Being Herd and Connecting More

There is something fitting about being in the Year of the Horse during a time of political, ecological, and social upheaval. Horses, like humans, are herd animals. We both survive by moving, sensing and responding together. Humans are animals too.

Right now, many of us are encountering the limits of how deeply individualism has shaped modern Western culture. We are witnessing what happens when people are pushed into hyper-independence and disconnected from neighbors, community, and collective care. In Western culture, we are in the grip of individualism to the extent that it feels like 2nd (or 3rd) nature in moments of crisis. It’s become socially acceptable to isolate; we’ve been convinced we need to figure everything out alone.

But isolation is a dangerous dominant culture imperative when deeper coordination is what is needed.

One of the strongest themes emerging in recent conversations at In The Works is the reminder that collective action does not require us to all be the same and to do the same thing. In fact, sustainable movements depend on difference. They depend on people bringing distinct capacities, strategies, and energies into shared motion.

Some people organize mutual aid networks. Some facilitate conversations. Some make art. Some gather supplies. Some tend children while others attend meetings. Some lead from the front. Others sustain the conditions that allow movements to continue at all.

The work is collective precisely because no single person can carry all of it. And that each has others who do the work their work depends on. The interconnection 

Part of what feels important about this moment: we are seeing the return of hyper-local organizing and relational movement-building in real time - folks are finding a way to be with others in the day to day beyond screens and waiting it out. Ways of connecting at the scale of everyday life. This is in deep contrast to the hyper-individualist imperative of the dominant culture. Slow down, take it in, pause before responding - listen more and act with intention.

As Kirsten Harris-Talley reflected recently:

“I've been really encouraged by the organizing I've been seeing that is actually not political with a big P… but political in very hyper-local ways. Folks literally standing in the street together, literally talking to each other, literally organizing day by day by day for things as simple as getting neighbors groceries, making sure that they're not evicted from their homes.”

.Movements are not linear or singular. They are ecosystemic. Some people are building policy while others are building trust. Some are educating. Some are grieving. Others are helping people survive the present. And some are imagining futures that do not yet exist. 

All of it matters.

This kind of organizing reminds us that movements are not abstract. They are relational and structural. We build with the knowledge, tools, and time we have. They happen in neighborhoods, kitchens, churches, text threads, sidewalks, and living rooms. They happen when people decide to remain connected to one another despite fear, exhaustion, grief, or uncertainty.

Importantly, this moment is also revealing how interconnected our lives truly are. As Kirsten shared:

“Everyone's realizing that everyone can be harmed by what's happening right now, and the coalition that's building is bigger and broader and deeper. It's multi-generational. This also means there's lots of strategies that'll be happening at the same time.”

This is perhaps one of the deepest invitations of this moment: release the fantasy of the individual hero and remember the brilliance of collective motion. Herd animals survive because they remain connected enough to move together. While also giving care to those who need extra care - keeping the elders and young at the center. Rotating who is on the edges leading and keeping watch for the next challenge to move through together. We are leaders who are reminded that our role now is less about doing the right thing right away, and instead to be present as folks tell us their needs. This is a time to clarify and let folks organize well with the resources we can make available.

The return of the herd is not about uniformity. It is about relationship and difference and connection. It is about learning, again, how to stay in motion with one another. It is about giving, and receiving, consistent care and attention.