Escaping to a New World

Images from Parable of The Sower: A Graphic Novel by Octavia Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy and John Jennings

Meditation:

“What time is it on the clock of the world?” This is the question asked by James and Grace Lee Boggs in their 1974 book Revolution and Evolution in the Twentieth Century. They conceptualized this with a visualization of a clock representing 3,000 years of human history; each minute represented 50 years, making each second 10 months. Their framing of time and visualization of the long view of human experience feels as important now as it was when they wrote it almost 50 years ago… Our way of life is drastically shift[ing] and we [will] start living in a new normal. What we know to be true is that the impact of the environmental crisis, capitalism, imperialism, and a disregard to the value and divinity of others has created a cycle of traps that ensnare us all, and consume many. Our people have been captured by and escaped many traps this society has laid out for us.

Scripture encourages us to be careful so our hearts aren’t weighed down by the excessiveness and anxieties of life, and to stay ready so we don’t have to get ready. In verse 35-36 Jesus says: 35 “For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen…” I’d like to think of escape as not only fleeing a situation, but as an opening, an opportunity to move into a new world, a different timeline. The cares of life and the happenings of the world don’t have to overtake us like a trap and we don’t have to be in it alone. What we are in is a collective, global experience and it will take a global analysis and collective effort for us to reimagine how and who we want to be in the world. For those of us living in the belly of the empire our culture is one that is full of excess and anxiety. We collectively run the risk of being caught unprepared even though the clock is telling us what is to come. We have the opportunity to watch and pray together as a beloved community, and be strategic and visionary with our folks who are also looking to seize the moment and build that new world we can escape to.

Powerful Quotes:

“What time is it on the clock of the world?” - James and Grace Lee Boggs

“If you wanna go fast go alone, if you wanna go far go together.” - African Proverb

“Who are your people?” - Ella Baker

“There is nothing new under the sun, but there are new suns.” - Octavia Butler

““All that you touch you change. All that you change, changes you. The only lasting truth

is change. God is change.” - Octavia Butler, Parable of the Sower

Reflection Questions:

1. Who are the people you want to organize with to create a pathway to a new world? What pathways already exist that you want to travel and build upon?

2. What is the new world you want to escape to? What does it sound, taste, feel, smell, look like?

3. What idea can you begin to sow or water towards building the kind of world you want to be in?

Prayer:

Gawd of escape,

Steady our hearts as we meet the calamity, confusion, and injustice of the world with a watchful and praying spirit. May we not fall into despair, but align ourselves with others who are charting the pathways to a new world. May we have discernment as to how to best prepare and fortify our spirits for the events yet to come. Let us not forget that we are guided by a spiritual and ancestral team that surrounds us. May we always go to them for wisdom, protection, and strength.

Asé, Amen, Ameen

Call to Practice:

1. Write down the names of at least 5 people you want to connect with about short term or long term planning for safety and resource access that can support you and your community.

2. Schedule and have a meal with those folks and share your visions.

3. Identify 2 tasks that will support you in moving towards your individual and collective visions.

4. Complete at least 1 task during Lent.

Song: “Get Free” by Mereba

About the Author

Holden Cession (they/them) is a multidisciplinary artist, activist, and change agent. They serve as Local Power Coordinator at North Carolina Black Leadership and Organizing Collective (NC BLOC) where they support grassroots groups in getting resources and building relationships. When they're not working they are making art and music.

Stay connected to Holden:

IG: @holdenxcess.art

FB: Holden Cession.

These Black Lent devotionals were originally curated by IG: goodneighbormovement.