November saw over 50 people come to an Inner Transition meeting which was moved at short notice to the Methodist Hall to fit everyone in!
The evening began with Toni Spencer sharing her moving and inspiring experiences and stories from the Occupy London camp. Toni has spent two periods of 5 days at the St. Paul’s camp during which time she has run Joanna Macy’s ‘The Work that Reconnects’.
Toni first described the impressive set up of the camp: information tent to welcome visitors and passers-by; kitchen serving food every day to hundreds of people; Tent City University offering lectures and workshops all day; first aid tent; meditation tent and more. I was struck by what can be achieved by ordinary citizens when the will is galvanised and harnessed. The camp is run by a series of sub-groups making decisions by consensus so that everyone has an equal voice. Indeed, one of the points Toni made was that the community there is the most inclusive that she has ever come across.
The camp is not without its issues though, as you would expect. It is chaotic, messy and there are some vulnerable people who have made it their home and so require particular care.
Although the Occupy London camp have not made any clear demands, their courage to take a stand against an unjust and unfair system without necessarily knowing the solutions is a message to us all. Many visitors to the camp feel a deep gratitude to these people who are speaking out for those of us unable to do so directly.
Toni spoke about her personal reflection that we come from a place of privilege in terms of our education, knowledge, political awareness and experience of healthy community. Many of those at the camp do not benefit from these things and yet they are still taking a stand.
We hope that as Toni suggests the Occupy movement has ‘taken root in the cultural psyche’. The growing number of associated camps in other locations such as Exeter and Plymouth in the South West, would support this view. Indeed, Occupy Totnes was launched on Wednesday 30th November as a gesture of solidarity and to provide information to those who want to know more about the movement.
The rest of the meeting was an opportunity for everyone to find out more about Inner Transition. Members of the organising group of Inner Transition (Pulse Group) gave information about the activities currently underway. These include ‘The Work that Reconnects’ workshops, a mentoring scheme for activists, and peace and conflict resolution work. Other people offered ideas for new initiatives such as developing an inner transition workbook or pack that could complement or run similarly to the Transition Streets model. Another new idea being explored is a support group run along co-counselling lines for those needed support with their own inner transition.
Trudi Macagnino (Pulse Group)
If you would like to receive regular information about the activities of the Inner Transition group of TTT please email innertransition@transitiontowntotnes.org.
