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Once upon a time, the land belonged to the community of life thriving on it. Traditions like rituals, stories, and songs were passed down through generations, verbally. This knowledge was rarely written down, as it was shared by those within that community.
Over time this land was taken by an invasive species of colonizers that tried to erase cultures off the map and impose their own traditions by putting a stake in the ground. They laid their claim through the written word, and what they thought was moral, right, and superior to what they found. Over time, the people who once thrived on the land were no longer part of this system and their rituals, stories, and songs faded away. The people were now owned by the colonizers.
By the time the United States was founded, twenty percent of the population of the new United States, founded on the principles of liberty and equality, lived in bondage as slaves. Our forefathers called slavery a “moral depravity” yet profited directly off this institution. These forefathers wrote our founding documents, and the Constitution stands as a bastion of hope, of democracy, in a dark world. How did we get to revere these written words so much, when so many things have changed in today’s world?
Today’s topic is “Worship of the Written Word” which has sent shockwaves through our system and says who belongs where, where our borders are, what we learn and how we live. “When we hold what is written above everything else,” says Tema Okun, “ we are unable or refuse to acknowledge information that is shared through stories, embodied knowing, intuition and the wide range of ways that we individually and collectively learn and know.” When we focus on what is written, we move away from what connects us, which is community.
In this episode we’ll go deeper into the historical context, the types of knowing and learning that we miss, and possible ways to overcome our bias towards the written word in our lives. This episode can help us shift into what our bodies are telling us through intuition and sensing, and a collective knowing that can lead to a deeper feeling of empathy.
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Note: “Worship of the Written Word” is one of the characteristics outlined in Tema Okun’s Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture, upon which this series of episodes are based on.
Amy J. Wilson designs worlds where every person gets what they need, the power to achieve what they want, and the agency to do what they love. For nearly 20 years Amy has put empathy into action: she has built cultures that hold change so that organizations and the people within it can thrive. She has challenged the status quo and redesigned systems centered on compassion and equity at more than a dozen organizations and can both set and implement the vision. She is the bestselling author of Empathy for Change: How to Build a More Understanding World: https://www.amazon.com/Empathy-Change-Create-Understanding-World, a guide to create positive transformation where we work, live, and play. Grab a copy anywhere books are sold or the audiobook on Audible.
Kevin A.K.A Captain Empathy is the Founder and CEO of Jaago (means to wake-up in Hindi). Jaago’s vision is to create a world where people seek to understand one another by making empathy a daily habit. He is a tech leader and IOT (Internet of Things) pioneer and expert. He brings practical experience, lived experience, and his transparent growth journey to the podcast.
Follow:
- Kevin at @shahkevin or https://linktr.ee/shahkevin
- Amy at @realamyjwilson or Linktree: https://linktr.ee/empathyinaction
