黑料正能量

An increasing pile of evidence points to the biological imperative of attachment 鈥� not聽only in our early formative years, but throughout our entire lives. For some, this is聽revolutionary; for others, it鈥檚 old news.

Throughout the gospels, Jesus makes clear the necessity of attachment, both with God and聽amongst ourselves 鈥� analogizing that he is the vine and his followers are the branches,聽Jesus says, 鈥淛ust as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither聽can you unless you abide in me鈥� (John 15:4, NRSV). Later, when he commissions his disciples, he doesn鈥檛聽send them out alone 鈥� he sends them out in pairs.

Other religious traditions also make clear the value and importance of attachment,聽though perhaps with different words (and unique insights). Interbeing, for example, is聽the Buddhist teaching that nothing can be by itself alone, that everything in the cosmos聽must 鈥渋nter-be鈥� with everything else. Thich Nhat Hanh writes in Living Buddha, Living Christ, 鈥淲hen we see the nature聽of interbeing, barriers between ourselves and others are dissolved, and peace, love, and聽understanding are possible. Whenever there is understanding, compassion is born.鈥�

Though it isn鈥檛 technically considered a 鈥渞eligion,鈥� Alcoholics Anonymous also exemplifies聽this value of attachment as a core principle, embodied through the practice of sponsorship聽鈥� something that many describe as the backbone of AA.

And yet here we are, over a decade deep into the 21st century, and we鈥檝e got聽neuroscientists and Ph.D.鈥檚 talking about connectedness in venue’s like 黑料正能量’s recent as if it鈥檚 some sort of聽groundbreaking idea. There is certainly something positive to be said for affixing solid,聽scientific evidence to what many would call intuitive knowledge. In the Western world of聽skepticism, if you want to give something legitimacy, you have to back it up with research聽and quantifiable evidence (check out Brian Gumm鈥檚 for more聽on the history and impact of this). But for those who see these 鈥渄iscoveries鈥� as nothing聽more than new words affixed to old concepts, the trending enthusiasm may feel like聽something of an insult.

Western peacebuilders often speak of mutuality in their work 鈥� that they seek to both teach聽and learn from the international communities that they鈥檙e engaging with. Unfortunately,聽there are too few examples of truly reciprocal relationships. Too often the question聽is, 鈥淗ow do I make this tool/strategy/theory that I鈥檝e already established work in a聽different context?鈥� We aren鈥檛 so foolish as to suggest that peacebuilding is a one-size-fits-all sort of endeavor, but we do tend to stubbornly insist on adapting preconceived聽methodologies.

A famous Buddhist story tells of a young student visiting a famous Zen Master. When tea聽is served, the teacher pours his guest鈥檚 cup full and then continues to pour. The student聽watches in shock as tea spills over the rim and all over the table. The master continues聽though, seemingly oblivious to the expanding puddle until finally the student can stand it聽no more 鈥� “Stop! The cup is overflowing! No more will go in!”

“Like this cup,” the teacher explains, “you are full of your own opinions and speculations.聽How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”

John Paul Lederach told a group of CJP folks after the conference that having an attitude of humility means 鈥減reparing yourself聽every day to be surprised by something new.鈥� We as peacebuilders need to empty our聽cups and prepare ourselves for surprise. Some of those surprises might be revealed to us聽through charts and diagrams and books and lectures, but I鈥檇 venture to say that most of聽them are already available to us in the untapped wealth of relationships that surround us聽every day; after all, our best opportunity for learning about connection is through actual聽connectedness, right?

Now we just need to convince the Academy that potlucks and tea parties are valid聽replacements for papers and tests鈥�