The Beloved Community
The ABCs of TBC (“The Beloved Community”)
The Beloved Community: A community in which everyone is cared for, absent of poverty, hunger, hate, homelessness, physical violence, and policy violence. Also, a critical mass of angelic warriors and extraordinary ordinary citizens committed to and trained in methods of nonviolence to come together to solve social issues, divisions, struggles, and savage inequities.
Here are the letters of the alphabet, so to speak – the ABCs – for the vocabulary of nurturing and nourishing a brave, social justice-driven Beloved Community online to grow The Beloved Community (TBC) outside in “the real world.”’
(1.) Establish a spirited, upbeat tone of inclusiveness, belonging, and collaborative, respectful energy rippling with mission and vision-driven aspiration.
Dwell in possibility, as the poet Emily Dickinson said. Abide in inspiration.
Point to the constellations to guide us to that “one particular harbor” (thank you, Jimmy Buffet!), The Beloved Community (TBC).
(2.) Always communicate in good faith with earnest respect and authentic lovingkindness. Make sure your messages come from a good place with good motives to build TBC.
That doesn’t mean to be saccharine, demurring, and deferring. That doesn’t mean being fake or politically inauthentic. That doesn’t mean feigning ignorance (“ahh shucks…I don’t know.”) or “hot potato dance” inability (you’ll have to ask this or that person because it’s not up to me.”).
Such attitudes and acts guarantee milquetoast mediocrity.
They guarantee the perpetuation of the caste system and the myth of meritocracy.
They guarantee the soul-crushing status quo wins.
(3.) Be strong and brave. Be prophetically principled.
The weather report is in. There’s been a long drought of prophetic vision and public moral courage. The situation is dire.
Your divining rods for compassionate justice and Beloved Community can transform the forecast.
Unleash thunderstorms of righteous rage against the absurdity and immorality of the 1%; the three-headed monster of ignorance, hate, and bigotry; systemic inequities; self-evident lapses, blind spots, and tone-deafness; and injustice in our neck of the woods and anywhere.
And always remember: You don’t need permission from any perceived authority to express authentic truths and ask challenging questions.
If your moral compass is pinging, then let it fly.
And if you’re not given a seat at the table, bring your own lawn chair.
Or a ladder. Or a sofa.
Or a trampoline or catapult.
Whatever it takes.
(4.) Make your prose poetry. Make your messages music.
(5.) Prepare reasonable portions, but make it a memorable meal. Not too big. But not so small as to leave out nuance and context.
(6.) Lace your poetry and music with verified facts and figures.
(7.) Soar and sing with the better angels of your nature.
To do so, self-guard against letting unconscious evolutionary echoes and other noises impinge on your flight or clip your wings: arrogance, superiorism, purity, presumption, privilege, golden-age nostalgia, settling scores, greed, elitism, smugness, cynicism, sycophantism, insecurity, the urge for control, the temptation for clever manipulation.
(8.) Practice Radical Humility, Hospitality, and Graciousness. Don’t dislocate your shoulder to pat yourself on the back. Let go of ego and control. Get out of your brave heart’s way.
(9.) Always be mindful of the residual takeaways and sustained momentum The Beloved Community (TBC) yearns for.
If your only or primary goal is to be right, to be in control, to glow in the mirage of your self-perceived brilliance, to live out a hero narrative, or to exercise internalized garbage from your childhood, EXORCISE your demons.
That’s right. You may have to dance with your own shadows and do grueling interior work before principled advocacy can glow from an earnest heart and flow from your lips.
After all, your goal is to serve TBC, not your ego or sublimated neurosis.
That can only happen when a ripple effect of goodness flows. Over time, as you build trust, relationships, and capacity, your supporters and allies will become a waterfall, then a torrent, then a tsunami of justice and community building.
Righteous waters roll forth on their own momentum.
Few tap the fountain and carry water to new lands without being asked or without knowing their own agency.
(10) Constantly pump the well of positive energy, for that is what changes the day, heals the wounds, slakes the thirst.
If we really believe in people power, grassroots energies, and servant leadership, know that only positive energy will change the stingy, stubborn status quo.
Unjust, unresponsive, or musty power systems only respond and change in a few ways from moral insurgencies
One way is when they are destabilized by creative insurgency. Another is when individuals and entities, over time and sometimes unconsciously, appropriate good ideas and policies as their own.
Either way, to be effective, your messaging must have residual takeaways that take on a life of their own.
(11) Affirm and encourage (be an Equal Opportunity Celebrant) while making a respectful ask or asks—asks for time, energy, support, advice, tips, wisdom, laughter, and more. Let’s live in a Moral Transactional society where we barter good works, deeds, and faith.
The ask comes in several forms:
*The ask for affirmation and support (if there’s a Facebook advocacy Page, ask your audience to Like and Follow).
*The ask for recruitment (ask your audience to tell their friends and share a link).
*The ask for an advocacy e-mail or letter.
*The ask for their vote.
*The ask for principled advocacy (asking, writing, calling elected officials).
*The ask for showing up (events).
*The ask for stewardship (monetary).
*The ask for learning more (provide more links and resources).
*The ask for help.
*The ask for a hug.
*The ask for laughter.
*The ask for THEIR Joy and Health because if they are not experiencing Joy and Health, how in the world do we expect the world to be repaired by their goodness?
(12.) Always invite a healthy response and dialogue. There’s always more to take in and learn from.
Nothing bad can happen from these four words: “What do you think?” or What am I missing?”
Or from these: “How can we be better?”, “How can I help?”
Or from these: “Tell me what you yearn for” or “Tell me more.”
Or from these: “I respect you. I appreciate you. Thank you.”
(13.) Book-end Lovingkindness. With your messaging, start on the right foot and end on the right. How do you address the recipient? How do you sign off?
(14.) Finally, always remember: You have one dance in the waterfall.
Have fun. Tap the Joy within to be the Happy Warrior without.
You are a vessel of Good, a giver of Light, a gift of Love.
Dance with abandon as if this is all we got.
Go, kiddo.
Glow.
The Flow is destiny.
Civic imagineer, leadership coach, and Principal of MJ Consulting, Matthew Jackson is the Co-creator and Managing Editor of THE VALLEY: People Power and Caring Communities, the Originator and Chief Editor of the award-winning Heart of Hanover Trails, and Chief Editor of the York County Rainbow Roads Cultural Trail. His work has appeared in the Harrisburg Patriot News, the York Sunday News, the York Dispatch, the Philadelphia Gay News, the Hanover Evening Sun, the Gettysburg Connection, and other outlets.
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Matthew Jackson and/or Andrew T. Smith
