I was on friendly terms with Wynn Bruce, the Boulder, CO man who burned himself to death as an act of climate protest in front of the Supreme Court on Earth Day this past April. I knew him as a kind hearted person with a passion for photography, whose empathy for people came through in his photographs. I also knew him as an environmentalist and avid cyclist, even when it meant a long ride in the rain. He was 50 years old.

The first question that comes up in conversations about his act of protest and sacrifice is “what difference will it make?” It’s a question that’s not possible to answer.

The news of such a death will touch everyone who hears of it differently. Some will be unfazed, others profoundly moved. Some will go deeper into despair. Others, such as myself, will find it a resounding mindfulness bell calling us to pay even more attention to self care, healthy vulnerability and resilience, and the Great Mystery and profound paradoxes we’re entangled in.

The Way Out is In

I’m reminded once again of one of the most powerful questions we can ask of ourselves: What’s mine to do?

What can I contribute that is aligned with Life—with Love and care and wakefulness?

I need not ask what difference it will make and think only in terms of outer change. Instead, I can believe in ripple effects and the power of intention.

I can be grateful that I’m are not in charge of evolution and the state of the world, and still place myself within a larger story.

I can trust the wisdom inherent in the Four Capacities of the Active Peacemaker: Not Knowing, Bearing Witness, Loving Action, and Non-attachment to Outcome.

Dispelling Darkness with Light

Living in guilt and shame that I’m not doing enough is not helpful. Neither is the sense of doom and bottomless grief so many are living with. I’m intimately familiar with those thoughts and I feel for people who find themselves there. I was stuck there a long time. The culture around me encouraged it. Now it’s increasingly urgent to offer ways out.

It took me a long time to connect with Love as the matrix upon which the whole show plays out. Then the doors started to open to so many fresh possibilities, including an embodied sense of interconnection with EVERYTHING. That, in turn, aligned me with Life and Source in an unshakable way. I could then bear witness to all kinds of violence and injustice and still stay grounded. There was room for everything. I could be amazed by the fullness and blessing of this human experience and still get very sad. I could hold paradox. Wish they taught something about that in school!

Yes, much is being lost and more will be lost. To be impacted by that is natural and healthy.

On the surface, the unraveling of civilization as we know it can look like a great calamity. Look deeper and it can look more like an insistent wake up call to realign our collective selves with Life.

You can see our predicament as a personal and collective rite of passage — and attend to your piece of that with great humility.

I offer all of this humbly. Wynn’s passing has led me to a lot of personal reflection. I even dreamt just the other night that I too was going to burn myself to death. We’re all in it together!

I offer prayers of gratitude and well wishes to Wynn and the others who have gone before. These are challenging times—security shattering, life threatening times—that require many a mindfulness bell and continuous realignment with Life, Love, Earth, Spirit.

I‘m ever more grateful for the path of Active Peace that helps to hold me here.

P.S. Here’s another example of a post that was hard to write. There’s so much that has to get left out lest it turn into a full scale essay or book (and I already wrote that book). As always I welcome your feedback. What was helpful? Unhelpful? What does it leave you feeling?

Photo Credit: Stephen R. Jones