Soon after, they faced the marshal state law, introduced overnight. It meant a total lock-down, even more empty shelves in the shops than before (and they were already quite empty in the socialistic and communistic countries), curfew, no freedom to travel, surveillance and many other restrictions.
The outcome was an even stronger sense of solidarity.
Sticking together and supporting each other, while facing the inevitable, was the only way to survive. People knew that, as individuals, they had little power to change things but as a collective they held power in their hands. So they never gave up, inspired by individuals who kept the vision of freedom for all. Unity was their strength.
They stood in their integrity and stayed true to their ideals. Even though their friends and family members would get arrested. Even though tanks would roll in the streets. Even though no one knew what the future would bring.
I was one of them.
10 years old, I would observe how nothing could break Polish spirit, although fear and insecurity were tangible. What held us together was the vision of freedom through unity. Solidarity was the means to support each other, while moving towards the common goal. We would help each other in accordance with individual capabilities, finding the space for individual “I” within the community’s common goal. Not the other way round. The common goal was more important than personal interests in the hour of national need. It created an enormous inner strength, an empowering positive resistance and a habit of holding a vision worth living (and dying) for. Yes, numerous people died.
It was very encouraging to see That other nations joined in.
It became a movement that spanned all Eastern European countries: the fall of the Iron Curtain and the freedom from communism and socialism eventually opened the borders all over Europe. If you have ever visited one of the Eastern European countries before and after the fall of communism, you saw the changes and the opportunities the East Europeans seized. They truly transformed their countries. And they influenced the whole Europe.
Solidarność 1980 was a revolution. Solidarity 2020 is an evolution.
The way we used to live before Corona did not serve us as humans any longer: it was too fast, too much, too stressy, too greedy, producing too much waste and, last but not least, too hostile and uncaring towards each other as human beings.
Thanks to the global Corona crisis, all the countries were offered an opportunity to start transforming to a higher level of functioning. Nations and governments all over the world got to a sudden halt and had time to contemplate, revise and change their habits and ways of operating on an individual and collective level. The time will show who really understood what a precious opportunity the crisis was.
Back then, it took us almost 9 years to reach the goal but it will be a faster process now. We managed to create a different Europe, one without a communistic oppression, without a regime limiting us and dictating how to live. Place of freedom for everyone to pursue their interests and move around freely.
Now we can have a global impact and make the whole planet a better place. It starts with each and every citizen of the Earth. With you. With me.
Change is inevitable. Transformation is a conscious choice.
The present situation is an incredible opportunity for an individual and collective transformation. It’s the time of a global movement in unity and support.
There is a lot at stake, so we need to keep the sense of solidarity not only with our neighbours, but also with other fellow humans all over the world and, last but not least, with our Mother Earth. We could witness what a relief this break was for the nature. We need to keep in mind that She, too, is a living entity that needs care.
Our big task is to revise our Values and priorities. and put first things first.
How would you answer the following questions:
1. What is really important to you?
2. What do you need to live well and what is just a habit of your acquired consumerism? “Earn-spend-consume-repeat”, more and more, faster and faster… What would give you an encouragement to break the vicious circle and become truly fulfilled?
3. How can you give back to Mother Nature?
4. What values do you really live by? Is there just “I” and “my needs”? Or is there “we, the people of… (your town, continent, the world)” as a valued community on your list?
5. What’s your motivation to go back to run in a hamster wheel? What would give you the courage to leave it, slow down a bit and start doing what you have always wanted to but had no time for? What could you stop doing to create time for what you’d love doing instead?
6. How relevant are these of your possessions, which you purchase at a cost of the nature, work for them at a cost of your family time, and own them at a cost of fear of losing them?
7. Is there anything you could happily resign of buying in the future to live more lightly?
8. What would you like to contribute to our human community?
9. How can you show your solidarity with those who undergo difficult financial times due to the recent lock-down? Spend maybe a little bit more for the local produce, instead of buying food in the supermarkets, flown in from across the ocean? Buy garment, books or other items at small local shops to support your fellow countryman and not international online giants, making millions in the current situation, while the small ones are dying off? Buy from people who lost their jobs and became self-employed to help them reach their momentum? What other practical ideas can you come up with?
10. What opportunities did this crises offer to you? New way of assessing your values, necessities, work and career? Having realized an illusory safety of being employed, maybe you decided to become self-employed? Or maybe having lost your job, you realized that you were not happy with your previous work and decided to try out something new? Or maybe having stayed home with your family, you had a chance to bond with your children stronger, accompanying them through the day for such a long time?
11. What have you started appreciating and being more grateful for?
This time it’s about a consciousness evolution of our human race. Conscious (r)evolution.
Solidarność 1980 stood for freedom, liberty, peace, and unification. Solidarity 2.0 makes us aware too that we are better and stronger when we stick together. As a global community, we have the power to change the ways we live and work, creating a true win-win situation instead of the one-sided benefit at the cost of many fellow-humans and Mother Nature.
It is an opportunity to connect, support and collaborate. We need to find ways to embrace our common humanity, while celebrating and appreciating our differences, seeing them as an enrichment for our human race.
What does Solidarity 2.0 mean to you? how can you express it?
It doesn’t have to be anything big but it needs to be consistent. A one-time downpour does not make a lasting difference, while constant water drops reshape even hard rocks. Be wise choosing your actions. The most visible outcome of Corona, the lock-down and the standstill will soon come to an end, the borders will open again. That’s exactly the moment when you cannot forget that it’s not all over yet! You need to keep the solidarity spirit on, so that we evolve together as a human race!
Solidarność 1980 was a revolution. Solidarity 2020 is an evolution. Will you stay behind or can you recognize the value of this precious opportunity to leave a legacy, no matter how big or small?
Who you are counts. Your choices make a difference.