my immediate reaction to this is to the use of “individual” here, even if this wasn’t the way it was intended – what is the point of “healing” and “thriving” as an individual within a social context that is dependent on the dehumanisation and traumatisation of others? especially when it is almost certain that one’s own healing and thriving within this nexus is similarly dependent on the dehumanisation and traumatisation of others? and, even barring a connection, what is the meaning of healing and thriving as an individual while others suffer?
when we talk about healing and thriving, we must talk about it in the context of community, and our collective future(s)
with that,
short answer: it is not possible to thrive within this nexus of structures, systems and processes that are dependent on power and dehumanisation – it is necessary to begin to heal within this nexus if we are to transform ourselves, each other, and the people responsible for inflicting and maintaining our dehumanisation, and to ultimately destroy this nexus – and this entails community and doing our best to live well together with each other
in order for us to fully heal, to thrive and to continue to thrive, we require the absolute dissolution of hegemony, of capitalism; we require the relinquishing of power and the refusal of social structures that are intended to accumulate, circulate, and wield power; this is all to say that we necessarily require the destruction of systems, structures and processes that are dependent on our traumatisation and dehumanisation, since this is directly antithetical to healing and thriving
with that said, our collective healing is necessary for our survival, our coping with current circumstances, and our subsequently having the resources (strength, resilience, knowledge, love, hope) to effect social transformation at large in order to get to that future where we can thrive and sustain that future
and I don’t mean “healing” the way it is commonly used, i.e., to denote a return to some previous unmarred, untraumatised, idyllic state (since such a thing is impossible – we cannot return because we can neither erase nor turn backward; there is only the future); nor do I mean being able to “feel good” about oneself
when I say “healing”, I am referring to a critical process of coming to a particular kind of awareness about oneself, one’s history, one’s future, one’s place among others and in the world, and what one needs and wants – it is a perpetual movement toward wholeness and truth – it is a process of realising, of acknowledging, of addressing, of understanding, of unlearning and learning, of destroying and building, of validating, of soothing, of loving, of forgiving, of tenderness, of envisioning, of loss, of change, of growth – not a mere [and impossible] return to the past, but growth
I asked a very similar question to a panellist (a social psychologist) at a conference I went to early this year – I asked him how we could heal and thrive within a system dependent on our traumatisation; he paused, sighed, scratched the back of his head and said, “community; it has to be community – coming together and knowing we are not alone in struggle and suffering, knowing that what is happening to us is real because it is happening to others… so that we remember why we are here, what we need to do, and what we deserve,” and then promptly threw his hands up in the air
bongdanceking 