Current Events

Intention:

The socio-political world is one of the important contexts of our lives. The historical times that we live in affect to a lesser or greater degree our experiences, our actions, and our options. We can learn about how we are being impacted by and how to have an impact on social and political events at local, regional, national, international, and global levels.

This exercise provides an opportunity to examine our experiences in relation to notable current events. It invites us to try periods of immersion and withdrawal from the media and activities related to events in the socio-political spheres. Rather than feeling like passive information recipients, we can decide when and how to inform and mobilize ourselves on issues that concern us. And we can more intentionally and deliberately regulate the degree of involvement and participation that we choose, in order to engage sustainably.

Instruction:

For the immersive experience, set aside a period of time (a weekend, a week, a month) in which you purposely expose yourself to multiple sources of information about current events, such as social media, websites, newspapers, news magazines, radio & television programs, and events. Get actively involved by participating in meetings, forums, making calls, and writing to elected officials. Take frequent mental notes of your thoughts and emotions, and write them down.

For the retreat experience, set aside a period of time (a weekend, a week, a month) in which you purposely avoid sources of information about current events. Avoid people, places, and situations related to activism on socio-political issues. You can unplug from the influence of broadcast and social media. Take frequent mental notes of your thoughts and emotions, and write them down.

Compare and contrast the two experiences and answer the guiding questions below.

Inspection:

·       What thoughts, questions, emotions, reactions did you experience?

·       What did you learn that will help you to deliberately balance your levels of exposure and participation in relation to current events in the socio-political environment?

CURRENT EVENTS:

IMMERSION EXPERIENCE

CURRENT EVENTS:

RETREAT EXPERIENCE