This really resonated with me on many levels. I think so many of us are traumatized and trying to cope with the fallout from it. I have often said to my husband that I don’t understand… I don’t understand how people can be so abusive to other people…how humans can kill other humans…how so called civilized persons can walk past someone in need and not reach out and help them. Costa Rica eliminated its military in 1948. The money was then redirected to education and green conservation and healthcare. If we could just cut our military budget in half and redirect that money to the things you mention… wow! Why not? I can’t think of a single reason.
I keep having an underlying question/worry that I want to ask about even though I'm afraid it will provoke wrath. It does seem to me that we have to find a path away from the old Puritan work ethic/mark of God's favor if only because the future doesn't look to hold enough work to go around. So much "soul stealing" work has been mechanized that there is less and less for people to do. Even supposedly high skilled work like surgery is being mechanized. So it stands to reason that universal income is essential, maybe inevitable. That said, what do people do with their time and their lives? I think of how also think of the violence of young people in countries with high unemployment. When paid work is unavailable and unnecessary, how do people find purpose or fill their days? I'm still finding my way in retirement and sometimes feel overwhelmed by how much I have scheduled, but I'm privileged and educated. Maybe those things help, maybe not. How does the high school dropout find a good life in that future? (of course that is assuming that we haven't degenerated into massive war over limited food supply and livable geography.)
Thank you again, this is a very dark hour. We are dealing with the crushing death from COVID and all of the terrible missed opportunities to be honest and truthful and most of all, kind. We have committed many crimes and we need to address them, or we will keep repeating them.
oh you are such a brilliant courageous warrior goddess. You capture perfectly what I feel in my heart about the state of our existence. Amongst my despair I have to dig into find my joy bank around me and the hope for our futures. Community is what is doing it for me. My local community social justice initiatives is what gives me hope. Sending love always from your Canadian friend.
This was beautifully and devastatingly written. Much love and respect to you for all you have been through and tbe strength it takes to rise up and fight for yourself and all of us. May you co ti ue to survive and especially thrive.
Thank you for continuing to fight for us all after fighting for your own survival. Much love and respect to you. May you continue to survive AND thrive.
Elizabeth. I am so profoundly sorry for what you’ve had to endure. The ramifications of sexual trauma are extreme and ongoing. I am wondering if you have heard about Richard Schwartz’ treatment, Internal Family Systems. It is a therapy that has healed me so much, and a therapy I use in my practice. If not, I would encourage you to learn about it. It is the most successful treatment for sexual trauma I know of.
I like Cynthia's point about reprioritizing our budget -- why fund the pentagon to the extent we do? Education, Healthcare, Shelter, Universal Basic Income...YES! We're now so great at building coalitions with the EU & more, it's time to put our heads together, change our mind-set, collaborate (Davos for saving the planet?). Worried about finding purpose and filling time if people are paid without a defined "job"? There is simply way too much to do -- push education/enlightenment; set examples and the young ones will follow -- they will probably come up with the best ideas. It's their future. Can you imagine a place bursting with innovation, art, culture, music -- and maybe, just maybe a more livable world? Wow! How do we find these receptive New World Citizens? So many of ECM's followers are kicking ass for the mid-terms and 2024...So much hinges on who our next leaders are. (I wish our country could elect Stacy Abrams for President. I keep saying that. Maybe one day it will come true.) I am not willing to think that all is lost. Let's keep fighting -- and if the worst comes to pass, let's find our community, keep investing and fighting for what we know it right.
A note: I was responding to Lleni Card above -- and meant to first all say Thank You Elizabeth for your HUGE heart and sharing such a gut-wrenching story. I know you are helping others who have similar stories. I too was abused as a child, by a neighbor, but I repressed it totally. It just pops up now and then. I still have not figured out how it has affected my later years. I am a work in progress.
This really resonated with me on many levels. I think so many of us are traumatized and trying to cope with the fallout from it. I have often said to my husband that I don’t understand… I don’t understand how people can be so abusive to other people…how humans can kill other humans…how so called civilized persons can walk past someone in need and not reach out and help them. Costa Rica eliminated its military in 1948. The money was then redirected to education and green conservation and healthcare. If we could just cut our military budget in half and redirect that money to the things you mention… wow! Why not? I can’t think of a single reason.
I keep having an underlying question/worry that I want to ask about even though I'm afraid it will provoke wrath. It does seem to me that we have to find a path away from the old Puritan work ethic/mark of God's favor if only because the future doesn't look to hold enough work to go around. So much "soul stealing" work has been mechanized that there is less and less for people to do. Even supposedly high skilled work like surgery is being mechanized. So it stands to reason that universal income is essential, maybe inevitable. That said, what do people do with their time and their lives? I think of how also think of the violence of young people in countries with high unemployment. When paid work is unavailable and unnecessary, how do people find purpose or fill their days? I'm still finding my way in retirement and sometimes feel overwhelmed by how much I have scheduled, but I'm privileged and educated. Maybe those things help, maybe not. How does the high school dropout find a good life in that future? (of course that is assuming that we haven't degenerated into massive war over limited food supply and livable geography.)
Ask yourself what your life would have been like if you hadn't been taught that you had to sell your labor to survive. Start there.
Thank you again, this is a very dark hour. We are dealing with the crushing death from COVID and all of the terrible missed opportunities to be honest and truthful and most of all, kind. We have committed many crimes and we need to address them, or we will keep repeating them.
Thank you for opening up and sharing your secret. I know there are a lot of us with similar childhoods, including me.
oh you are such a brilliant courageous warrior goddess. You capture perfectly what I feel in my heart about the state of our existence. Amongst my despair I have to dig into find my joy bank around me and the hope for our futures. Community is what is doing it for me. My local community social justice initiatives is what gives me hope. Sending love always from your Canadian friend.
This was beautifully and devastatingly written. Much love and respect to you for all you have been through and tbe strength it takes to rise up and fight for yourself and all of us. May you co ti ue to survive and especially thrive.
Thank you for continuing to fight for us all after fighting for your own survival. Much love and respect to you. May you continue to survive AND thrive.
Elizabeth. I am so profoundly sorry for what you’ve had to endure. The ramifications of sexual trauma are extreme and ongoing. I am wondering if you have heard about Richard Schwartz’ treatment, Internal Family Systems. It is a therapy that has healed me so much, and a therapy I use in my practice. If not, I would encourage you to learn about it. It is the most successful treatment for sexual trauma I know of.
I like Cynthia's point about reprioritizing our budget -- why fund the pentagon to the extent we do? Education, Healthcare, Shelter, Universal Basic Income...YES! We're now so great at building coalitions with the EU & more, it's time to put our heads together, change our mind-set, collaborate (Davos for saving the planet?). Worried about finding purpose and filling time if people are paid without a defined "job"? There is simply way too much to do -- push education/enlightenment; set examples and the young ones will follow -- they will probably come up with the best ideas. It's their future. Can you imagine a place bursting with innovation, art, culture, music -- and maybe, just maybe a more livable world? Wow! How do we find these receptive New World Citizens? So many of ECM's followers are kicking ass for the mid-terms and 2024...So much hinges on who our next leaders are. (I wish our country could elect Stacy Abrams for President. I keep saying that. Maybe one day it will come true.) I am not willing to think that all is lost. Let's keep fighting -- and if the worst comes to pass, let's find our community, keep investing and fighting for what we know it right.
A note: I was responding to Lleni Card above -- and meant to first all say Thank You Elizabeth for your HUGE heart and sharing such a gut-wrenching story. I know you are helping others who have similar stories. I too was abused as a child, by a neighbor, but I repressed it totally. It just pops up now and then. I still have not figured out how it has affected my later years. I am a work in progress.