I find I don’t know where to begin this morning. I’m listening hard for spiritual guidance but have not found it thus far. We’re all so weary of the constantly evolving crises. But things seem to have reached a new low when babies are dying in Palestinian hospitals because of no electricity. This hits me particularly hard because of my years working in neonatal intensive care. I just can’t comprehend this.
It might seem counterintuitive, but we need to work locally in order to build the communities that will turn the tide away from authoritarianism and global injustices. These atrocities can only happen in the absence of those who will say “no”.
That is the only guidance I’ve found lately, that we need to work to improve our local communities. Communities like those of our ancestors where people knew their neighbors and helped each other. There are many reasons why our communities have become fragmented and we’ve become isolated. Now more than ever we need to rebuild our communities.
I’ve been writing about Mutual Aid and resilience for a long time, but haven’t explained much about how others canre build such communities now. What follows are a couple of ways to help begin to do that.
- I’ve been writing about this guide, THE RESILIENCE WE WANT, A Guide to Making Your Community Space into a Hub for Local Resilience and Mutual Aid.
- Recently, I came across a checklist to help understand where you are as you begin to do this work. The checklist has a number of questions to help you think about what you need to do to build a more resilient community. It covers the following areas:
- Community
- Emotional preparedness
- Practical skills
- Food
- Water
- Shelter
- Energy
- Transportation
- Finances
- Safety and security
- Health and wellness
- Technology and communication
You can download the checklist here: https://polycrisis.center/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/the-checklist-e28093-local-resilience-project.pdf
Polycrisis Center 