The Quiet Resistance

“The softest thing in the universe overcomes the hardest thing in the universe.”  
-- Lao Tsu, The Tao Te Ching

“...(the kingdom of heaven) is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and put
in his own garden. It grew, and became a large tree, and the birds of the
sky lodged in its branches.”

-- Luke 13:18–19

“...a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks
before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but
the Lord was not in the earthquake:  and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was
not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.” --1 Kings 19:11-12

There’s no doubt that all of us are called to “resist what is evil” in the world.  
There is plenty of evil to be found. Perhaps there is a place for complaints, protests,
demonstrations, and politics.  But many who have gone this route have discovered that it is a
dead-end street, stressing us needlessly. It often stirs up bad feelings, or in the worst cases,
can degenerate into violence.

What if, instead, there is a way to practice a quiet, steady, day-to-day resistance?  Not as exciting,
perhaps, but possibly just as effective. The Taoist literature speaks of water as a strong,
indomitable force, able to wear down the toughest rock.  That sounds like it would take way too
long in human terms, but perhaps it would not take as long as we think.

Boycotting is one example of a quiet resistance.  If a certain company is polluting the environment
at an unacceptable rate, or oppressing its workers, usually we can just stop buying their products
and either buy from someone else or do without.  (Of course, an education campaign is necessary if
this is to be effective.) A more challenging example is fighting the scourges of fracking and pipelines.
What if all of us worked at conserving energy so that there is less demand for fossil fuels?  This means a
self-sacrificial effort, but if we are serious about resisting evil isn’t that what is called for? Perhaps it is
our own greediness that leads to these egregious problems. As the Quaker John Woolman said, “May
we look upon our treasure, the furniture of our houses, and our garments, and try to discover whether t
he seeds of war have nourishment in these our possessions.”  Do we really need all we have come to
expect in our highly consumerist lifestyle?

Bill Mollison was an environmental activist in Australia in the mid 20th century.  After a few decades of
trying to resist through political activism, he decided to give it up.

I soon decided that it was no good persisting with opposition that in the end achieved nothing.
I withdrew from society for two years; I did not want to oppose anything ever again and waste
time. I wanted to come back only with something very positive, something that would allow us
all to exist without the wholesale collapse of biological systems.  --Introduction to Permaculture

Mollison went on to develop the science of permaculture, a system beginning with ecological design
for food and human settlements and expanding into proposals for legal and economic systems.  His
ideas have spread worldwide and are now part of many university level curricula.

One important aspect of permaculture thinking is working at the community level.  As designer and
author of The Transition Handbook Rob Hopkins famously said, “If we wait for the governments, it'll
be... too late; if we act as individuals, it'll be too little; but if we act as communities, it might just be
enough, just in time.”

According to the Post Carbon Institute’s newest publication The Community Resilience Reader:  
Essential Resources for an Era of Upheaval:

 By design, new ideas typically come to fruition at the federal level slowly, thanks in part to the roles and constraints set by the US Constitution and the procedural hurdles of the US Congress. In contrast, local and state governments often have great flexibility in organizing how public decisions are made as well as significant regulatory and investment power over the issues that most affect everyday life: social services like health care and police, public goods like utilities, civic institutions like schools and courts, land use and transportation planning, and so on.

Indeed, our cities and states are traditionally the country’s laboratories for social and economic innovation.  One community’s experiment can inspire thousands of other experiments, providing valuable insights and best practices and ultimately building support for larger-scale changes. In the first decade of the twenty-first century, while national and international climate efforts languished, many cities across the United States followed early leaders like San Francisco and Seattle and started their own climate initiatives. Using the terminology of resilience science, one could say that cities and states are providers of diversity, openness, and modularity for the resilience of the higher-level national system.

The Quiet Resistance has many other pathways than those illustrated above.  The main thing
is to persevere with faith, hope and love, doing what we feel called to do regardless of whether
it is popular or visibly effective.  We might never know what good we have done in this life, but
that does not make our effort any less powerful.

Hearing from God (or, Post-Partum Depression for New Grandparents)

Hearing from God happens. During "normal" life we are often so bombarded with the distractions of this world that the voice of God is largely blotted out. When we do seek times of prayer, it seems that nothing happens. We speak our supplications, trying to listen for answers, but our minds are in such disarray that nothing seems to come through. So we shrug our shoulders and walk away, resigned to do the best we can on our own, without the comfort of hearing from God.

But once in a while, something happens that allows the voice of God to come through. In my case, the birth of our first grandchild was the initial trigger. You probably think that I am going to talk about the great miracle of a new life, her tiny hands and feet, her major cute factor, the beautiful shining eyes exploring the world for the first time, the purity and holiness of innocence, the utterly peaceful sleep, the helplessness and dependency that so pictures our need for God. These things are all certainly gifts from the Lord, pointing us to love and holiness.

But these are not the most potent signs. In a sense they, too, are a distraction. The reason I know this is that, after the first joyful week, we returned to our home hundreds of miles away, leaving the precious little one behind. Human love, while surely the greatest of earthly blessings, is a double-edged sword. It can raise us to the highest of heights, or plunge us into deep sorrow, whether by physical separation, emotional distance, or even death. Despite all there is to be thankful for, we must not lose sight of the fact that life is fragile and transient.

But just knowing that is hardly comforting. Sorrow can pierce us to the core. Depression can gain the upper hand for a time. We wonder, what is life all about? What is the meaning of life when I can't have the object of my desire? Once more we struggle with knowing God's will - God, what is it You want from me? Should we move to that far away city, a complete change from the life we have known? What about the things I do each day, do they really mean anything at all? What is the point of anything in this world of fleeting happiness, where the Lord gives and the Lord takes away? Why do You torment me with this roller coaster of fulfilled and then broken dreams? Sorrow pulls down every distraction, and there is only raw pain.

Then, it seems, a voice speaks. It's not about you. You can't always get what you want. It's not about your whims and fancies. It's really about doing what is right, regardless of how you feel. It's about doing God's will, which you may or may not yet know, but you CAN start walking in that general direction. You can do the daily tasks that need doing. You can work with your hands. You can care for a neighbor in need. You can plan for the part of the future that you can see. You can continue to seek God, study the lives of (canonized or not) saints, probe the intellect for God's presence. If you fall down one day, you can get up the next. Do My will, and you will have what you need.

What does this have to do with distributism? Not a whole lot, except that I definitely heard the word that I should work with my hands. It's the just-take-one-step-at-a-time, don't-bite-off-more-than-you-can-chew, don't-think-more-highly-of-yourself-than-you-ought philosophy. Divine and practical at the same time.

The overarching message is that yes, we can hear from God. Despite the messes of the world, and the messes in our own hearts, don't be afraid of the pain. Perhaps it's a mini-purgatory, a cleaning agent of the heart. If you go through it you may well hear from God.