by Rob Lyons
“What I mean by humble is knowing how to find and take your correct place in any situation in a harmonious way that allows you the space to turn, and in turn to be turned, and to function in the most appropriate way; that allows the dynamics of the present situation to function in the best possible way for all concerned, even though you may not be recognized or stand out in any special way. This is beneficial action, leaving no trace.”
Sojun Mel Weitsman
Seeing One Thing Through, p. 292
I’ll be traveling to Milwaukee for the week of July 13-20, to be on hand during the Republican National Convention that kicks off on Monday July 15. I’ll be recording my experiences, observations and reflections in a daily blog.
I’m going for several reasons. I want to be there in person, on the ground, to watch what happens. I want to let others know what I’m seeing and feeling, and offer an alternative perspective to what they may hear through various broadcast or webcast media, filtered through someone else’s spin doctoring. I want to be helpful if possible, a calm and commonsense presence, in the likely event that there are confrontations or even violence between protestors and counter-protestors (antifa and neo-nazis). At the same time I don’t want to be stupid and put myself in harm’s way. I want to express my support, at the time and place of my choosing, for my own core values: inclusion, communication, peace, harmony, democracy, self-determination and choice, and environmental preservation. I want to be open to opportunities to meet some live Republicans – because where I live in Berkeley we have very few of these. I may try to strike up a conversation, to find a way to connect about values or concerns that we share, rather than argue about myriad points of disagreement. And I want to come forward with an appropriate response to whatever may arise.
I believe the first and most basic instruction to myself is to stay open, pay attention, and investigate what’s going on, inside and out. Let’s see what arises . . .
