Mindful Activism, Synchronicity, and Ecstasy

The Compassionate Dance of Buncombe County and Planet Earth

In the wake of glimpsing two white squirrels in late February, synchronicities, eventfulness, learnings, and opportunities continue to unfold in March.

After meeting Brownie Newman, chairman of the Buncombe County Commission, at a Ukraine peace rally in downtown Asheville, NC, the county seat, I met with him and vice-chair Terri Wells, at county headquarters, to learn how the county is doing in implementing its 2043 vision and comprehensive plan, and to give them a copy of A Compassionate Civilization (ACC). I also recommended colleague Dede Styles for a position on the county Environment and Energy committee. That meeting led to a meeting with county staff member, Jennifer Harrison, county director of Agriculture and Land Resources, along with my colleague, environmentalist R. J. Taylor, and gifting her with a copy of ACC. Now, I am waiting to hear from another county staff member about another meeting.

So far, I learned that the county is addressing issues of affordable housing in the context of short-term rentals and the housing shortage, the need for sewer lines in some western locations, a shortage of land for housing development due to steep slopes, water quality, walkable destinations, the Swannanoa small area plan, Swannanoa River Greenway Initiative, and the future of the Swannanoa library.

There is a county resolution calling for 100% renewable energy, along with conservation goals, and a clean water fund. Priorities for the rest of 2024 include affordable housing, preservation of nature, and higher wages in the county. The county is on track with its plan to conserve 20% of county land by 2030. There is an Asheville-Buncombe “Continuum of Care” in place for the homeless. With a twenty year vision and comprehensive plan, the county conducts five year planning, two year planning, and budget retreats. The county recognizes the need to foster partnerships of all sectors including governments, local communities, businesses, nonprofits, academia, and media.

I shared two graphics with the commissioners and county staff, one on the Institute of Cultural Affairs’ Technology of Participation (ToP) process of strategic planning, and another on the ToP implementation process.

Because of its concern for climate change mitigation and adaptation, Asheville is known as Climate City, and I now have a strong sense that Buncombe is Compassion County. My dream is to help the county realize its 2043 vision by catalyzing collaborative implementation among the public sector, community sector, voluntary sector, private sector, media, and academia, as a model for the world.

I also had conversations in the past two weeks with Anzhela Greene, head of the Alliance of US-Ukraine City Partnerships based in Asheville; Jawad Haddadin, a facilitator in Jordan, concerning his plans to create an Arabic language edition of ACC; colleagues Jan Sanders and Blase Sands (Canada) regarding expanded uses of my NYU Wagner course curriculum on “Innovative Leadership for Sustainable Development”; Kathleen Osta, founder of Vital Clarity, and local master facilitator trained in ICA’s Technology of Participation (ToP); Scott Kirschenbaum, a local film director (“The Last Ecstatic Days”), and Warren Wilson College adjunct professor of a course on “artistic expression in the age of climate change”; colleague Courtney Bruch, a guide for the local Center of Conscious Living and Dying; Favour Adeola, a Communications grad student at Oklahoma State University (OSU) from Nigeria, concerning a possible summer internship with Compassionate Civilization Collaborative (C3); and neighbor Ted Eisenbeis, chair of our local Democratic party precinct.

I also participated online in a meeting of the Asheville-Buncombe County Homeless Initiative advisory committee, and a global Zoom discussion of a new book sponsored by Jindal School of Government and Public Policy (India), Applied Spirituality and Sustainable Development Policies, including my chapter. And finally, a new podcast was released by Global Heart 2 Heart of my interview on embodying and envisioning compassionate action, and a new piece was published on Substack including two new videos and a new podcast.

Events scheduled in the second half of March include the arrival in Asheville of Svitlana Salamatova, president of the Geopolitical Alliance of Women in Ukraine, after participating in the 68th meeting of the UN Commission on the Status of Women held in New York City. She will be bringing me a copy of the Ukrainian language edition of ACC, and meeting with Anzhela Greene, head of the Alliance of US-Ukraine City Partnerships. I arranged for Svitlana to meet in NYC with UNDP policy advisors on gender, Ukraine, and cities’ associations. Mary Alice Arre, founder of Global Heart 2 Heart, and I have another interview and dialogue scheduled. And, I will participate in a meeting of the local Democratic precinct to prepare to get out the vote (GOTV) in the critical elections this year.

What is emerging from these encounters? What transformations are possible? What are the interconnections of implementing a twenty year vision of local governance and development, facilitating multi-sector partnerships, promoting innovative, facilitative leadership, ecstatic living and dying in community, creative film making, deepening democracy through elections, caring for the homeless, championing climate change mitigation and adaptation, strengthening women’s rights, promoting peace in Ukraine, an Arabic ACC, building city partnerships, and dialoging about embodying a compassionate civilization?

What about you? What synchronicities are you experiencing? What are you hoping, planning, doing, and learning? How is your mindful activism going? How are you caring for the living Earth? How are you caring for society at local, national, and global levels? How are you caring for family and friends? How are you taking care of your body-mind in this challenging moment?

May all beings everywhere realize peace, happiness, understanding, and compassion!

And may we continue to dance the ecstatic dance of transformation.