Pivot from the Noise to The New

Good Morning Sunshine!

The new is here. The old is just making a lot of noise dying. Eckhart Tolle (quoted by Pam Gregory in a recent video)

A recent (Muse says, ‘long running’) theme these Pivot posts is around shifting our attention from what is being reported as ‘news’ to that which is rising and wants to rise. To that which is life generating and life enhancing. From fear mongering to love generating. I know that many of made such a shift in focus. Others are in the process. Where are you?

What do you want to be informed about?

Consider for a moment: when was the last time a news broadcast enhanced your life? Then wonder: what is possible if we focus on, attend to, and participate in what many call ‘a new earth’? Heck even giving the new equal time could represent a big shift. And, adds Muse, inspire you to pivot even more.

In two conversations this week sharing this idea I was asked ‘where do you find this new?’. So, this week as I rest and engage in extreme self-care to heal from a painful kink in my back (including excavating old beliefs, thoughts, or fears that may have contributed to that ‘kink’), I thought that I’d share a few of my favorite sources of information, inspiration, exploration, and learning. Here are three of the plethora of organizations, groups, and individuals who are on the ground doing the exploration and work of creating a new earth, a new humanity.

Humanity’s Team – a non-profit whose mission is to ‘make conscious living pervasive worldwide by 2040’. You’ll find their free programs at this link. I’ve cued the program from Dr. Jude Currivan, just released today, on my ‘must watch’ list.

Pam Gregory, Astrologer – I’ve long been curious about the impact of planetary cycles on us individually and collectively. Putting aside the detailed aspects that she presents; Pam puts this in the context of current events and trends as well as pointing to maintaining calm in the chaos. This recent video with little astrology shares the focus she brings to the world in the context of July 2023 astrology.

Kinship Earth/The KINS Network -- a non-profit organization dedicated to accelerating humanity's consciousness to its next level of maturity: the awareness of our inherent interconnectedness with all life. A recently discovered group for me, I’m enjoying learning about this global network of heart-centered change agents. Curious? Click here.

I invite you to explore, to see what resonates with your heart, and to share with your community. And I’d love to know what sources you follow that inform and inspire you. Let’s put our attention on the world we want to see!

InJoy!

Hiding bunny watches Zadie Byrd and I pass by.

Nurturing the Creator Within

Create with the flow of life!

Do I want to add to the drama, or pass and not play into the drama? … We all get triggered at times. If you are not conscious of your triggers, you can quickly get pulled into a family or work drama. You may not always remember to pause and ask yourself that question, but sometimes you may. With every decision to skip the drama you have taken one more step toward choosing a more empowering response to people and situations you find challenging. David Emerald & Donna Zajonc, MCC

A few days back I felt guided to a book that I read many years ago, David Emerald’s, The Empowerment Dynamic. I didn’t follow the guidance immediately but a bit later when I opened email, there was David and his partner Donna’s inspirational newsletter, TED* Works  [https://theempowermentdynamic.com/skip-the-drama/. Apparently, I needed a reminder.

That question ‘do I want to pass or play?’ and their story offered a great, if a bit prickly, reminder that I sometimes engage in other people’s drama, usually by being critical of rather than being curious. I notice that I do this more frequently in response to seeming little things – complaints on social media about weather, mosquitoes, the choices others make. It’s a drama that plays out in my head, ‘Grrrr, don’t they know this is contributing to the chaos and negativity of our world?’. Even though it’s not spoken or shared, and it too is a reaction that contributes to that negativity and chaos.

Every thought matters!

My reaction places me, hopefully only briefly, in the role of victim. And when I’m in the role of victim I don’t have access to my power as a co-creator. I’m not aligned with the knowing of my heart, nor am I able to access peace, joy, beauty, harmony, those aspects of the Universe that I long for our world to be.

Whether the potential drama of the moment is massive or a small blip, when we pause to ask whether to ‘pass or play’ we nurture the natural co-creator within. When we pass, we create. We open the door to gratitude, to curiosity, to care, to love. We contribute to a more beautiful world that works for all.

May we know that there are no small choices and that, as I shared last week, our heart knows the Truth that Everything IS a part of Everything else. May we invite her to remind us of that truth and to guide us in our choices whether they seem large or small. May I.

P.S. – David’s book was among those that guided me through a rocky period of change in my life way back in 2006-7. Beautifully and playfully written, The Power of TED* - The Empowerment Dynamic, is his poignant story of making the pivot from victim to creator during a challenging period in his life. David’s story and this pivot is much needed as the world we know crumbles and we seek to create our world anew. TED is off the shelf now and on the bedside table as I enjoy another read.

Early Mountain Morning

How BIG Are the Little Things?

Everything is a part of Everything else

Everything operates on behalf of everything else

Everything is interactive, interrelated, and interdependent/symbiotic, and with you

You are part of everything and everything is part of you

You operate on behalf of everything else, and everything operates on behalf of you (Myra Jackson)

Sorting through some papers this past weekend I came across a slide from sometime in 2020 or ’21, the Covid years. It seemed a good reminder on many levels and across all domains so I placed it where I would likely see it every morning.

This morning I needed it to remind me of how I understand our world, indeed the cosmos, to be. I also needed to remember that even though this is how the universe, our planet, and each of us IS, our awareness of our true nature is not automatic. Practice is required to fully embody the truth of who we are.

 I don’t know about you, but I need lots of practice. Of this I was reminded when Zadie Byrd and I popped outside as the day began to dawn. When she finished her ‘business’ I noticed plants with a thirst needing to be quenched.

Turning my attention to responding to that need and my desire to care for them in gratitude for reaping the beauty they contribute to my life; I discovered a hose had been moved and left disconnected by a wonderful helper who washed windows yesterday. Putting the system back together would require a bit more work than simply connecting the hose. ‘Annoyed’ is the gentlest term available to describe my instant reaction.      

But fairly quickly as I huffed and puffed, I realized that this wasn’t how I wanted to begin my day or experience the quiet, peaceful dawn. I wanted to align myself with the beauty that surrounds me, to remember that I am a part of that, and to be in alignment with Her. My huffy, puffy reaction wasn’t coherent with who I am, what I believe, or what I know to be true about life. I wanted to step into this day with full coherence, present to and grateful for my life, for ALL life.

 I paused, asking my heart to lead and my pulse to align with the pulse of Gaia, of the cosmos. Calmer, I reset the watering system and went inside to reflect. The quote above came to mind. I thought about how everything matters, even (perhaps especially) the so-called ‘little’ things.

 These little things grab our attention and sometimes evoke in us out of proportion reactions. They are potent with opportunities. Opportunities to be grateful. Opportunities to express care and love. Opportunities to make refinements, to learn, to grow. Opportunities to BE who we truly are.

These little things impact us personally, contributing to OR working against our health, our happiness, our overall well-being. Whether they are moments of gratitude and bliss or forays into drama, they impact us individually and collectively. They become part of the collective consciousness that is creating our world and how we experience that world moment to moment, day to day. We are responsible for choosing. And every choice matters.

Our heart knows the Truth that Everything IS a part of Everything else. May we invite her to remind us of that truth and to guide us in our choices whether they seem large or small. May I.

Blessed Solstice!

Solstice Sun Rises Over the Sangres

We are cradled in the arms of an ever-changing planet. Remembering this helps us understand why it is so important to shift the behaviors of our imperiled species and protect the only planet we call home. … When we step into the vast dance of Earth around Sun, and Moon around Earth, we attune to a profound sense of place that is a remedy for digital overload, overcommitment, frenetic busy-ness, and on-demand culture. Seasons belie the myth of same-ness. Cycles upend our attachment to false stability. Everything is changing. And it will keep on changing. Rivera Sun (newsletter 21 June 2023 – www.riverasun.com)

Blessed Solstice! Today is the Sun’s turning. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere it is the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, the shortest night. Our long days have reached their peak and will begin to gradually shorten as our night times grow longer.

Out early this morning, before the Sun rose over the Sangres I walked the labyrinth, doing my own form of ritual – gratitude and blessings to the four directions, to Mother Earth, to the sky and all above; then finishing as the Sun crested the peaks bringing her light to the treetops. On our morning walk Zadie Byrd and I encountered numerous rabbits moving about.

Later, I sauntered for an hour or so in the woods, attention focused on new growth bursting forth in the pines and on the active avian life – hummingbirds, jays, robin. A mountain blue bird and a chickadee with nests and baby chirps nearby greeted me.

Reflecting on the preciousness of this new life, I was present to its precariousness, having made the sad discovery of a fallen nest and broken eggs yesterday afternoon. A western wood peewee built her nest in a corner of our front deck as she has done for many years. I’ve watched her on the nest for several days as I’ve come and gone from the house, and I was looking forward to witnessing her ritual of hatching, feeding, the fledging her young soon. I’m curious whether she will make another attempt. Or return next year.

This Solstice Day, I feel deeply connected to and blessed by the life in these woods, the seen and the unseen, the winged and four-legged, the pines, the grasses, the cacti, the lichen, the rock beings, and even the pesky mosquitos and gnats that have arrived in their season. The connection gives me pause.

I wonder how I/we can live in greater harmony this life, with the whole of life. What new stories can we live into to become stewards of a New Earth? What new choices and ways of being will have us be ‘ancestors of a thriving planet and planetary civilization’? What can we dream into being that is out of this world and will carry us into the next? What future do you dare to dream?

As my friend, author and activist Rivera Sun, suggests in her newsletter today, connecting with planetary cycles reminds us of our place and offers respite from the chaos in our world. Connect with the Sun’s energy this day. Know that its energy and its light are fuel for all of life. Dare to dream!

Blessed Solstice! Blessed Life!

Colorado’s Summer Bloom - The Columbine

From Prison to Possibility

In the flow of life …

You need to remain open, yet maintain discernment and critical vigilance. Critical openness is true hospitality and receptivity. … Freedom challenges us to awaken and realize all the possibilities that sleep in the clay of our hearts. … In the inner landscape of the soul there is a nourishing and melodious voice of freedom always calling you. It encourages you to enlarge your frames of belonging – not to settle for a false shelter that does not serve your potential. There is no cage for the soul. John O’Donohue (from various essays in Eternal Echoes: Exploring Our Hunger to Belong)

O’Donohue’s words resonate deeply with an inquiry that emerged as I journaled early one morning recently. “Am I a critical thinker? Or just critical?”, I wondered. What does it mean to be a critical thinker? What is critical thinking’s role in discernment? And what about the heart?

The questions weren’t unfamiliar, but they rose in the wake of watching a controversial (some would say conspiracy theory) documentary that opened a familiar question: how do we know what is accurate and true? What stories in me may block my capacity for ‘critical openness’? How often do I engage in critical thinking? How often do I follow those with whom I tend to agree, without much consideration? What stories are so embedded in me that my automatic pilot kicks in with little if any awareness on my part?

I remembered an experience that brought this home to me decades ago while attending a Spiral Dynamics workshop. During a break the workshop leader casually inquired and determined that I was an alumnus of a particular university with deep and long traditions. As we settled in after the break to explore the impact of unconscious memes on our behavior and choices, the fight song of that university began to play. With nary a thought and zero awareness, I jumped up, began to sing loudly and move enthusiastically as I’d done many years before at football games.

Point made! That day we all learned anew that deep, unconscious memes, stories, and beliefs are with us 24/7 standing ready to blast forth when they hear the call. Whether we want them to or not.

As my inquiry continued, I wondered what other life experiences have a hold on me unknowingly and, thus, could be holding me hostage. What role do they play when I jump to being critical rather than thinking critically?

I recalled stories and beliefs that kept me in the ‘false shelter’ of a marriage until an event broke their hold and I chose to leave. I remembered a friend challenging my stories about all the reasons I could not purchase a house. Although years apart, my choice to end the marriage and my friend’s challenge awakened possibilities beyond any dream I’d ever allowed myself to have: living joyfully and gratefully in the paradise of a woodland sanctuary and being guided in how to honor this sacred dot on the planet.

Remembering those personal events of breaking free sparks a deeper inquiry. I wonder what memories, stories and beliefs live in me that block possibility, or that stifle any critical thinking about how to navigate today’s chaotic world? A world, I should add, that I hold less and less interest in and that seems increasingly irrelevant to what life truly is. Yet a world whose systems hold us hostage. Muse nods in agreement and prompts that this is a story for another day … from Prison to Possibility, Part 2, perhaps.

Returning to my inquiry, two experiences come to mind. During my early school years when our country was gripped in the fear of nuclear attack, we were instructed to ‘duck and cover’ under our little desks. This would keep us safe, it seemed we were to believe. Perhaps much like the lockdown drills in schools today. What of this experience still lives in me and impacts my views of the world? What are today’s experiences imbedding into our precious kiddos?

Later, in my junior high and high school years, the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King were periodic reminders of the danger of speaking up and speaking out. What might I/we hold deep within about the risk of taking a stand, speaking our truth?

How deeply and unknowingly do these and other events and experiences influence my choices? Our choices? Do I/we allow them to imprison us, or do we use them to open doors of possibility? In a world that so often would have us follow its ways, how do I maintain the ‘discernment and critical vigilance’ necessary to live as the sovereign being that I am?

The inquiry continues …

A Colorado Blue Sky Morning!

Pivot to Gentle, Curious, Adventurous Perception

The Flow in Nature Reflects the Flow of Life

The way you look at things is the most powerful force in shaping your life. In a vital sense, perception is reality. … There is such an intimate connection between the way we look at things and what we actually discover. If you can learn to look at your self and your life in a gentle, creative and adventurous way, you will be eternally surprised at what you find. John O’Donohue (Thoughts Are Our Inner Senses in Anam Cara: Spiritual Wisdom from the Celtic World)

Life has a way of presenting us with opportunities when we are open to receiving. I aim each day to live in that openness and curiosity. Waking this morning with fresh awareness of two seemingly unrelated dream fragments, I wondered how they might relate to each other and what messages the dreams offered.

On top of them, Mind recalled a choice that I’d taken with me to sleep: which of two events scheduled at the same time should I attend? Then Mind leapt to analyzing, comparing the two, apparently seeking a rational decision to put the question to rest now even though the events are a few days away.

Feeling tense and pressured (self-imposed to be sure), I paused. That wasn’t how I wanted to make the choice. In the pause, a gentle suggestion rose, “Ask for guidance.” Ahh … I relaxed, pivoting to a more curious, gentle perception of the question. Hmm … What is my intention for joining either event? What guidance am I seeking?

Muse reminded me that ‘back to basics’ is always a good place to start. As I sat quietly, clarity began to emerge. I began to wonder, “What is in my highest good and the highest good of all? Which event will best serve my growth and provide opportunities for expressing my values, for building community, and for more closely aligning my life with Gaia?”

The questions as context further eased my angst and the self-imposed pressure to decide now. They give me clarity for the guidance I’m seeking and opened me to receive that guidance. They offered a gentle path to making the choice and offered an opportunity to be creative in doing so.

I realized that I could let go of ‘missing out’ on something and open to the gifts I’m sure to receive whichever event I choose to attend. That’s the beauty of our thoughts; of allowing them to emerge, to develop, to shift; and to being gentle with self and all that creation presents.

The process unfolded in a short time, but the reminder of the importance of thoughts, awareness, and perspective will stay with me far beyond the making of this choice. May I be continually surprised by where my thoughts lead and the adventures they offer up.

Morning Clouds

Breaking Out of Habits

Dawn in the Sacred Sangres

The mystery and magic of being an individual is to live life in response to the deep call within, the call to become who we were dreamed to be. … Freedom … is the poise of soul at one with a life which honours and engages its creative possibility. John O’Donohue (Beauty: The Invisible Embrace)

Sitting out on the deck as the day began to dawn and walking before the sun rose over the sacred peaks of the Sangres, I broke free of the habitual winter routine this day. It’s transition time here. Pots of geraniums that spent their winter indoors called to move to their summer homes outdoors. Flannel sheets and blankets give way to cooler crisp organic cotton.

I feel deeply the creative possibility in small things: hands in the dirt, listening to birdsong call the day into being, care of Zadie Byrd, care of self, care of and reverence for this place. Listening for and imagining new stories for how life – mine and ours – can unfold. Allowing life to define itself and its facets rather than fitting life into an old story heard throughout my life as the way things are and the way things should be.

John O’Donohue’s words remind me of the beauty of being in the question, the mystery. Listening for  calls from within. Noticing what has my attention, what resonates, what doesn’t. Breaking habits of knowing and needing to know to allow wonder about how the mystery will unfold. Breaking habits of judgement to allow curiosity to discover a possibility for reverence and care.

After a long day with my hands in the dirt, I settled in last evening for a second listening to a recent Charles Eisenstein talk, Staying Sane in the Next Five Years [click here to watch]. I appreciate his thinking, his way of being, his kindred contrarian spirit, especially in this time when, for me, old stories are giving way, dissolving. New stories are on the rise.

The old stories based on half-truths and lies have become so dissonate in me/for me that I can barely follow them. Eisenstein calls this a time between stories. What we need in times of such transition is rest, care, attention to the call within, to what wants to rise, to mystery. We need time to grieve what seems lost so that we can hear clearly what wants to rise and what our part in that rising is. We need to break habits that tie us to the old. We need to let go. We need to call on grace.

And when we do, what new stories can rise? I envision new stories based on ancient truths of who we are, who we BE as humans in the web of life on this precious planet, a mere dot in the vast cosmos. Stories weaving new threads in existing webs of natural connection. Stories that hold reverence for ALL life. Stories that receive life. Stories that give.

Such stories are by no means a given. Old stories of control over and separation are trying to maintain our attention and will cleverly continue to endeavor to hold us in their grasp. A new coat of paint on an old story is not a new story, despite its fresh look.

So, this time between stories offers choices to each of us, individually and collectively. What habits must be laid to rest so that authentic new stories, new ways will rise? What stories will rise in us? What timelines will we follow? The answer my friends is in embracing the mystery of life unfolding! Are you in?

Dawn Over the San Luis Valley

Upping Our Vibes: Grounding in Higher Consciousness

Daily Reminder Above My Desk

The level of consciousness is the most crucial aspect in health. I’d wager it will improve relationships, improve our self-esteem, lift us up to really live, all without drugs. Our level of consciousness is that part of us that is unsullied. It is waterproof, fireproof, age proof, bulletproof. If the mystics say that our primary purpose in life is growing in consciousness, then the intention broadcast marks very significant progress in science and medicine. It is revolutionary. As conscious humans, we have a responsibility. We cannot remain Homo dubitat for much longer. We must act and overthrow the programming of our cellphones, unplug from the TV. We are being called to become alert, awake, in charge. Nisha J. Manek, MD (Bridging Science and Spirit)

Early this morning as I settled in to focus on today’s post, I was clear – or so I thought – on our direction. Then I read something that offered a mindful detour to which Muse didn’t seem to disagree. Amid the detour, life called for my attention. It was time for morning walks and breakfast. Then a series of distractions rendered Muse incapable of settling me down until late morning.

With life’s details handled and the detour set aside, my original direction returned, clearer than before: our intentions and the level of consciousness from which they rise are key to powerfully navigating the events of life.

My clarity rises from a recent experience during a consultation with a specialist veterinarian when she made a strong declaration that momentarily took me aback. She was, she said, 100% certain that because of ‘x’, ‘y’ would follow. In other words, ‘Y’ was the only possible outcome.

After a moment, I realized that her certainty was not aligned with my understanding of how life works. I asked her to pause, and I challenged her perspective. “What about intention? What about miracles? Where in your certainty is the space for that?” I probed calmly.

The vet paused for a moment before a thoughtful response. “You’re right,” she said acknowledging that while ‘y’ seems to be the most likely outcome given ‘x’, it is not a certainty. Our consultation continued from her new perspective, a shift from certainty to possibility.

The moment was powerful for me, standing in my truth as I was seeking advice and making decisions based on advice from trusted professionals. I stood in my power and in the truth of what I understand about intention and consciousness.

I did so not from a stance of fear, denial, or defensiveness, but rather from a place of strong conviction, of heart-centered, coherent love, care, and understanding. From MY truth.

I deeply believe in the power of our beliefs and our consciousness to affect the trajectory of most anything. Countless research by Lynn McTaggart, Bruce Lipton, and others bears this out as does the research of Dr. David R. Hawkins (Power vs. Force). Nisha Manek deepens my understanding further in her outstanding study of Dr. William Tiller’s work, Bridging Science and Spirit.

Key it seems is the level of consciousness or frequency from which we are operating. Is my conviction and my action grounded in love, in reason, in gratitude, trust, and/or reverence for all life? That is the consciousness from which so-called miracles rise.

Or am I operating from anger, fear, grief, hopelessness? That is where miracles are stymied, and the world’s predictions of doom and gloom can manifest.

In a sense the choice is for life and all that generates life or for death. The paths of life and life generating are not always easy or clear. Sometimes choices for life seem to counter the mainstream and the experts as my experience reminded me. Choices for life may even be unpopular in some circles, though this truth may be hidden. But as we ‘up our vibes’ to higher frequencies our choices become clearer and easier with practice. Choice by choice. Step by step. Day by day.

‘The Thinker’ - a Favorite Tree Stump in the Woods Out Back

Morning Musing on the Deck

Morning in the Woods

The opposite of love is not rage. The opposite of love is indifference. Love engages all our emotions: Joy is the gift of love. Grief is the price of love. Anger is the force that protects that which is loved. We cannot access the depth of loving ourselves or others without our rage. Valarie Kaur (daily quote 5-17-23 in Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service This Nonviolent Life: Daily Inspiration for Your Nonviolent Journey)

Out on the deck! Sun beaming on my face. Cottonwood Creek offering background music with beautiful sounds of flow from the snow melt. Deer nearby. They scattered when I came out. Hummers joyful that the feeder is replenished. Zadie Byrd, content after breakfast, rests as she watches over these woods, ears UP. Stillness this blue-sky morning as the sun rises higher over the peaks.

Thus begins a blessed morning, a blessed day, in this blessed life. How do I express the depth of my gratitude for this, THIS? I wonder, ‘is a simple thank you, felt deeply in the heart, enough?’ For truly this morn, this moment my heart feels it. Appreciation for life, this life, this place, this being that I am radiates in every cell of my body. I am that. I am.

More gratitude for my health as last week’s cold symptoms wane, a lingering cough yet to clear (but moving in that direction!). Gratitude for the health that is this body, this spirit, and its movement to clear and release that which needs to be cleared and released. How we miss this subtle, yet obvious, miracle of LIFE working its magic. 24/7, 365 life is always ‘on’ no matter the calendar or the clock. All Ways! May we go beyond the world’s training of our rational minds so that we can know this, experience this. May I.

I pause to listen to an unfamiliar sound. Animal-like, but not familiar and hard to describe. Not a ‘moo’ or a ‘meow’. Soft, slow, short. Two deer walk up near the Circle of Elders, the sound moves with them. It is them or one of them. I have never heard a deer before. Life’s magic is given voice in this moment.

Before the pause, I was about to write about anger, posing the question ‘how does one feel anger from this place, this gratitude?’ I rarely feel angry and yet I know it has a presence in my life at some layer or level. It sometimes pops out obscuring the love, the care, the curiosity, the true being that I am and want to express in the world, with self, with others, with Zadie Byrd, with all of life. There is little, if anything, to be angry about in my life, about my life, even with its curveballs and setbacks.

As I’ve reflected this week, I’ve come to see that what truly rises my ire is the systems that are unjust, unfair, damaging to people and the planet and have many people trapped in their webs of greed. Perhaps too I am angry with myself for missed opportunities to speak out, do more. Where might I be a greater contribution? What is mine to do? I wonder.

I put the pen down and enjoy for a few more moments of the sun’s warmth, the creek’s song, and the beauty of the woods outback. As I open the computer, the quote above greets me with a new light on anger. The magic of life unfolding!

Cottonwood Creek

Pausing for Self-Care

Radical self-care is quantum and radiates out into the atmosphere like a little fresh air. Anne Lamott

This blog day I’m pivoting to deep self-care, mostly in the form of deep rest, Chinese herbs, and nourishing food so that a visiting cold bug will not linger. I may also watch again a beautiful film that I a colleague recently shared: Human. I hope you’ll watch – click here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uog4eCZTUX4&t=33s

I was moved by the visual beauty, the music, and experienced a number of emotions as the stories unfolded. My soul felt nourished and awakened to some deeper understanding of humanity, our humanness, and the range of our life experiences.

I was moved to learn more about the film maker and the making of the film in 2015. In doing so I found this moving quote from the artist:

I am a human being among seven billion others. For 40 years, I have photographed our planet and human diversity and I feel that Humankind has not moved forward. We cannot live together yet.

It is in their faces, in their gazes, in their words that I now see a strong way to plunge into the depth of the human soul. Each human interaction makes you move forward. Each life story is unique. By plunging into the experience of the Other, I felt the urge to understand.

And in the end, what is a human being today?

What is the meaning of human life?

Are our differences so great?

Don’t we share more values ​​than we think?

I felt the urge to ask all these questions, to speak about Humankind. A crazy, utopian bet. With my team, we started our quest with great humility and restraint. For two years we travelled across 50 countries, shot more than 2000 interviews... we travelled to meet with Others. There were those who talked and especially those who never talked before. Those who told their life stories for the first time.

By placing at the heart of the movie the evils of Humankind: poverty, war, migration, homophobia, I made choices. Committed, political ​​choices. People told me all sorts of things: from their difficulty to grow, to love, to happiness. It is all this wealth of human expression, which is the heart of 'HUMAN', and which resonates with the images of the beauty of the world.

This movie brings the voice of all men and women who told me their life story. It is has become their messenger. I made the movie I dreamt of, my greatest wish is the everyone takes hold of it in their own way, organize screenings and become Ambassadors for Living Together. Yann Arthus-Bertrand

Indeed, may we each live as an ‘ambassador for living together’ …