Resolve to be always beginning

Resolve to be always beginning — to be a beginner. –Rainer Maria Rilke

I’m hoping some Friends might consider Mutual Aid to be part of their new story this new year. Yesterday’s post was an introduction.

This is a link to a lot more information about my experiences with Mutual Aid. Mutual Aid in the Midwest

I realize I didn’t explain yesterday’s comment about friendships with native people. Indigenous peoples have always lived in ways that could be seen as Mutual Aid. And my good friend Ronnie James, an Indigenous organizer, has been my Mutual Aid mentor from the beginning of my experiences. This work is supported by the Great Plains Action Society that Ronnie is part of.

“We are Indigenous Peoples of the Great Plains proactively working to resist and Indigenize colonial-capitalist institutions and behaviors. We defend the land where our ancestors lie and where the children walk. Our goal is to reclaim what has been stolen and oppressed to create a better world for us all.“

Great Plains Action Society

New Year’s resolutions tend to be about wanting more of something we desire and/or less of something we do not, and while they surely have their noble side, they also often emanate from subtle and less subtle forms of perceived lack, scarcity, comparison, self-flagellation, and judgment. The “should” and “should not” messages we send ourselves when we make resolutions can be harsh and incriminating. These are qualities we may want to endeavor not to perpetuate and strengthen when we make our commitments this year.

How about making “the means more of the ends” by putting gratefulness rather than scarcity at the center of the resolutions we make this year? How about bringing a more gentle form of motivation, rooted in appreciation, celebration, and acceptance, to our goals? How about letting gratitude guide us?

Turn New Year’s Resolutions into Revelations by Kristi Nelson, syndicated from gratefulness.org, Jan 01, 2022

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