collective care

“What the world will become already exists in fragments and pieces, in experiments and possibilities.” ~Ruth Wilson Gilmore 

In this moment of planetary transformation, we straddle a crack between worlds where oppressive systems are crumbling and the creation of cooperative systems that nourish life increasingly emerge.  The intersecting systems of ableism, capitalism, heteropatriarchy, and white supremacy that frame how society operates is becoming less and less tolerable and are being met with worldwide resistance through practices of collective care.  According to the Othering & Belonging Institute, “cultures of care are practices that create belonging in the context of othering.”  The height of the COVID-19 pandemic set in motion a new surge of collective practices like mutual aid signifying a shift from the separative consciousness fueled by “mainstream” society towards the fundamental notion of our interdependence.  Imagining a world where everyone has enough and we all belong, we can harness our creative agency to cultivate practices towards our shared freedom.  Practices of care might take the form of listening, an event, a social space, work culture, grief circle, or a previously unseen image (Othering & Belonging) and can be done by anyone without requiring much outside of our willingness to extend care.  In a society dependent on the dollar for human interaction, practicing new ways to connect and have our needs met have the power to transform culture.  As we navigate this space of practicing a new world that allows life and future generations to thrive, how can we incorporate care practices within our lives so that we become part of that bridge forward? Counter to capitalism’s belief that only a few of us are worthy, a culture of care stands by the notion that no one goes home until we all do.  Let’s all walk each other home…