Doing Hope; Clare Bonetree 2019



Doing Hope; Clare Bonetree 2019Image of plant with spiky leaves arranged in spiral patternBackgroundIn 2014 I went on a training for activists experiencing burnout at Ecodharma, a Buddhist community in the mountains of Catalonia. There I began to see, for the first time, that my desire for radical social transformation and the need to develop my inner resources are inseparable. Thich Nhat Hanh says: “Peace in oneself, peace in the world.” Neither can wait for the other: we have to do both at the same time. I wanted to find a way to share this with people who might never go up that mountain. Because it's too difficult for their body, or too expensive to get there; or they don’t want to go to a Buddhist community, or they can’t get two weeks off.The Ecodharma training was based on Joanna Macy's Work that Reconnects, a course of workshops for activists to develop resilience that is expressed in a spiral of four movements (see Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone's book Active Hope). I've also been learning about trauma, post-traumatic stress, and recovery, and noticed that the spiral maps onto the four stages of trauma recovery outlined by Judith Herman (in her book Trauma and Recovery). When I saw my friend Jay’s performance about their journey through anger, fear, sadness and courage in activism for the earth, I saw the spiral mapped onto their experience, too. Image of sunflowerThis workshop is based on that pattern: grounding in gratitude and creating the container of love; acknowledging what grieves us and brings us low; finding a new way to see through a lens of hope; committing to go out into the world renewed. Most importantly, we do this together.The workshop was designed in 2018 for a group of Quaker social justice activists. Experienced facilitator friends helped me develop it, and have tried it out with other groups and adapted it. It’s constantly evolving. We hope you finds it helpful, and that it inspires you to explore the Work that Reconnects further.What is Hope?Some people think hope is simply grasping at straws, a mask for despair. Derek Jensen says he has given up hope - as it's about fantasy, and loss of agency, and waiting passively for others to make things right. I think he’s talking about ‘feeling hopeful’, which is a momentary experience. But I think hope is more than that. Rebecca Solnit thinks it's about looking forward without attachment to the outcome of what you're doing. I think hope is a kind of faith in action: faith that you know what you are doing will bring about a better world or at least a change in that direction, or will contribute to the better world, but without any clinging to how it will contribute or that the change will be obvious, or even that you'll be around to see it - or that there's even a linear relationship between what you do and the ultimate outcome. According to this meaning of hope, ‘being hopeful’ is not just being na?vely optimistic. It’s making a conscious effort to reorient our mental energies to believe that through action we are bringing about that change that we have faith will come about if we act.In the book 'Active Hope', Joanna Macy & Chris Johnstone suggest hope can be “a practice like gardening or tai chi … something we do rather than have”, something that we can get better at over time by doing more of it. They say that we create hope when we take action from a grounded understanding of how things really are – both good and bad. Hope is an energy, like love. Hope is the attitude that we take into the future, and the power that drives us forward. Hope is barely possible alone – we renew and relight it in each other, through collective movement and action.In this sense, hope is a kind of renewable energy, empowering and effective. This kind of hope motivates actions that inspire others to take further action. Faith in our own abilities and agency requires hope, but also generates it – that's the renewable cycle of hope. We create hope by doing, we need hope to act. Doing hope is committing to being part of the cycle.FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)Who is this workshop for?Anyone who is working – paid or unpaid – for social and environmental justice, who wants to develop their resilience gain a new tool for renewing their motivation and energy to keep going. It works best for a group who already have some kind of bond – e.g. an affinity or action group, people who already know each other or work together, or a group of people with a shared faith or other shared bond of trust.What can we use this workshop for?This workshop gives you a chance to take a step back from the ‘what’ of your activism to check in with the ‘why’, and to practise a tool that can help you renew your motivation. You can use it to re-energise / renew your group’s commitment before planning / taking action; strengthen group connections as part of an away day; re-energise courage when you’re engaged in a long-term campaign or struggle. This workshop is not a place for therapeutic work to deal with deep grief, and though it’s inspired by Active Hope and the Work that Reconnects, it is not a substitute. In fact I hope it inspires you to explore these!Can anyone facilitate this workshop?Yes – using this toolkit you can facilitate your own Doing Hope workshop. But having an outside facilitator or pair of facilitators means everyone in your group can actively take part in the workshop. In my experience, you can’t facilitate and take part. This toolkit contains some notes about how to facilitate the workshop.How long do we need?The workshop lasts 2 hours - you can do it in 90 minutes (see the agenda for alternate timings) but it’s better if you can give it a bit longer, especially for a bigger group. It’s good for people to arrive early to settle, and have quiet space afterwards to process their experience.What if big stuff comes up in the workshop?I’ve tried to keep the language in the workshop lighter – e.g. asking ‘what brings you to feel discouraged or sad’, rather than ‘what makes you feel hopeless’. But some people are carrying such sadness and grief for the world that it doesn’t take much to access those deeper, large feelings. See the section on ‘Taking Care of Each Other’.Taking Care of Each OtherThis workshop is most useful if we are open with ourselves, and each other. This means taking the risk of being a little vulnerable with each other, while also respecting our own and each others’ boundaries. Afterwards, people may be more open for a little while. This can bring up feelings of sadness and people may be a little tender. Taking part in this workshop is also a commitment to taking care of each other afterwards in our ongoing action and work together. Here are a few ways we can take care of each other – you can probably think of more!By listening deeply to one another: listening to each other's hearts, listening with our hearts, listening beneath the words we hear and our reactions to them, listening beyond our own selves and our own fears and desires. Deep listening is a way of encouraging the speaker without using words. By speaking from our hearts as well as our heads. By assuming goodwill: if someone says something that lands hurtfully, we can choose to assume they are trying their best. Assuming goodwill creates a space where we can call each other in and learn together.Image of pebbles on a beach arranged in the shape of an ear In our busy culture and action-oriented groups, we have so little time to be care-full. This workshop creates a little break from all that, and a space full of care if you can open your hearts to it.After the workshop you might want to arrange a follow up meeting to check in with each other (it’s a good idea to keep this separate from an action-planning or business meeting). You also might want to explore changing how you communicate, or how you plan actions and campaigns, to create more space for care.How to Facilitate this Workshop1. Prepare yourselfknow the workshop agenda in detail (though also make sure you have a copy with you!)have a clock on the wall that's easy to read, and sync it with your watch / timekeeperknow what you're going to say – it helps to have a script (see next page)be able to spot when someone's in trouble and have a plan for what to do – maybe have a co-facilitator to help watch the group, and hold the spacetake care of yourself and your needs so you are alert and ready - make sure you have enough sleep the night before and have eaten something healthy (and not drunk too much caffeine!)spend some time in the room before participants arrive and get a sense of the space you are holding for themground yourself before the workshop: sit and gently follow your breath for a few minutes, tracing your awareness through your body from the tips of your toes to the top of your head, massage your hands and feet, stand and stretch2. Prepare the roomIt helps to be comfortable when you do this workshop. Ask yourself these questions about the space you are holding the workshop:Is it accessible and easy for the group to get to? Are there accessible toilets nearby?Is it quiet enough for everyone to hear each other speak, and hear the bells for each exercise? Is it large enough so that small groups and pairs can have space for storytelling?Is it an inspiring space? Can you make it look nice? Maybe put some inspiring quotes or pictures on the walls, as well as a drawing of the spiral of Doing Hope or Active Hope, and the list of ground rules (see script).Is it comfortable and warm and well lit?3. What to say / Writing a scriptIt helps to plan what you’re going to say for each section of the workshop in advance, and write a script so you don’t forget to include everything. There’s a suggested script in this toolkit, but it’s important to write your own so that it’s in your own words. Your script is only the bare bones of what you will say while facilitating. Here’s a list of the key points that you need to reiterate during the workshop:This workshop is based on Joanna Macy’s Work that Reconnects course, and the Active Hope book by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone. Encourage participants to check these out and explore further.At each stage, reference the spiral and say something like: “Now we come to the next stage of the spiral…” It helps to have a picture on the wall.This workshop is too short to go deep with feelings, so encourage participants to take care of themselves and bear this in mind.4. Some facilitation tipsI don’t always remember all these, but I have them written down and try to remember to go through them before the workshop:Learn to ‘listen’ to the unspoken dynamics and energies in a group if you can - practice listening without intervening in conversations, and practice deep listening with friends Try to be aware that people in the group are having different experiences from each other – and from you – and you can’t tell what someone is feeling or thinking by looking at them. Go at a steady pace, while keeping mindful of the time. For the go-rounds, you can start each one off by giving an example of what you mean (e.g. saying what weather system you are, or giving 1 word to say what you will take away).Be careful of shutting people down, invite people to wrap up if they go over time or go on too long. Treat people equally – allow everyone the same length of time in a go-round, this will also help you to keep to time.Try to be sensitive to visible and invisible impairments and when referring to sensory or physical characteristics, offer alternatives (e.g. in the reconnecting shakeout – “if you’d like to stand up for this feel free” ensuring that those who can’t stand are not singled out).Some Script I use1: IntroThis workshop is inspired by Joanna Macy’s Work that Reconnects. It offers a process for grounding ourselves in love, facing what grieves us, and remembering and sharing stories of hope, so we can go out into the world with renewed energy.Although this short workshop may not give you space to work deeply with all that saddens you, you can use this process to work with discouragement and hope at any time you need to. Some groundrules to suggest / offer the group: Respect yourself - take care of your own needs, leave the room if you need toRespect others - listen deeply, assume goodwill if something lands uncomfortably with you, confidentiality of this spaceRespect the process – respect timings, share space, engage as much as you canIs there anything you need to take part comfortably? Any access needs the group needs to know about?2: Gratitude:We start by grounding ourselves in gratitude for what we love.3: Grief:The next stage of the spiral is about acknowledging our grief for the world. Though this workshop is not the place to investigate our deepest pain, having together created a holding container of gratitude, let’s take this opportunity to acknowledge that our desire for change comes from our sadness, too.4: Sharing Stories of Hope & Inspiration:In this stage we refresh our ability to see through a lens of hope. Take a moment to recall something that you took part in or witnessed, that inspired you or made you feel hopeful, nourished, sustained. Then in your smaller groups, over the next 15 minutes, identify and share feelings, words, and themes that express the positive energy you experienced. Choose one and work out how to share it as a story or some other way with the other group. 5: Going Forth RenewedLet’s take a moment to reflect on how we’re feeling now, having heard and shared these stories.Take a seed from the bowl and in a single word or phrase, share what you’re taking away from this workshop.The Doing Hope workshop plan Timings given for a 90 minute workshop with alternate timings for 2 hour workshop in brackets.Things you need for the workshop: A bell. A poster of the spiral process on the wall (see resources section of this toolkit), and a poster of ground rules (see the section in this toolkit on Some Script I Use). Some quotes about hope written out and stuck to the walls. Flip charts and coloured pens, coloured wool (for the story telling section). A wooden or brass bowl with seeds in it (for the closing).Have everyone sit in a circle. Introduction - 15 minutesIntroduce the workshop and yourselfGo around the circle with each person saying their name and the pronoun they use, and what kind of weather system they are todayGratitude - 20 minutes (or 30 minutes)Introduce this section is about grounding ourselves in gratitude (see the section in this toolkit on Some Script I Use)Invite participants to take a couple of minutes to reflect in silence on: “Something in this world that I feel grateful for”.Ring a bell at the end of the reflection.Go around the circle with each person sharing in one or two words only something that they feel grateful for, without sharing the detail of their reflections. This sharing part can go longer in the longer version of the workshop.Acknowledging sadness – 10 minutesIntroduce this section is about acknowledging our sadness and anger for the world.Invite participants to get into a pair with someone next to them.Invite participants to take a minute to think in silence about: “What can bring me to feel discouraged, and how I allow that part of myself”. Ring a bell at the end.In their pairs, participants take 1 minute each, taking turns, to talk about: “What can bring me to feel discouraged” while their pair partner listens. At the end of the minute ring a bell so the speaker and listener can swap roles.In pairs again, participants take 1 minute each, taking turns, to talk about: “How I take care of myself with this feeling” while their pair partner listens. At the end of the minute ring a bell so the speaker and listener can swap roles.Reconnecting and changing mood – 5 minutesInvite everyone to turn back into the big circle, invite everyone to copy you and massage their hands, make circles with their wrists and ankles, stand, shake out their hands, arms, feet, legs. Become still. Look around and exchange a gesture of greeting with someone else in the circle.Sharing stories of hope – 35 minutesIntroduce this section is about reminding ourselves and each other of hope. Divide participants into 2 groupsInvite everyone to take a minute in silence to remember an action that they witnessed directly or took part in that made them feel inspired or hopeful.The groups have 15 minutes to share within their groups feelings, words, or themes from the individual reflections – and choose 1 in their group to share with the other group as a story or in some other way. Give them the flip charts, pens and coloured wool to play with!Each group has 10 minutes to share their chosen story with the other group. Closing – 5 minutes (or 25 minutes)Form a circle. Invite everyone to reflect in silence for a moment on: “How I feel on hearing and sharing these stories”.Go around the group, handing around the bowl, with each person taking a seed and sharing 1 word on what they will take away from the workshop. People can say more than one word if you are doing the longer workshop.Invite the group to acknowledge each other and this time together by looking around the circle and offering a gesture of thanks. Some ResourcesBooks:Active Hope by Joanna Macy and Chris JohnstoneTrauma and Recovery by Judith Lewis HermanHope in the Dark by Rebecca SolnitPeople and Permaculture by Looby MacnamaraRadical Dharma by Reverend Angel Kyodo Williams and Lama Rod OwenSome websites: A map inspired by the Active Hope spiralImage of a spiral with arrows around it showing four images with words spaced around the spiral: at the centre a heart and the word “gratitude”, then a face with closed eyes and tears and the word “grief”, then mushrooms trees and flowers with the words “re-membering and re-minding”, finally a bright sun with the words “going forth in courage”. Along the side of this drawing it says: A map inspired by the Active Hope Spiral. ................
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