It’s the Collapse of Society That’s Exhausting
This discussion about sleep is a good one. [See previous three articles.] I struggle with getting enough sleep and rest. I also think that we need to be clear that it’s not RC that is exhausting us, it is the collapse of society.
I don’t think the lack of sleep on the two or three nights of a workshop are a threat to our individual survival. I think the question is, “What do we need to discharge on and change in our lives so we arrive at an RC workshop ready to work long and hard for a couple of days on a revolutionary project?”
We need to make sure that we don’t let patterns of discouragement or entitlement affect our attitudes toward RC workshops. We don’t want to make the jobs of workshop organizers and leaders more difficult than they already are. We don’t want to restrict a leader’s time with us or pile extra work on an organizer by expecting them to meet all of our unmet needs.
I remember staying up until 3:00 a.m. at a workshop, watching Harvey Jackins* do panels with every oppressed group. I would not be the leader I am today without all that I learned from his workshops, and others.
Figuring out how to live well in a collapsing society is a good thing and necessary to our work. I find helpful a line from the RC Parents’ Commitment, “. . . some day I’ll get a little rest.” A personal direction from Harvey, “If you get a chance to do nothing, take it,” is one that I can actually remember and act on outside of sessions.
*Harvey Jackins was the founder and the first International Liberation Reference Person of the Re-evaluation Counseling Communities.
Freeport, Maine, USA
Reprinted from the e-mail discussion list for RC Community members
(Present Time 198, January 2020)