El poder

Poder - La habildad de controlar las circunstancias. Power, the ability to control the circumstances. The question and the discussion of the day - Who or whom has the power? Maggie conducted an experiment before we actually delved into the question. We were all divided into three groups. Each group was given a different amount and a different type of materials and told to create a logo for the Colectivo 41 project. I happened to be in the group that had the most materials. Thanks to one of the promotores whom is an artist, we created a colorful, finely executed logo. We returned to the circle, each group presented their logos, and Maggie decided that our group, Group 1, were the "winners." She then brought up the question, "Who had the power in this excersise?" A lively discussion followed as members from the other groups pointed out that they had very little material to work with and it made the ability to execute a creative idea much more difficult. It wasn't that we were not equal, it wasn't that we were not all capable of creativity, it was a matter of resources. From there, the conversation turned to lists. A list of people that had the power and a list of those that did not. The obvious? To be sure: the government/police/white people+gringos/rich people/men/the pope and priests/Catholic church/heterosexuals/bosses/narcos/pretty people. Those lacking: the people/the poor/women/employees and workers/LGBTI community/young people/indigenous people/people of color/ people with physical handicaps and deformities. Although we ran out of time before we could finish our discussion, I believe I will continue to meditate on these lists for quite awhile. I am thinking of all the many things we do not have control over - being born female, being born without hands, being born biologically as a female but identifying as a male, being born as a person of color. And of course, all the many things we have control over. All the decisions we are responsible for making every single second of every day. All the ways in which we may have contributed to the suffering or oppression of someone else. How I wish I could press a re-do button for some of my own actions. How many times I have made an assumption, and made a judgement, when I was ignorant of what was going one. At this time, I defer to a much wiser human than myself. In the words of Thich Nhat Hanh, "You are like a candle. Imagine you are sending light out all around you. All your words, thoughts and actions are going in many directions. If you say something kind, your kind words go in many directions, and you yourself go with them. We are ...transforming and continuing in a different form at every moment."