In a political cartoon recently, there was a picture of a woman in bed saying to her husband hiding in the bathroom, “It’s alright. You can come out now. The news is over.” And so it can seem at times. Each day brings new stories of bombings and violence, disruptions and loss.
And yet, there is also so much that is “right” in our world. On January 14, 2015, 15 of us gathered to begin a 6 week online course called Transformation of Business, Society and Self offered by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Here is what is right.
- Globally, there are 25,300 participants in this online venture. The course is inviting us to use mindfulness and self-awareness practices to reflect together on what is not working in our world, our cities, our communities, our selves. By tapping into our own lived experience, we are asking: Who is left out? Am I bringing the self I really want to be to the workplace? How can we shift to a world view that puts the good of the whole at the centre and not just the interests of a few.
- What is even more encouraging about this process is that of the over 25,000 participants, 60% are under the age of 40 years. People representing 192 countries are part of the course. We get to “experience” ourselves as a whole world looking together at who we are on the planet in 2015.
- At Dalhousie University we learn of the shocking behaviour of some male dentistry students. And yet, something new and also a bit chaotic seems to be emerging in how the situation is being handled. Rather than a quick and predictable response, there is a slowing down of the process: one hopes the women are being protected; there is concern about the safety of at least one of the men; a lawyer\researcher with a feminist lens has been hired to look into the events and the culture at Dalhousie; talk of restorative justice which aims to create real change is being explored.
- In the aftermath of the killing of 12 journalists at Charlie Hebdo, new questions are slowly seeping into consciousness. How do we value freedom of speech and are there limits? Are there new insights to help us live through these decades together that will help lessen the “need” for violence in all its expressions?
So, when we come out of hiding because the news is over, have an eye to all that is right with the world. See it shining in its take your breath away expressions, as well as in its dimly emerging newness.
Margo Ritchie, CSJ