Gentleness and care
Living simply and with noticeably fewer possessions goes far beyond material aspects of being. Perhaps living this way can even be described as just a means to an ecological-aesthetic-spiritual end, rather than an end in itself. Something my colleagues and I were contemplating together recently were gentleness and care in different academic spaces, such as responding to reviewers' comments, attending a PhD seminar, writing a review of another human's work, teaching, advising students, and so on. How do we manifest gentleness and care in these spaces where we serve? How do we learn and grow together? We mentioned how uncommon it is to manifest alternative, deeply caring attitudes and vocabularies. Intellectual offerings and gifts, being humble, gentle suggestions, reflections, contemplations, gratitude, a deeply felt desire to help, and so on. These days I am both reviewing and addressing some comments, and I have tried to be even more present than ever before with the works I am handling and be aware of my interactions with fellow humans, despite anonymity of the review process. This mode of being and various aspects thereof, due to such intense presence, contemplation and growth orientation, requires much energy for every activity. This means choosing more intentionally what and whom I invite into my space.