What is this Movement anyway?
Originally published on my Facebook post Oct 3 2018.
Me leading pledge of resistance on Dec 12, 2015. Photo by Jonathan H. Lee.
When will we learn that to heal IS the movement?
You cannot heal while you think that acquiring money is the summation of your existence.
You cannot heal when you think that you are nothing but a body and that everyone else is just a body too.
You cannot heal when you think you are entitled to sexually exploit others.
You cannot heal when you think you can harm whoever you want.
You cannot heal when you think you can take the land and water that belongs to others.
You cannot heal when you think that your life is more important than anyone else's life.
You cannot heal when you think that others are entitled to exploit you.
You cannot heal when you think that you must prioritize the needs of oppressors.
You cannot heal when you think you are not good enough.
You cannot heal when you think you have been abandoned.
It is these very things within ourselves that make us protect the systems of oppression that harm the world we live in today. By peeling back our internalized capitalism, colonialism, racism, and patriarchy, we begin to see how the world can be different, how we are part of a bio-diverse collective, how we can grow abundance. Then when we show up on the frontlines, we are showing up as a collective - abundant, courageous, grateful for the opportunity to serve Mother Earth.
That is why to heal IS the movement. And to heal together - that is victory. This is what my elders meant when they told me to be a spiritual warrior.
It's not about you. It's not about me. It's about HER. And she needs us to heal.
Resources:
Pledge of resistance: https://youtu.be/Kxax4EiWiic
Hindu definition of Patriarchy: https://youtu.be/HvQVSMme2h4
1,000 Years of Hindu Colonial Trauma: https://www.zarnajoshi.com/hindu-colonial-trauma
Decolonizing Yoga: https://www.zarnajoshi.com/yoga
Anti-oppression and cultural appropriation: https://www.zarnajoshi.com/blog/hinduphobic-anti-oppression
Roman imperialism is US imperialism: Italians are White
Roman genocide of Druids: https://www.zarnajoshi.com/blog/roman-genocide-of-druids
Sacred trees and colonizers: https://www.zarnajoshi.com/blog/sacred-trees-and-colonizers
The Nazi hakenkreuz is not a swastika: https://www.zarnajoshi.com/blog/the-nazi-hakenkreuz-is-not-a-swastika
Internalized oppression in Wales: https://www.zarnajoshi.com/blog/internalized-oppression-in-wales
How western feminists totally miss the point: https://www.zarnajoshi.com/blog/hunting-means-power-and-other-patriarchal-nonsense