Reflecting on the Inner/Outer Landscape Fellowship: from India
This year, Rē has been able to offer three people Inner/Outer Landscape Fellowships. These are Fellowships that enable social-ecological innovators who are quite busy in their daily life to take a step back and go deeper into their personal practice and to engage in work they would not otherwise have a chance to do. A few weeks ago, we heard a reflection about this experience from Maya, who is from Turkey and spent some of her time in Greece. This week, we are hearing a reflection from Ram, who lives and works in India.
Tending to the Inner – Outer Landscape
“When will you finish that book you've been writing for so long?”
“When do you make time for the family that has been pushed down the priority list forever?”
Social consulting in India is a busy space. Before you address one issue, another arises, and then another, and another, and you find yourself aging in the process. I've lived this life for over two and a half decades. Farmers wanting to adopt sustainable practices without loss, Dalit leaders seeking a deserved space, tribals fighting for land rights, first-generation village women entrepreneurs seeking skills, youth rebelling against the education system wanting safe careers, activists suspicious of all yet hopeful, academics concerned about but forced into mediocrity, frustrated intellects, bureaucrats protecting the status quo while fantasizing about its change—the sheer diversity of issues we manage often belies a singular “specialized” activity with no respite either.
As a social sector consultant, my professional ethics of staying away from the limelight or prioritizing personal accomplishments is non-negotiable. Thus, writing or consolidating doesn’t prioritize as a burning issue somewhere in the country demands to be supported, strengthened, or strategized. Time for oneself, family, and friends can trip on a guilt-wire of indulgence. This requires mental space and time, which is a premium.
Inner – Outer landscape stewarding gave me such a premium space by partially subsiding my time for being myself and with myself. I thus was able to spend a good five weeks early this year without traveling for work, primarily reading, writing, and spending time with my bedridden mother, who needed constant attention—she had suffered a massive brain stroke late last year and is severely impaired. Sitting with her, watching and talking to her, not knowing how much she could comprehend, feeding her every three hours through a tube, cleaning, and taking her to the garden in a wheelchair became a space through which I have been cultivating my major inner space. One starts to value your own blessings. We can't take the people around for granted We need to practice compassion, and be mindful of our own blessings as relationships become invaluable.
In terms of the Outer Landscape – I also managed to concentrate on the series of articles on Ethics that I have been writing to be brought out as a publication. Rewriting some pieces, working with the editor, finalizing the celebrity for the pre-publication blurbs, and getting the head of a major spiritual institution to write the foreword were tasks that would never find place in my regular schedule.
Another significant achievement during this phase was advancing the Indigenous Entrepreneur network communication. In a country with over 10% of the population living in forests, forest-dwelling tribal communities struggle to have their land rights recognized or their rights as the first stewards of the most biodiverse regions of the world acknowledged. Putting together a regular newsletter with issues, challenges, concerns, and success stories helps these communities. In Tamil Nadu, where I live, the immediate impact has been the announcement of a policy for Conservation Linked Enterprises in these regions, with a pilot to be conducted this year with an allocation of $1.2 million.
More than external achievements, the internal peace and reflection were invaluable for me. And it serves as a reminder that amidst the chaos and demands, we must carve out time for ourselves, finding tranquility and purpose within.This year, Rē has been able to offer three people Inner/Outer Landscape Fellowships. These are Fellowships that enable social-ecological innovators who are quite busy in their daily life to take a step back and go deeper into their personal practice and to engage in work they would not otherwise have a chance to do. A few weeks ago, we heard a reflection about this experience from Maya, who is from Turkey and spent some of her time in Greece. This week, we are hearing a reflection from Ram, who lives and works in India.
Tending to the Inner – Outer Landscape
“When will you finish that book you've been writing for so long?”
“When do you make time for the family that has been pushed down the priority list forever?”
Social consulting in India is a busy space. Before you address one issue, another arises, and then another, and another, and you find yourself aging in the process. I've lived this life for over two and a half decades. Farmers wanting to adopt sustainable practices without loss, Dalit leaders seeking a deserved space, tribals fighting for land rights, first-generation village women entrepreneurs seeking skills, youth rebelling against the education system wanting safe careers, activists suspicious of all yet hopeful, academics concerned about but forced into mediocrity, frustrated intellects, bureaucrats protecting the status quo while fantasizing about its change—the sheer diversity of issues we manage often belies a singular “specialized” activity with no respite either.
As a social sector consultant, my professional ethics of staying away from the limelight or prioritizing personal accomplishments is non-negotiable. Thus, writing or consolidating doesn’t prioritize as a burning issue somewhere in the country demands to be supported, strengthened, or strategized. Time for oneself, family, and friends can trip on a guilt-wire of indulgence. This requires mental space and time, which is a premium.
Inner – Outer landscape stewarding gave me such a premium space by partially subsidizing my time for being myself and with myself. I thus was able to spend a good five weeks early this year without traveling for work, primarily reading, writing, and spending time with my bedridden mother, who needed constant attention—she had suffered a massive brain stroke late last year and is severely impaired. Sitting with her, watching and talking to her, not knowing how much she could comprehend, feeding her every three hours through a tube, cleaning, and taking her to the garden in a wheelchair became a space through which I have been cultivating my major inner space. One starts to value your own blessings. We can't take the people around for granted We need to practice compassion, and be mindful of our own blessings as relationships become invaluable.
In terms of the Outer Landscape, I also managed to concentrate on the series of articles on Ethics that I have been writing to be brought out as a publication. Rewriting some pieces, working with the editor, finalizing the celebrity for the pre-publication blurbs, and getting the head of a major spiritual institution to write the foreword were tasks that would never find place in my regular schedule.
Another significant achievement during this phase was advancing the Indigenous Entrepreneur network communication. In a country with over 10% of the population living in forests, forest-dwelling tribal communities struggle to have their land rights recognized or their rights as the first stewards of the most biodiverse regions of the world acknowledged. Putting together a regular newsletter with issues, challenges, concerns, and success stories helps these communities. In Tamil Nadu, where I live, the immediate impact has been the announcement of a policy for Conservation Linked Enterprises in these regions, with a pilot to be conducted this year with an allocation of $1.2 million.
More than external achievements, the internal peace and reflection were invaluable for me. And it serves as a reminder that amidst the chaos and demands, we must carve out time for ourselves, finding tranquility and purpose within.
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