Sunday, December 22, 2019

That's What the Holidays are All About, (for) Erinn (Liebhard).

Lately, I've been grappling with - well, not grappling with, just thinking a lot about - belief (thanks a lot, YouTube). No coincidence that it's the holiday season. 




Yes, the title is a nod to the iconic scene in A Charlie Brown Christmas when Linus explains to Charlie what Christmas is all about. I've been thinking a lot about what it is to me, and to illuminate that, I need to back it up. All the way up to my 'beliefs' in general.

I often say that I'm somewhere on the agnostic-humanist-aethist spectrum, but I also don't know that I feel I must find a label to describe my faith-belief-moral compass system that other people can understand. As evidenced above, I'm not sure I can really even label what purpose/s I think such systems serve.

I can say I think it's totally ludicrous to suggest that the only place a person can 'find their moral compass' is in religion. There are people who do obscene things to others in the name of religion. In addition, the suggestion that there is one way for ALL humans to do ANYTHING is a total fallacy. There are so many ways to be a good human, as evidenced by how drastically different humans have come to themselves throughout the years throughout the globe. This also leads me quick down the pathway of consideration of other intelligent life in the universe. I think it's pretty ridiculous to think that we are the only intelligent life in the ENTIRE UNIVERSE. Therein, I'm sure that the other intelligent life in the universe as discovered their own myriad ways to be good sentient creatures.

Back to it. I don't even like the word 'moral.' It's got a sticky film on top of it that I'm pretty sure doesn't taste like sugar. I think I best like the idea of 'being a good human.' That brings forward the question of 'What is good?' So far, my favorite word to sum up how to be good is 'kindness.'

Kindness: the quality of being friendly, generous, considerate.

I think that last one is most important - considerate. To be considerate means you take the time, energy and focus necessary to consider how your actions will impact not only you, but everything outside yourself - not just other people, but our shared environment/ nature/ physical dwelling/ planet.

Kindness toward: Yourself

Kindness toward: Others (sentient creatures)

Kindness toward: Your Environment (from small to large-scale)

'Kindness' is one word to speak toward so many things I hold close for how I'm a good human, including what I've long though of as the 'benefit of the doubt' principle. It goes like this: when I do not receive an explanation for what might be considered inconsiderate behavior from another person, I chose to think that their actions were likely not motivated by the desire to be inconsiderate, but by something more pressing. Take for example a car cutting you off in traffic - they might be on their way to a loved one in the hospital. Why not think this and let your heard be a little kinder, rather than getting mad when it might not even be called for? I'm sad to think that I used to believe such a mindset meant you could easily become a doormat. I now think that if we are not primed to give each other the benefit of the doubt (even if that is more easily motivated by your own more regulated blood-pressure), how will we ever move toward understanding one another better?

Back to what started this process - if not from 'God,' where does my cultivation of 'good-humanness' come from? In thinking more carefully about it, I think it comes from something all humans are equip with: consciousness. We are aware of ourselves, our ability to think and the impacts we make. Yes, this is all true to varying degrees for varying people, but I do think it's worth considering that one's own sense of consciousness is something a great deal of people are able to choose to cultivate. For those people, whether or not we choose to has a great impact upon our abilities to walk through life as a considerate, and in turn kind person. In other words, as a 'good human.'

As I work to cultivate my own sense of consistency consciousness, I've noticed so much more within myself and outside myself. I am more in tune with what causes fluctuation of feeling within me. I am more in tune with what causes fluctuation of feeling within others. I am more in tune with what causes fluctuation of healthfulness of the environments (small to large scale) in which I live and interact. This is not to say that I am 'one with the universe' . . . but maybe it is! There is nothing inherently wrong with this idea! I think to some, it implies the idea that the person suggesting it thinks they are on a more superior plane of existence than the next person (and shit, maybe they ARE). That said, I think a lot of people often feel that adherents to any particular codified religion may find themselves to be on a more superior plane of existence. I think the issue here is dedicating any time and energy to what the next person may be thinking of you, or thinking poorly of the next person yourself.

If 'one with the universe' to you means empathizing with yourself, others and your environment/s in ways that build your ability to approach all you encounter with kindness, get 'one,' baby.

I kind of love how the ideas seem to dovetail with what drives my work in dance: my professional language notes that "I'm driven to help connect people to themselves, one another and the moment . . ."

So what does this boil down to? I think this:

My desire for and actions toward being a good human - one who is kind to them-self, other sentient beings and their environment/s - are driven by my consciousness.

That last part, again, is something we all have and can work toward attaining (to various degrees). I find that pretty inspiring. Some find this through God or various kinds of organized religion. Some find this through paganism and nature rituals. Some do not work very hard to find it. Some have to work so hard through disadvantages to make a living that they might not have much time and energy to TRY and find it.

The more I think about this over my time as a human, the more I realize that it's not helpful for me to try and label 'what it is I believe.' That said, I DO very much wish to understand what drives my goodness. That's why I'm taking the time to dump all this out into my little corner of the internet. So again:

My desire for and actions toward being a good human - one who is kind to them-self, other sentient beings and their environment/s - are driven by my consciousness.

Again, nothing special. Consciousness is something we've all got.

Now, what are the ways I witness and cultivate my consciousness?

Dancing: feeling my own beating heart within my chest
and perhaps those of others nearby

Walking in Nature: feeling close to everything that has
sustained humans for so long

Food: handling my sustenance with care and
appreciating it with each chop

Improvising: in conversation, in making a meal, in movement
. . . I love how creating something in the moment
keeps me on my toes and in real-time
appreciation of my aliveness

For me, these things affirm and celebrate life and the choice to be kind in ways nothing else can!

So next time someone asks me "What do you believe in and how do you practice that?," I hope I have the wherewithal to remember to say something like the following:

"I believe in consciousness. In my own and in that of others. I believe that when we take the care to have a kind awareness of ourselves, each other and our surroundings, we cultivate our shared abilities to be good humans. I cultivate my own consciousness through dancing, spending time in nature, cooking and improvising within all those things."

Quite the lengthy elevator pitch for my belief system, but I do believe in (ha!) my ability to internalize some version of that so I've got it ready when people ask. And more importantly, so I can continue to revisit it myself.

To come full circle with the title of this entry, THAT is also what the Holidays are about to me. They are not about the birth of baby Jesus. They are not about Winter Solstice (though I think that's pretty cool!). They are about taking the care to be especially conscious in offering kindness to yourself, to others and to your environments. This may manifest in cuddling up with a loved one to watch a movie. It might manifest in donating to Toys for Tots so a child in need can experience a much-needed spark of joy. It might be cooking a meal for friends. It might be dancing all your fucking sweat out with a rowdy bunch of people at a modern dance class. It manifests all these ways and more for me. 

I hope I've provided a clear enough window into what the holidays are all about for me, Linus. They are about an emphasized sense of kindness that comes from choosing consciousness. #micdrop

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