On 30 January 2023, lecturer, researcher and author Lucy Draper-Clarke launches her intriguingly titled book The Compassionate Activist. MICK RAUBENHEIMER chats to her about mindfulness, the unexpected gifts of meditation, and a new form of activism.
When did you first identify as a creative artist?
I never really have, yet I always find myself in the company of creatives and meditators, meditating-creatives and creative-meditators! My main interest has been witnessing how effective both the arts and mindfulness meditation practices are for healing and social change. It is this overlap that has inspired my research and my writing.
For a meditator, the creative medium is not clay, paper or stone, but the ephemeral, mysterious mind. My daily practice is not focused on what appears in my mind stream – thoughts, sounds, images – but to notice how I respond to them. I’ve found this simple yet profound practice of welcoming whatever arises carries me through the chaos of daily life in South Africa. It offers a ground of equanimity that resources me to face our current global confusion.
When the mind can stay open to whatever it witnesses, it is more able to guide skilful action and wise responses in everyday life. I don’t have answers to most of today’s challenges, but the glimmers of insight and touchpoints of serenity and joy invite me back to my cushion every morning, in the same way a sculptor stays present with the rock or piece of wood, to see what sculpture emerges.
Outside of your medium, what branch of art most stimulates you?
I love to read novels and essays that explore the full breadth of the human experience. I’m interested in the paradox that by facing deep sorrow, it means we also have access to the other end of the emotional spectrum. When we grieve for all that is lost and all the harm that humans are doing, we also glimpse our untapped potential. When we act for the benefit of others, it allows a deep joy to arise from our human connection.
Which artist/s in said discipline have significantly inspired you, and why?
I love how poetry can give us access to the place beyond words – the unknowable, the ineffable. Contemporary poets such as David Whyte and the mystic poets like Rumi seem able to reveal the deeper and timeless truths of our human existence.
What, to you, is art’s most important function?
LDC: I particularly love how the expressive arts bring people together both in unison and by allowing individuality to be expressed within the collective. Something transcendent happens when a group of people sing together, and through dance, we inspire social movements. I also see the arts as a way of sharing information, of stimulating debate and inviting social commentary.
Local creatives (in any medium) that currently excite you?
Since working at the Drama for Life department at Wits, I am constantly inspired by the applied artists, drama therapists, arts activists and craftivists who use their voices and compassionate presence to inspire social change. I also love the artists of Brixton who bring the community together through the Local Vocals choir, the Brixton Quilters, the annual Light Festival and Shade, an NGO that inspires children to find their creative expression.
Any current project you’re unveiling/wrapping up?
I have recently published The Compassionate Activist, a book and meditation on transforming the world from within. It is a call for activists to ‘sit down to rise up’ and for meditators to bring their compassion and wisdom into the public arena. I launched the book in Gauteng but will soon be taking it to the Western Cape. We’ll be having a book launch at Stellenbosch University, Journalism department on 30 January 2023. This has been organised by Prof Mehita Iqani, the South African Research Chair in Science Communication. She leads a research agenda summarised as ‘science communication for social justice’ and is interested to see whether my book could take us a step towards this goal.
Tell us about your journey in writing The Compassionate Activist Transforming the World from Within
Writing this book was a way to combine two things I am passionate about: climate/social justice and meditation. Although sometimes viewed as two separate paths, I feel that they support each other. I had seen too many activists burn out and wanted to offer a way for them to be sustained while also working for a more sustainable world. Similarly, I had witnessed people using mindfulness as a self-improvement technology, rather than a way to challenge the mind states that hold inequality and prejudice in place.
In truth, I didn’t really write the first draft. I decided to offer some courses, based on research and meditation practices that interested me, and then started teaching them to my community. After recording the sessions, I transcribed them, and a book emerged. This process allowed ideas to flow spontaneously, based on the different groups and their areas of interest. Some participants were educators and medical personnel, others were whistle blowers and NGO leaders, many were parents.
Some identified as activists, others felt uncomfortable with the term, but had the same commitment to participate in creating a more equitable and life-sustaining world. During the editing stage, I was able to add more personal stories with the belief that the more personal the writing, the more relatable the message.
The book centres around the question of ‘How can we live the way we’d like the world to be’, which brings the future into the present moment, on the belief that we transform systems, based on the willingness to experience change within ourselves. It includes research from contemplative science as well as meditation practices for calming, insight, cultivating positive human qualities and shadow integration. It also invites readers to participate in making changes within their own communities.
It challenges the unconscious patterns of meditators and activists, to reveal our blind spots and conditioned biases. Instead of turning away from our unskilfulness with shame, we face ourselves with compassionate courage.
My wish is for this book to be a resource for retreat and workshop participants who often lose momentum when they return to the stresses of daily life. Perhaps it can be a touchstone, a reminder of how it feels to be present, compassionate, and engaged, without stumbling in the face of difficulties. I hope this book is able to unite different communities as this seems to be a familiar role for me – bridging the academic and the spiritual, the global north and south, the secular and the sacred.
What: The Compassionate Activist Lucy Draper-Clarke
When: 12h00 for 12h30, 30 January
Where: Stellenbosch Journalism, Upper level, 26 Crozier St, Cape
RSVP: fumanim@sun.ac.za
Web: www.imidibaniso.co.za
WS
