The Same Root
ServiceSpace
--Zilong Wang
2 minute read
Feb 26, 2015

 

Recently, I watched two powerful documentaries within the span of two days, each delving into a heart-wrenching and enraging theme (plastic waste and its global trade; state surveillance and liberty). The back-to-back exposure to just two of the various facets of our mega-crises prompted me to wonder: Are these problems related? What’s the root cause?

The first one, Plastic China, by filmmaker Wang Jiuliang (of Beijing Besieged by Waste fame), traces the global plastic waste trade, and documents the shocking impact on the Chinese regions/people that receive and process these garbage. Below are some images from the film, which will be released this summer.





While watching the film (a preview), I alternated between wanting to cry, to vomit, and to release the indignation — not knowing how.

The second film, is the Oscar-winning Citizenfour. The movie is shocking and inspiring.

The painful hangover soon arrived from watching these powerful documentaries. On one hand, I want to help, to act, to do something. On the other hand, I worry about the short half-life of these bursts of activism. The passion and interests are rarely sustained.

Also, our human psyche can only hold that much pain of the world before it shuts down, or turns to self-numbing, as self-protection. Plastic waste and surveillance are only two among endless painful sides of our civilization. Where do I start? To what end do I strive for?

Our limited (and quickly diminishing) attention span is drawn upon by the myriad of problems. Different problems, campaigns, NGOs, etc, compete for our weary and callused eyeballs — and our stretched wallet. It is increasingly clear that we can not Band-Aid our way to salvation.

But, my inquiries — and more importantly, instinct — tell me that all these problems are related — their roots are connected, and they lie within.Unless the inner-transformation takes place, our material solutions will be partial, short-lived, carrying much unintended consequences. Similarly, until we put our inner-growth to test in the “real world” — and use the messy real world as the best monastery of cultivation — we risk being “prematurely equanimous”, as Joanna Macy said.

Eager to step more fully into the inner-outer-(r)evolution with fellow Shambhala Warriors☺

 

Posted by Zilong Wang on Feb 26, 2015


1 Past Reflections