Is working with environmental activists different from working with mainstream institutions and corporations?
From activists of all kinds – environmentalists as well as lawyers – and even some of the journalists we’ve worked with, we hear the same questions: If I give up my anger, what will motivate me to work for change? If I practice “acceptance,” how will the good work get done? The answer is that there are deeper sources to draw from. But people don’t really get that until they experience it. They get confused about the idea of acceptance, as if acceptance is giving support to an injustice or being resigned. “In the West, meditation was always for a privileged few – priests, monks, secret orders. It is available now to many. Our work is to recognize this moment and give support to it.” – Charles Terry Member, Contemplative Mind Board of Trustees But acceptance is just being there. So that is always confusing. Anger bums you out. And among social activists, burnout is rampant. When people learn meditation practices for the first time, this idea of accepting things as they are is very confus
