal with the anxiety that comes with unstable times?”
These anxieties and characteristics are the product of society’s reliance on the six traditional stories of humanity that we tell ourselves. These six stories — domination, revolution, isolation, purification, accumulation and victimization — have created a world of multiple variations of “us” versus “them.”
Gareth Higgins and Brian McLaren, in their book, “The Seventh Story: Us, Them & the End of Violence, describe this world as one where we view each other through the lens of “us over them,” or “us versus them” or “us in spite of them.” The telling of these traditional stories pits one individual against another and devalues the contributions every person would bring to the table if invited.
I am convinced that our current social trajectory based on these stories of “power over” others will only change when we consciously choose to live together differently, when we choose to tell a different story, a new story, sometimes called the Seventh Story of Humanity, all the time. It is time to adopt a social philosophy that replaces “power over” with “power with.”
The power of ritual in anxious times
How do we deal with these anxieties that seem overwhelming at times? One answer is “ritual,” which plays a significant role in our society. Ritual can help us find meaning in life, deal with personal anxiety and promote community through a connectedness experience. One such ritual we use at New Story Spokane is the Cosmic Walk.
This ritual is a non-religious experience designed to provide some sense of the awesomeness of the time and space of the universe, while providing some context for the role played by human beings in that universe. With this context, the ritual is designed to provide a brief period of contemplation within which a narrated explanation of the unfolding universe invites the participants to reflect on their place in this unfolding process. We find that important questions emerge when we genuinely reflect on our place in that universe. For example, we ask ourselves, “What is my role in this evolving process?” and “What contributions can I make to the common good?”
Celebrating solstice at Glen Tana
We have scheduled the next Cosmic Walk for June 21, the Summer Solstice, on the Glen Tana property set aside by the Inland Northwest Land Conservancy as protected land for public enjoyment, to celebrate the beginning of summer as many cultures have done over the centuries. We believe there is a value to participating in the rhythms of the natural world. There is harmony in those rhythms.
At the Cosmic Walk, one is invited to participate in realistic ways that elevate the seventh story of humanity to a position of dominance relative to the six traditional stories we tell ourselves. New Story Spokane invites us to “choose” to live together differently.
McLaren and Higgins have observed in their book that, “the hearts of more and more children, young people, adults and senior citizens are yearning for a new story, a story of love rather than hate, of creativity rather than destruction, of win-win cooperation rather than win-lose competition, of peace-craft rather than warcraft.” New Story Spokane is committed to elevating the seventh story of humanity to a place of dominance over the typical stories of violence, fear, hatred and powerlessness that continue to dominate mankind’s present.
Please join us for our next Cosmic Walk to celebrate the seasonal change into summer as we work collaboratively to tell a new story of humanity where we value people and the planet while generating a reasonable profit in support of our families. The evening begins at 5:30 p.m. with a bring-your-own-picnic, and the Cosmic Walk starts at 8:51 p.m. For more information and to RSVP please go here.
All are invited.
Support FāVS columns like this with a tax-deductible donation!
