I’m not really a Star Trek fan, but I did give it a go back in the day. The show was sometimes entertaining, but given what we now know about the realities of environmental devastation and the rapacious power of corporate-backed technology, the entire franchise begins to look like an adolescent fantasy-utopia, a sanitized vision of the future where all our problems are solved by expertise and innovation. It’s no wonder that some have described the series as a “hope opera.”

Nonetheless, one episode stands out as iconic. You might remember a Star Fleet encounter with an entity called “the Borg,” a terrifying and omnipotent cybernetic organism with a hive mind called “the Collective.” The Borg co-opted the technology and knowledge of other cultures through a process of assimilation. “We are the Borg” the ominous voice boomed. “Lower your shields and surrender your ships. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile.”

The comparison is inevitable and apt: In today’s real, Earth-bound world, the Borg is the corporate-industrial-colonialist machine, an omnivorous, unstoppable, mindless entity that assimilates and co-opts everything in its path. We fight back as best we can, but as the imperialists would put it, “Resistance is futile.” And now, in a world that’s teetering on the brink of ecological collapse, the fossil-fueled monster rages on, assimilating everything in its way, hell bent on naked power and profit. 

It all sounds terrifying and utterly hopeless, but a new breed of activists–particularly in culture of Extinction Rebellion–have embraced a positive concept of engagement, expressed in a clever reversal, “Resistance is fertile.” It’s a neat turn of phrase, but it’s far more than that because it completely revises our understanding of activism itself. Call it meta-activism if you will; this is a new and positive way to think about human engagement.

Consider the image that circulates through the popular imagination: For most people, participation in the political process is thought to be stressful, time-consuming, difficult, and even a health-negative. Go to a thousand meetings, fight your way through complex bureaucracies, beg for funding, raise your voice in a world that wants nothing to do with you, and in all likelihood, go down in defeat. Taken as a whole, the enterprise feels like a massive stress burden and to be honest, a real pain in the ass. 

But what if we’re completely wrong about all of this? What if activism is actually a fertile, life-giving, health-positive activity? What if it’s a powerful way to live, a path that offers authentic, tangible benefits to participants? Might it be true that by focusing our efforts on creating change, we also improve the state of our minds and bodies? Could activism actually make us stronger?

Naturally, it all depends on how you do it and that’s precisely the point. It’s not enough to simply show up with a sign and an attitude; there has to be a skill to this art, a way, and a practice. As Naomi Klein has put it, “No is not enough.” We’ve got to be creative, not just in our strategies for victory, but in the way we live. And this is where the potential lies, in crafting our activism with an eye, not just to effectiveness and victory, but to the development of the whole person, the whole organism in context. 

The fertility of activism begins with its educational value. Every time we go outside our comfort zone and engage in action, we learn. Every time we push back against entrenched power, we discover something new about law, policy and government. We learn about the history of our people, our institutions and our culture. We learn about complex systems and most importantly, we learn about human behavior, psychology and inclinations. We learn about our personal values, identity and performance under pressure. In short, we learn who we are. This experience is precious. 

Fertility also shows up in our contact and relationships with our friends and colleagues. Activism–especially the high-engagement forms–brings us into energized communities with highly motivated, intelligent and caring people. Driven by principle, values and a powerful sense of responsibility, activists are some of the most interesting people on the planet. 

Even better, activism has a powerful integrating and focusing effect on the human organism. In this respect, the practice is very much akin to vigorous physical movement, otherwise known as exercise. When we act intentionally, particularly in the face of ambiguity and uncertainty, we call on the body-mind-spirit to gather its resources into a single, cohesive effort. This integrating effect can be powerfully health-positive, especially when we operate in the sweet spot of stress. 

In fact, a growing body of evidence confirms the power of purpose and meaning in human health. In 2017, New Scientist magazine summarized the findings this way: 

People with a greater sense of purpose live longer, sleep better and have better sex. Purpose cuts the risk of stroke and depression. It helps people recover from addiction or manage their glucose levels if they are diabetic. If a pharmaceutical company could bottle such a treatment, it would make billions.

And, coming at it from the opposite direction, we can say that inactivism is likely to be bad for our spirits and, in turn, our health. Throughout history and across the spectrum, writers and activists have described the perils of apathy and nonparticipation. As Martin Luther King, Jr., put it, “The way of acquiescence leads to moral and spiritual suicide.” Likewise, Eleanor Roosevelt: “When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die.” And of course, conservationist Edward Abbey: “Sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul.”

These elders are absolutely right: the failure to engage and participate is bad for our lives, and since everything in our lives and bodies is radically connected, it makes sense to suppose that inactivism will would have negative downstream consequences for the state of our bodies and our health. 

In turn, this reminds us of Viktor Frankl and his legendary book Man’s Search for Meaning. Incarcerated in a prisoner of war camp in World War II, Frankl saw suffering everywhere; men were starving and freezing, and some literally worked to death. There was pain and misery in every moment. Some men buckled under the strain and perished early, but others managed to live and even to find fleeting moments of satisfaction in companionship. Frankl wondered, “Why do some survive while others weaken and die?”

His conclusion was that the survivors possessed a certain sense of meaning and purpose that animated their lives and helped them transcend their suffering. He often quoted the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche: “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” Or, as we might say today, “He who has a why to live can endure almost any stressor.” 

The power of meaning and purpose is widely understood in the medical community and is considered “clinically significant.” In other words, it’s a vital part of a patient’s medical profile. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that “having a strong sense of purpose in life leads to improvements in both physical and mental health and enhances overall quality of life.” If we could connect our sense of meaning and purpose with action and engagement, we’d create a robust and powerful approach to living in the world. 

All of which suggests an exciting and promising approach, not only to activism, but even to medical care and of course, the art of living. To be sure, we need to keep our focus trained on the perpetrators of ecological disaster and social injustice, but we can also tell a bigger story about the nature of activism itself. By making the case for engagement, we’ll attract more people and energy to the movement. The Borg may well believe in its omnipotence, but it’s our fertility and creativity that will keep us strong. 

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