From Ally to Advocate to Activist and Back

The message that Professor Sepp shared with us this week is one I definitely needed to hear. It is easy to get caught up in the idea of making the biggest impact possible and to forget the importance of individual change. The work we do with clients is always valuable and it can be the simplest gesture that can make a world of difference to someone.

Matthieu Ricard put it simply, we need to be considerate of others. He goes on to point out that just by considering the opinions, values, and beliefs of others we are eliminating so many other threats to humanity. When we are altruistic we don’t judge people based on their looks, or take advantage of their kindness, or destroy the planet that they too, have to live on. Ricard fully believes that humans can achieve altruism, but it takes some training of the brain. His first suggestion is meditating twenty minutes a day for four weeks. He tells of a study they have conducted on preschoolers, where the children are told to distribute stickers to their classmates. I was amazed that meditation, positive thoughts and four weeks could change their behavior.

Scilla Elworthy made the brilliant point that when it comes to facing violence and oppression it is our own attitude and response that we can control. She, like Matthieu Ricardo promotes self-knowledge and self-love through meditation. She jokingly talks about the three in the morning fear, which is very real. To me, facing these overbearing worries is just as important in knowing yourself as meditation. She also describes anger, how it can be as destructive as a fire but also just as powerful. This in itself is empowering. Usually I think of anger as a waste of my energy, but Scilla made me feel like I could control my anger and use it to benefit my clients rather than set them back.

We have heard from Ash Beckham before and her point fits very well with Matthieu and Scilla. Ash emphasized duality and the ability to have and portray more than one identity at the same time. Accepting all part of who you are is just as important and asking yourself questions during meditation or knowing yourself well enough to usefully control your anger. She poignantly points out that those who can’t see her differences (including her sexuality) stop seeing who she is. She encourages us instead to be empowered by our uniqueness.

What I got from these videos was that taking care of ourselves and knowing who we are is just as important as helping and knowing our clients. We want to take on the world, we want to change lives, but we have to start with our own. I think this is really difficult within our profession because we naturally want to take care of others and looking internally is not comfortable. It is easier for a lot of us to tell others how to use this information. To tell them to be altruistic, to harness their anger, to love themselves. The true test is incorporating it into our own daily lives. When we reflect on who we are and actively ty to better ourselves each day, we are making the most of our lives and living for each other rather than ourselves. 

TEDxBoulder (Producer). (2014, September). Ash Beckham: When to take a stand- and when to let it go. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/ash_beckham_when_to_take_a_stand_and_when_to_let_it_go

TEDxExeter (Producer). (2012, April). Scilla Elworthy: Fighting with nonviolence. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/scilla_elworthy_fighting_with_non_violence

TEDGlobal (Producer). (2014, October). Matthieu Ricard: How to let altruism be your guide. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/matthieu_ricard_how_to_let_altruism_be_your_guide