In these last weeks and months, as I’ve witnessed the cruelty, chaos, and destruction that the current American government is creating both within our country and all around the world, I’ve been deeply considering the question:
How can we strengthen our relationships and communities across borders, across boundaries, across the walls that separate us, both within and without?
This question is an ongoing exploration that stems directly from my perspective as an interspecies communicator.
In interspecies communication, we practice setting aside our own ideas, thoughts, preferences, and biases so that we can truly listen to, understand, and experience the viewpoints, often very different from our human perspectives, of beings of different species.
I feel sorrow–and anger–about the pain my country is inflicting on individuals, communities, countries, ecosystems, and our world. I understand why individuals and nations are angry, and boycotting and isolating America.
My response has been to ask,
What can I offer, and how can I support the creation of communities of respect, tolerance, kindness? How may we, as people who love animals, trees, oceans, the Earth, and who value gentleness, kindness, and sensitivity, create communities of mutual support, connection, and strength apart from the limitations of our human political, religious, and financial systems?
In part, my answer to this question was the creation of The POD: an Interspecies Partnership Circle focused on creating kinship, relationships, and resilience as we live in these times together; a global community of beings from all species who come together to create an oasis of connection, support, and sharing that transcends the borders and boundaries that seem to separate us.
What is the foundation of these communities?
Fundamentally, it is love.
🌀 Love for ourselves.
🌀 Love for each other–of all species.
🌀 Love for the Earth.
My beloved teacher, Rama Jyoti Vernon, often said:
“Love is the greatest power in the Universe, it’s the greatest healer and it transcends all the boundaries and all borders we have created with our own self-limitations.”
I remind myself of the last part of this statement frequently: “self-limitations.” Our ideas of who we are and are not, what we support and what we do not, what and who we care about and what and who we do not care about…all of these are self-limiting. They arise from the part of ourselves that has forgotten the unity, the connection, the oneness with all life that is the truth of our existence, no matter the specific individual expression of our lives.
Of course, remembering unity, oneness, and connection is easier to do with those who are like us, who share our vision, our perspectives, and our fundamental orientation to the world. It’s harder when we think about those with whom we disagree, or we don’t understand, or whose actions are opposed to the values that we hold dear.
One of the most challenging things to do is to balance this kind of openheartedness–a fundamental respect and reverence for all life, all beings–with discernment and clear-eyed vision about viewpoints, ideas, and behaviors that are harmful, dangerous, and destructive.
This quote on compassion from the Buddhist nun and teacher Pema Chödron is one that I refer to constantly for help in remembering the difference between open-heartedness and authentic compassion, and a lack of discernment and clear boundaries. It speaks to the importance of standing up against cruelty, aggression, and harmful behavior:
“The third near enemy of compassion is idiot compassion. This is when we avoid conflict and protect our good image by being kind when we should definitely say “no.” Compassion doesn’t only imply trying to be good. When we find ourselves in an aggressive relationship, we need to set clear boundaries. The kindest thing we can do for everyone concerned is to know when to say “enough.” Many people use Buddhist ideals to justify self-debasement. In the name of not shutting our heart we let people walk all over us. It is said that in order not to break our vow of compassion we have to learn when to stop aggression and draw the line. There are times when the only way to bring down barriers is to set boundaries.”
Pema Chödron-from the book The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times
[Note: I try to not use the word “idiot” as I’ve come to realize that it can be offensive and hurtful–but I respect the essence of this quote and teaching and want to share the quote accurately.]
In this time, stopping aggression, drawing the line, and bringing down barriers by setting clear boundaries seems more important than ever. In our personal lives, in our professional lives, and in our political lives, it’s important to say NO to hate, violence, cruelty, and aggression in all of its forms.
Animals of many species are wonderful teachers of these kinds of boundaries.
🐾 My cats think nothing of raising a paw to an incorrigible puppy who is pushing their boundaries and invading their space.
🐾 My Afghan hound Tashi will often take herself out of situations in which she isn’t comfortable…if necessary, with a snarl–her way of saying “NO, this isn’t good for me.”
🐋 A humpback whale I spent time with in the water many years ago loved being close to humans and sharing her gorgeous energy with them…until one person got “grabby” and pushed too close to her. Then, she simply turned and swam away.
Cultivating these kinds of connections and conversations–in community with both humans and other-than-humans of many species–is one way that we can explore what it means to come together in this time in a way that promotes peace, kindness, respect, and healing–and also that affirms clear boundaries.
Our world is experiencing so much chaos, so much destruction, and potentially, so much transformation. What that looks like will be an ongoing evolution of creation…and one that we can participate in, through our choices, our decisions, our words, and our actions.
If you’d like to join us in exploring these kinds of interspecies partnerships, connections, and in co-creating a community across borders, I invite you to join us in The POD.
May we, together, create relationships, communities, countries, and a world that nourishes, affirms, and protects all that we hold most dear.
