Full Moon Rising Over the Woods Out Back
I DESPERATELY want a movement space that knows that compassion is not a zero-sum game. Where we have compassion for people’s ignorance. Where we are allowed to be messy and to make mistakes. Where accountability is an act of love and the word “holding” is the key word in “holding others accountable.” Where the sanctity of all life and our interdependence to everything that exists is so deeply known and felt that no person will ever question their sense of belonging. Where no matter what any of us has done, that we all know that there will always be space for us here. That no matter what we have done, we will trust our circle enough to grieve the harm that we caused and to say “yes, I did that” and know that we will not be cast out of humanity. Where we can learn to respond to even the most egregious harms without letting our sights off of the North Star of healing. Kazu Haga (quote of the day for May 5, 2021 – Pace e Bene’s This Nonviolent Life)
With one hand I say, ‘stop.’ With the other I build a bridge. Veronica Pelicaric (Pace e Bene’s podcast exploring Kazu Haga’s words - https://paceebene.org/soul-of-nonviolence-podcast/2021/5/4/soul-of-nonviolence-north-star-of-healing)
Violence against the Earth and interpersonal violence are two sides of the same coin. We now unite as a planetary community to stand together for the sacred; to midwife a transition to a world in which humanity will no longer dominate but cooperate with all life. Though it is difficult to see, there is an emerging and different vision for humanity. This vision foresees a world without violence as the next chapter of our collective evolution. It shows a future humanity inhabiting this planet as a network of interconnected, autonomous communities of trust. LaDonna Brave Bull Allard (quote of the day for May 12, 2021 – Pace e Bene’s This Nonviolent Life)
On this full moon eclipse day, I find myself reflecting deeply about my relationships with others and with Gaia. My reflections extend beyond the field in which I operate to the whole of humanity – our relationships with one another and how we relate to the global being, Mother Earth. Today’s quotes resonate deeply both personally and globally. They hold the essence of what I want to share, so my words will be brief, hopefully interweaving how these wise expressions are emerging for me.
I’m overjoyed that a recent encounter with neighbors to be (that is, folks who will soon be building a home nearby) offered up an opportunity to preserve the beloved ‘woods out back’ and added two lovely humans to my community of friends. The chain of events reminded me of the rewards – inside and out – of following my instincts and ‘going with the flow’. In this case, both hands building bridges. This is how I want to contribute to birthing what Charles Eisenstein calls “the beautiful world that our hearts know is possible”, a world where we live from the truth of our interconnected nature.
In other situations, as a friend poignantly reminded me a few days ago, we need to establish, honor, and yes, even enforce boundaries in our relationships with others and in our relationship with the planet. At these times we are called to consider ‘what is acceptable in my life?’ and ‘what is not?’ Integrity calls us to speak our truth, even at the risk of loss, since what is unacceptable to me may not be unacceptable to another and, using one hand to set a boundary may foreclose the opportunity to use the other hand to build a bridge. Navigating such events with conscious awareness of our interconnectedness, I don’t lose my mind to the frenzy of whatever I’m experiencing or observing. The hand saying ‘stop’ may simply invite a pause, open a heart, and with it a look to a bridge wanting to be built.
As the potent energy of this full moon eclipse lingers with us over the next several days, I invite you to pause and imagine the world you want to call forth moment to moment, day to day and to align your thoughts, your words, your actions with that dream.
The Flow of Life in a Mountain Creek