You Can't Eat Love & Light Babes
As I sit down to write this, I’m not sure I should. The rage is bubbling away, having seen so many images of the disgraceful “food parcels” handed out to struggling families. When I think about how challenging life is recently even as an affluent person, and I layer onto that the hunger, disempowerment and disrespect that families on low income are experiencing right now…
One thing is for sure- no amount of meditation is gonna get them through it, and neither should they be expected to find peace with the situation.
Let me set the scene a bit- this is where I am coming from. Being someone who is in the wellness space, and has any degree of political awareness right now is absolutely wild.
People I’ve surrounded myself with for years (in real life and online), whose teachings and generosity have supported me, and many others I know through challenging times, who describe the work they do in the wellness industry as callings, vocations and purposes, appear to have absolutely no interest in systemic issues that undermine the wellness of huge numbers of people; what’s that about?!
Now let me be clear. Many times, I have defended women’s rights (and most of the people I’m referring to here are women- specifically white women) to be well paid for their work. There’s a gender (and ethnicity) pay gap to close, and I am all for women refusing to share their expertise for free, or doing so only on their own terms.
I am all for women cultivating lives that are abundant in time, rest and freedom- and that demands money. All good. I’m not asking anyone to make themselves poor or remove all their comforts in the name of some false solidarity with more oppressed people- stripping resources from a segment of society that wants everyone to have more peace and health and wellbeing doesn’t make sense.
HANG ON. That’s only true if those individuals are taking action (which of course includes channelling that money) in alignment with the values they say they embody.
Babes, I am fatigued. “Kezza, you can’t fight hate with hate, fear with fear. Love and light are the solutions.” Here’s what I hear: doing nothing, risking nothing (including, perhaps, a more affluent client base), is the solution.
Rage IS a viable strategy. It’s the rage of minority groups, and their allies, that has fuelled any positive change we’ve seen in our society.
Point me, please, in the direction of a moment of progressive evolution in our history, driven by love.
The Tories hate, and fear, poor working class people. Someone send a Valentines Card and a lump of rose quartz to Number 10, and all will be well.
Further (yes there’s more), there’s something weirdly gaslighty about it all- about the silence, and the refusal to engage. A sense that if we were evolved enough, we wouldn’t be bothered about the minor inconveniences of hungry children and desperate parents, momentary somehow in the grand scheme of the infinite Universe. If we were enlightened enough, we would accept the injustice as a part of a great awakening, orchestrated by the Divine. OK well when exactly are we scheduled to wake up and get to work?
I fully understand that everyone has different, and sometimes unseen pressures. We could all do more, and I am not pretending to be perfect. I could write to my MP more than I do. I could attend more protests. I could platform more good causes and give them more of my time for free. I could use Olio food sharing app more. I could go up and down my street finding out who needs food on my doorstep.
I’m not looking to police individual contributions by any kind of standardised measure. EXCEPT the bare minimum. Acknowledgement and condemnation of the unacceptable nature of the way in which Western society is governed and maintained, and how that impacts wellness.
How can someone stay silent through global demonstrations of racism and expect anyone to be comfortable in their care? How can someone stay silent as the UK Government causes harm to NHS staff and social care workers, teachers, children, poor families, and expect anyone to take their advice about operating as a human on this plane of existence seriously?
I’ve seen a lot of blanket demonisation of holistic therapies, and ‘the woo’ lately, and that bothers me, because there is a tonne of comfort and support to be found within these practices and ideas, for a lot of people. But we need anyone involved in taking care of others to have their feet firmly on the ground, and be walking their talk.
Kids can’t eat love and light. Nurses can’t pay their mortgages with it. Teachers can’t use it to create more hours in the day.
Don’t send love and light. Send condemnation, and fight. Or come clean- it’s wellness for the few, not the many.
