Systems Thinking Discipline
A new gig for the author of Harrowings
We are nothing. We believe we are something. We know we are mortal. This is true.
So, as we rise and fall from the field of love, what shall we do with this one precious apparition of “us” here? The Beatles said it well when they wrote “Life is very short and there’s no time for fussing and fighting, my friend.”
A few days ago, the Daily Aphorism from Discipline Global Mobile said simply, “Our enemy is our friend.” When we hate deeply, we are projecting our own shadows onto another “incarnation of Love” which I believe all of us are. So let’s drop it. Let’s embrace each other and celebrate each other as we are, here and now.
Yesterday, I started my day at Daily Provisions, the third day of five training shifts with receiving the news that one of my acquaintances here in DC had died over the weekend. I was surprised because it seemed to me that he, of all people, was a survivor. Here is a bit more about him that I had written yesterday evening as the news sank in:
“Donald Aucoin, a lifelong Washington, D.C. activist who fought on the front lines of the HIV/AIDS crisis and continued organizing until the end, died this weekend.
A veteran of ACT UP, Aucoin brought bold, media-savvy direct action to the streets during the height of the epidemic, helping pressure the government and pharmaceutical companies to accelerate research and treatment. Living with HIV himself and a former AIDS nurse, he never forgot the lesson that visibility saves lives.
In 2017, he co-founded the D.C. chapter of Rise and Resist alongside transgender activist Willem Miller. Modeling the group on ACT UP’s playbook, he led “zap” protests at the Capitol, Department of Justice, and beyond to defend LGBTQ+ rights, healthcare, immigrant justice, and racial equity.
Known as a mentor who bridged generations, Aucoin remained active into 2025, most recently dancing at the “Tesla Takedown” protest in Georgetown. His fierce intersectional organizing and refusal to disappear left an indelible mark on the city’s activist community.
The D.C. streets have lost one of their most consistent voices. Rest in power, Donald. You showed up until the very end.”
So, Donald’s passing is yet another reminder of how we are all called upon to do what we can with what we have where we are to be the change we want to see in the world. I’m certain that tributes will be pouring in from all points that Donald touched. He was quite the traveller as well.
This brings me to the fact that we will soon be experiencing a new moment in the history of the organized political protests: No Kings 3. It’s one way that we can express our discontent with the current administration. It’s just one provocation after another from all of us toward each other which plays right into the hands of those who appear, for now, to hold the reins of power.
How much more effective will it be to act with awareness, with consciousness, of the fact that every cent spent is a vote for the kind of world we are co-creating? We must do better. We can only do better if we know better.
I try to take a 50000 mile high view of our planet. Projecting my consciousness out a fifth of the way to the moon gives me perspective. We are such brief flashes on the surface of eternity and we struggle so mighily both with each other and just for survival. So many are still denied a long life.
I don’t know, I just know how things seem to me. I am reminded of the “Facts of Life” as expressed by King Crimson, although we are now up to over 8.275 billion:
Six billion ants crawling on a plate
Six billion ants crawling on a plate
None of them give back as much as they take
Six billion ants crawling on a plate
Doesn't mean you should just because you can
It doesn't mean you should just because you can
Like Abraham and Ishmael fighting over sand
It doesn't mean you should just because you can
That is a fact of life
That is a fact of life
Now some of us build and some of us teach
Some of us build, some of us teach
And some of us kill what some of us eat
That is a fact of life
That is a fact of life
Nobody knows what happens when you die
Nobody knows what happens when you die
Believe what you want, it doesn't mean you're right
Each of us is a system of systems that work together to create our experience of living.
I am thinking more and more of systems thinking as I engage in the new gig, working as “Front of House” at the corner cafe two blocks away. I am incredibly lucky to have been given this opportunity. I’m fatigued but also inspired by having the chance to get my hands and mind moving, taking in as much as I can of the movements and contentment of our customers. The inner work of processing all of the information consumes my sleep as well. Learning to have the nervous system calm itself is a big part of this:
“Breathing in, I calm my body.
Breathing out, I know this is a great moment.
Breathing in, this supreme moment!
Breathing out, YES YES YES!”
Wavy Gravy
That’s the formula for getting back on track; back in the body with two mindful breaths taken together.
The system of systems that we collectively compose depend upon us continuing to breathe and to put into practice a rhythm which is near and dear to my heart. Follow the beat and put left foot in front of the right. We will get from dawn to dusk and back again until our breathing stops. Let’s get the signal through the noise. We are all one.
We are everthing…and we are nothing:
Pete wears a button on his jumpsuit showing Meher Baba. This is what it’s all about.
Onward!
Click a button. Any button…
We can always be grateful that we CAN breathe. It's a gift. Many people can hardly breathe. And, yes, we are all one. Something to honour. Thank you for showing up and caring the way you do. Love, Maria
This was beautiful, Hal. Donald’s life and your reflections are a much-needed reminder to meet each day—and each other—with compassion. We really are brief flashes, trying to make sense of it all. Thanks for sharing your perspective and for the reminder to breathe, connect, and keep showing up.