Into The Deep

The Deep

Just as there is unseen beauty and life in the deep of the ocean, there is beauty, life and meaning in our own, sometimes dark, silence.

I find myself using the word ‘deep’ quite a lot these days. It’s an interesting word that, depending on how you use it, can be a noun, an adjective, or adverb. (No, I don’t intend these posts to be a weekly grammar lesson, but I’m fascinated by words and their power – perhaps the Muse will engage there one day.)

I notice my use of the word in all those forms in my thoughts, conversations, writing (duh!), and, especially in my awareness. I feel deep gratitude for my life, for life, for being here with Mother Earth in this body at this moment in time. I feel a depth about life and in life that is new to my being. I feel excited, curious, and trepidatious, all of which I’ve experienced before, yet they feel different now. That difference doesn’t have (and may never have) have words. The Deep. Deeper.

I sense we humans – individually and collectively – are in a deep shift, a transformation, a leap forward in consciousness as new knowledge, new scientific discoveries make their way into our awareness. This calls forth my curiosity and excitement. New knowledge, new discoveries are emerging into our awareness with ‘slim to none’ (and, as the saying goes ‘slim is out of town’) help from the so-called mainstream media or our storied institutions of education and government, most of which seem to be on increasingly shaky ground.

Coming to grips with this recognition that what we’ve been told and encouraged to believe is ‘the truth’ and necessary for our security stirs trepidation as we recognize that we too are on that shaky ground. We’re reckoning on many fronts: the Earth will no longer tolerate our reckless choices; the history most of us were taught is, at best, incomplete and written from the perspective of the so-called winner; our health and healthcare needs are personal and individual; and new scientific discoveries are expanding our understanding of who we are. Indeed, sometimes it feels like we are in ‘deep doodoo’.

As I’ve written before, I often find myself exploring and asking how I can live in greater alignment with Nature. I’m aware that I do so with the unspoken proviso that my comfort level isn’t diminished – I suspect most of us, knowingly or not add such a condition to our questioning. I’m also wrestling with a bit of history from my early teens: the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy on November 22, 1963. I wonder how that event, which happened just 30 miles from my home, has influenced me. I wonder when – if ever – the ‘whole truth’ will be released. A recent Charles Eisenstein essay has helped my understanding

I’m learning to be with that ‘deep doodoo’ feeling, to allow it, to accept that there is much that I do not know, even to be with sometimes feeling impotent to make a difference. That is part of being in The Deep. Christian mystics would call it ‘the dark night of the soul’. I’ve come to more deeply appreciate that just as there is unseen beauty and life in the deep of the ocean, there is beauty, life and meaning in our own, sometimes dark, silence.

Eventually, from the darkness of The Deep, light follows. I remember that knowledge begets awareness and the wisdom to choose differently. I remember that truth tellers and discoverers of our past have been maligned and then, eventually revered. Their discoveries shaped history, the lives we live today, and our very being. May we remember that as new discoveries far beyond those of history surface.

In the light, it feels as if we are on the cusp of new discoveries which will bring forth greater awareness of our potential in a Universe that is infinite. Not our potential to have more, do more, etc., but our potential to know more, to understand our access to vast stores of knowledge, and to BE what/who it is that we truly are.

Sunset Beauty’s Prelude to The Dark

Call of the Rising Feminine

Joyful Hummers Feeding Out Back

Everything is operating on behalf of everything else. Myra Jackson

Everyone has their story. We are all different. We are all the same. Gregge Tiffen

I have frequently said that those things – people, actions, ideas, beliefs, etc. – that we rail against or criticize have a purpose in the unfoldment of life – individually and collectively. I’m reminded of this principle daily (and some days hourly) when my ‘critical eye’ reacts to something or someone in the world or even to me with a quick judgement.

This is not to suggest that we set aside our opinions, beliefs, and such but rather that we recognize that the opinion of other has value to whole. Everything is operating on behalf of everything else.

As the muse and I were putting those words on the page this morning, the melody and some of the lyrics of Pete Seeger’s Turn, Turn, Turn based on verses from Ecclesiastes (3: 1-8). I easily found The Byrds recording that made the song a hit back when I was sweet-16. I rocked along listening for a bit, then discovered a softer version, more suited to my mood, possibly my age (smile!), and more aligned with today’s journey with the muse (click here to listen).

Just as everything is operating on behalf of everything else, so too there is a time and a place for everything – EVERY purpose under heaven. Our world – its ways and its systems built primarily on the masculine story of separation – are crumbling. That world is in its final acts as our planet calls our attention to the reality that this way has had its time and is no longer sustainable. A new way is calling.

Feminine wisdom is calling for us to listen differently, to put our attention not on the crumbling of the old, but to the potent possibility of a future built on feminine principles, including principles and practices of ancient wisdom and the caring that comes with that wisdom.

What are you listening to? Who are you listening to? What are you listening for?

I’m listening to and for those whose work and words support this shift – individually and collectively – for it is only through shifting our focus and attention that the life conditions of this time will be met in ways that sustain life – ALL life. I’m listening not to the mainstream with its doom, gloom, conquest, and competition, but for paths of forging a different future. The projects, people, and possibilities available for us to tap into with ease are right there – like the water we believe will be there when we turn on that tap.

I’ve suggested some of these resources in previous posts (Yes! Magazine, Non-violence News and Pace e Bene, HeartMath, the Shift Network, the practice of Feldenkrais for support embodying change – to name a few). Today, I invite you explore another, Humanity Rising’s Global Solutions Summit and, in particular, to a presentation (their 294th!) earlier this week: Feminine Intelligence for a Regenerative Future (click here to watch– start around minute 8 if you want to skip the preamble and brief centering meditation).

Here you will hear five inspiring women who have answered the call of the feminine and are calling on others to join in bringing the intelligence of the feminine forward. Among them is Lynne Twist (author of The Soul of Money and a co-founder of the Pachamama Alliance) who shared the news, unlikely to be found in the mainstream (and it will delight me if you do!), that a small number of billionaires from both ends of the political spectrum (evangelicals on the right, spiritual folks on the left) have been in dialogue around their shared concern for the future.

This is an example of dialog across vast divides that I’ve envisioned for many years. It is a sign of change, of hope, and of the emergence of awareness that more of the same is not an option on which to build a future world that works for all.

We can do this! Indeed we must!

Stairway to Heaven (Ziggurat) from the Woods Out Back

Pivot to Invest in People and the Planet

Sunset in the Woods Out Back

Your vision will become clear only when you look inside your own heart. … Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes. Carl Jung

What is your vision for our world? For humanity? For the planet on whose health we depend? Do you envision a world of peace? Of prosperity? Of social and economic justice? Do you envision, as I do, humanity learning to thrive in cooperation with one another and with Mother Earth? This is the future I want for my grandchildren, indeed for ALL the children around the globe and for future generations.

I found Jung’s familiar quote in a wonderful little book of large ideas and possibilities, Integrating Money and Meaning by Maggie Kulyk, a theologian turned financial advisor (https://chicorywealth.com/). She tells the story of a pivotal question asked by her 11-year-old daughter as she was researching possible stock trades to “make a little extra money”. Maggie recall her daughter wondering “if it bothered me that the way I was making money had no meaningful social purpose”.

The youngster’s awareness and questioning reminded me of a question my young stepson asked me once: “if you’re so interested in being healthy, how come you smoke?”. Wisdom often cuts to the core and James Michael’s question invited me to acknowledge that my choice to smoke was not in alignment with valuing my health. (I quit sometime soon thereafter.)

The wisdom of youth often sees those places where our choices, our words, our actions are not aligned with what we say that we believe and what we want for ourselves and our world. Bless them for their voices. When we are willing to look inside, question ourselves with courage, and listen, we are likely to hear an inner voice that, like the children, points us to opportunities for realignment. May we hear and consider the wisdom of both.

Doing so in the financial arena has been an area of interest for a long while. Over a year ago, I began to ask the question: how can I do greater good with the money in my IRAs while also growing and protecting it for my later years? My small nest egg had been invested in ‘socially responsible’ funds for years, but I was curious: what else is possible?

What about you? Are you willing to ask: What is my money doing in the world? What are my investments contributing to? What are the practices of the companies I invest in? Is my money in alignment with my values? What adjustments am I willing and able to make?

In asking such questions, I’ve discovered a number of resources and possibilities that I want to share this week in celebration of Earth Day:

• Watch the story of Marco Vangelisti’s journey from investment banking to a commitment to “aware and no harm investing” (https://ek4t.com/marco-vangelisti/). If this theme resonates and you want to learn and act on more, I highly recommend Marco’s website resources and his classes.

• Wake yourself up to the cost of investing solely for the sake of wealth accumulation and see how RSF Financial supports community building  (https://moneytransforms.com/).

• What about investing in underserved communities to create an economy that works better for all: (https://www.mycnote.com/). [Small Print/Disclamer:  I’m providing these resources for you to check out and, if interested, do your own due diligence.]

Humanity is at a pivotal point. Examining our money, including why and where we invest, and our values can lead us to make personal pivots that are not only good for us, but also for our communities and the planet.

A Place for Going Within - Labyrinth in the Woods Out Back

Practicing The Way of Love

Champions for Love (PHOTO CREDIT: Bob Fitch Photography Archive, Department of Special Collections, Stanford University Libraries)

Nonviolence is based on the assumption that human nature … unfailingly responds to the advances of love. … An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.  Mohandas Gandhi

Nonviolence is an absolute commitment to the way of love. Martin Luther King Jr.

Many threads and thought bubbles dangle in my awareness this morning as I sit with the muse: endings and beginnings when, in the reality of Universal law, all life is a continuum; how the planet is responding to our oh so human choices; my own oh so human choices; grieving destruction in the woods nearby; the power of language; transforming self and beyond with the practice of love.

Of all these, the transformative power of love and making love a sacred practice in life are the threads I want to weave this day as the 23rd Gandhi King Season for Nonviolence nears completion.

My heart is filled with gratitude for having discovered this annual ‘season’ beginning on January 30th (the anniversary of Gandhi’s death) and ending 64 days later, April 4 (this year, the 53rd anniversary of Dr. King’s death).  Sixty-four days each with a theme to consider and incorporate into creating a culture of peace, of love, of nonviolence.

Seven weeks ago at the outset of the ‘season’ I suggested making life a sacred journey of nonviolence. Today I invite us to make life a sacred journey of love, of peace, of truly transforming ourselves and our culture with the power of love.

Each of the 54 themes bringing us to the final 10 days offers a clue, a path, an idea to weave into daily life. The final 10 themes do the same: responsibility, self-sufficiency, service, citizenship, intervention, witnessing, release, peace, commitment, celebration.  

Of all the daily themes, love and peace are two that come forth as overarching elements. Without love, responsibility can become blame (others) or burden (self). Without love, service, intervention, witnessing can be acts of butting in.  Without love, citizenship can become battle for who is right; release, an act of insincerity; and self-sufficiency, a path to greed and fear of not having enough. Without love, peace is ever elusive.

Love is the power, the transformative energy that both Gandhi and King called forth in their words and their actions. While the idea is simple, using love’s transformative power is not always the easy choice.

As I was reminded while listening to Josh Reeves, Lead Minister at Mile Hi Church in Lakewood, Colorado, in a beautiful talk this weekend: love is a practice that requires practice.

In his talk, Love Like That: Love That Reveals, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5sl5HeeSg0&t=70s] Reeves shares his personal mantra for practicing love to transform what life brings your way: 

I experience fear, but I practice love.

I experience anger, but I practice love.

I experience hurt, but I practice love.

Life offers events and experiences that give us opportunities to pivot, to choose differently. As I reflected on experiences that can bring me to thoughts, words, even actions I’d prefer to shift, I added some pivot points of my own:

I experience irritation, but I practice love.

I experience those whose views I loathe, but I practice love.

As I look beyond this Season for Nonviolence, I celebrate these seven weeks and 64 themes of reflection and focus toward creating a world where love is understood and practiced in its purest form. I make a commitment to myself to deepen my understanding and to add new pivot points to peace into my practice.

Mother Earth Speaks. Are We Listening?

Envisioning a Collective Pivot to Love

Snowy Morning in the Sangres

Everyone has their story – good and bad. We are all different. We are all the same.

One week from today will be the ‘morning after’ what feels like a monumental presidential election here in the U.S. We may or may not know the result when we wake from our slumber, if indeed we slumber at all. Yet, whether we know or not, we are unlikely to experience a huge sigh of relief that ‘it’ is over. (Yeah, that bums me out too.)

Although election day itself will be behind us, the acrimony and divisiveness will surely make their presence known. The divide may even be deeper. Each ‘side’ will stoke its core to react; some with fear and hate, others with love and care. Fingers of blame will be pointed. This is how political machines and pundits thrive. This is how the machines of war and weaponry get funded.

But this is not the way of nature nor the true way of human nature. My heart aches when I consider the very real possibility of massive violence in the streets stoked by fear of ‘the other’.

That same heart bursts with joy at the possibilities that lie within and beyond a pivot to non-violence, to understanding, cooperation and to peace. Science is discovering more and more that this is the nature of we humans. That we each are an integral part of a whole, cells in the body of life on this planet, and, perhaps, beyond. May we come to know more deeply that everyone has their story – good and bad. We are all different. We are all the same.

No path forward from where we find ourselves today will likely be an easy one. We have much work to do starting with an honest look at our own habits of separation. Collectively, we need to review history and somehow make amends for the crimes of our ancestors. From our sincere efforts a framework for living fully into the truth that we all were, are, and will forever be created equal. Everyone has their story – good and bad. We are all different. We are all the same.

It will not be easy to bid adieu to the structures and forms that have never served this higher truth. Like all creative acts the process will be messy, chaotic and require courage and commitment. Our ‘willingness to change’ muscles are sure to be tested and strengthened in the process. Then, beyond the chaos and messiness, a new world, one that works for all, can emerge. Like our precious Mother Earth, she will require diligent nurturing and care for generations to come. We can do this!

We are built for this time, this change and for the sake of humanity and the planet, pivot we must. By our thoughts, our words, and our deeds we are each creating the present moment and each moment beyond. May we think, speak, and act from open-hearted love for self, for humanity, and for the planet.

Frozen Morning Landscape

Fertile Ground

Past their peak, but there is still much beauty in this aspen grove.

What we need is not another doctrine, but an awakening that can restore our spiritual strength. What made Mahatma Gandhi's struggle a great success was not a doctrine—not even the doctrine of nonviolence—but Gandhi himself, his way of being. A lot is written today about the doctrine of nonviolence and people everywhere are trying to apply it. But they cannot rediscover the vitality that Gandhi had, because the ‘Gandhians’ do not possess Gandhi's spiritual strength. They have faith in his doctrine but cannot set into motion a movement of great solidarity because none of them possess the spiritual force of a Gandhi and therefore cannot produce sufficient compassion and sacrifice. Thich Nhat Hahn

In the midst of the muse reflecting on the insights and inspirations which have crossed my path this week I was looking to discover if there is a common thread or theme. Then, life popped in unexpectedly.

It has been my practice for most of the 370+ weeks to ignore all incoming calls, emails, etc. Wednesday mornings are devoted exclusively to musing and discovering what wants to be shared in this week’s post. Today I needed to break from that pattern to handle a time sensitive issue regarding my cousin’s estate.

The issue addressed (at least for a bit), I gently returned to the muse and the message.  Noticing the broad scope of ideas and events that sprouted to take root in my attention this week, the phrase ‘fertile ground’ came to mind. I was aware of all that screamed for attention that I mostly gently (and sometimes not) turned away. What about my fertile ground guides me to make those choices?

I’m aware of and embrace the idea that deep change is underway individually and collectively for humanity and throughout all of nature and our precious home, Mother Earth. (Beyond this earth, I suspect that the same is true – but that is perhaps a muse for another day … As Above, So Below … As Below, So Above …). What about my fertile ground has me see life in this way and to be curious about the thresholds that are before me/us in the days, weeks, years ahead?

From what fertile ground does my conviction that how we choose to BE as we walk through this change is, moment to moment, determining how that change will be? What cultivated my deep knowing that ‘by our thoughts, our feelings, our beliefs and our actions we are co-creating our life, our future – individually and collectively’?

I think that somewhere along this 70-year path of my life, I embraced building my spiritual strength (you wondered, didn’t you, what the heck the quote had to do with this muse?).  Decades ago, weary after years of political activism and hard driving in my profession, I was exhausted and fearful that I couldn’t keep up (whatever the heck that meant at the time). A seed of metaphysical curiosity sprouted as I took time off to figure out what to do with my life.

I’ve nurtured that ground (not always consistently) since it sprouted. I’d like to think that I have some measure of spiritual strength as a result. As I choose how to navigate and BE in the changes upon us, I aim to make choices from a place of spiritual knowing rather than from some prescribed doctrine (religious, political, etc.). That is the fertile ground on which I stand from which the seeds of my expression flow. That is the ground I choose to nurture and grow.

What about you? What is your fertile ground? What is your state of being in the world? What attention is needed so that you can meet the thresholds before you with strength, conviction and with love?

A Quiet Hike in Nature’s Beauty

Leadership in Urgent & Emergent Times

The Lands Between … Mountains and Valley

Every time you open your mouth you are charging atomic particles, arranging them and setting them into a pattern of action. Consequently, everything you say, everything you say, is putting some energy effect into action. Gregge Tiffen (Open Secrets: An Honest Performance - June, 2011)

Last night as I watched and listened to the so-called ‘debate’ here in the U.S. I was reminded of my post back in June that started with the above quote from Gregge (http://cindyreinhardt.com/blog/speaking-with-care). I cringed as I felt the darkness of the words, the tone, and the behavior try to pull me down into the morass of uncivility that has, sadly, become the trademark in far to many arenas of politics and, indeed, life.

I noticed the stark contrast between this event and seeing and hearing 70 world leaders come forward just a day earlier to pledge action in support of the planetary being, Mother Earth addressing the urgency of climate change. I encourage you to watch the #NatureforLife Leaders Event and consider what and whose leadership speaks to you in these urgent and emerging times.

I ping-ponged back and forth between despair and optimism, disgust and appreciation, rage and love, confusion and understanding, turmoil and peace. I recognized that I could grab the ball and stop on either side of the net. Choice. I knew what I wanted to choose, but how would I maintain it?

I spent time in the woods and on the land that lies between the woods and the valley below. I walked and shed tears in the labyrinth out back. I hopped onto a Zoom session with a group of caring explorers from around the world and heard the kind of words of leadership that are so desperately needed right now: governance that listens to the planet, the need to understand links between the climate crisis and violence, a reminder that borders are of human doing not the planet’s being.

My colleague’s words and deep, integral thinking were just the salve I needed to anchor me in the optimism, appreciation, love, understanding and peace that I was choosing.

We have work to do dear ones. Inner work and work in the world, a world that needs our thoughtfulness and care.

As I have said before, and will no doubt repeat (hopefully not ad nauseum) as we navigate our individual and collective paths ahead …

… the work of pivoting to a new paradigm in which humanity along with all of nature on our planet can thrive …is deep and personal, each of us contributing to a larger collective. … Our work is work of the heart. Commitment, discipline, and consistent awareness are required. Being counter to much of our culture, using words of peace will require acts of courage, different, yet no less demanding, than engaging in battle (click here to read that post)

May we take each step forward with the self-leadership and keen awareness that everything we think, we say, we do is contributing to the quality of life on the planet. The darkness calls us. May we be the light that we are.

Day Breaks in the Sacred Sangres

From Domination to Love

Sangres Sunrise

For thousands of years, Western culture has become increasingly obsessed with the idea of dominance: with dominance of humans over nonhuman nature, masculine over the feminine, wealthy and powerful over the poor, with the dominance of the West over non-Western cultures. Deep ecological consciousness allows us to see through these erroneous and dangerous illusions. Bill Devall, Deep Ecology: Living as if Nature Mattered

This week finds me immersed in a personal family event, so the weekly muse is taking a break from writing my usual post. Yet even with much of my attention elsewhere, the need for laying old systems to rest and bringing forth new ones is ever present in every aspect of our lives.

This week I invite - no, I encourage - you listen to Humanity’s Team co-founder Steve Farrell interview conscious business pioneer, Hazel Henderson. Find it here.

Then, think about, indeed dare to imagine an economy that is fair, just, equitable. One where dominance has no seat at the table. And, deep ecological consciousness has a voice.

What is possible? What will you do to contribute to the pivot toward this possibility?

Cottonwood Creek Nearby

Stewardship in The Great Turning

Sunrise in the Sangres

If there is to be a livable world for those who come after us, it will be because we have managed to make the transition from the Industrial Growth Society to a Life-Sustaining Society. . . . While the agricultural revolution took centuries and the Industrial revolution took generations, (the Great Turning) has to happen within a matter of years. It also has to be conscious—involving not only the political economy, but the habits, values and understandings that foster it. Joanna Macy (from Pace e Bene’s This Nonviolent Life: Daily Inspiration for Your Nonviolent Journey - July 3, 2020)

Merriam-Webster defines stewardship as the conducting, supervising, or managing of something; especially: the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care (emphasis mine).

We are stewards, you and I. Each of us. All of us. Individually. Collectively. I’ve written here many times (hopefully not ad nauseum) that every thought we think, every word we speak, every action we undertake matters in the grand scheme of the Universe and Universal cycles. That is the nature of stewardship: careful and responsible management of our thoughts, our words, and our deeds.

Stewardship requires awareness and willingness to take full responsibility for every choice we make. Stewardship asks that we identify our values and commit ourselves to aligning our choices with those values.

Stewardship demands that we think and act independently and with awareness that we are part of the web of infinite and interconnected life. As frustrating and confusing all forms of media and the world of ‘alternative facts’ have become, when light is shined on their dark shadows, we are given the gift of seeing how media is used to promote particular agendas.

That awareness offers us a pivot point – a point of choice about what resonates deep within our being. Choosing wisely asks that we know what we value. And to act consistent with those values. It may invite us to swim upstream for a time, eschewing following the crowd. Perhaps it is akin to what Joseph Campbell called ‘the hero’s journey’.

Which brings me back to stewardship in this pivotal time. I value creating a life-sustaining society, one with true ‘liberty and justice’ for all. I value a deeper understanding of Universal law, Universal cycles and living life from that understanding. I value learning to live ‘in’ the world without being ‘of’ the world.

Aiming to filter my choices through these values, one of several domains of life I’ve begun to re-evaluate is financial, asking the question ‘are my money habits – what I spend and where I spend it, what and where I invest – consistent with what I value?’.  I am far shy of a ‘perfect 10’ in this domain.

Although I’m not aiming for perfection, I am looking to be a better steward in both the spending and investment categories. I’ve long invested in ‘socially responsible’ funds, but my exploration led me to wonder ‘is that the best I can do?’ How can I do better?’  It was no surprise that resources and helpful information began to flow my way as I engaged the question. Indeed, the Universe does respond and magnify our thoughts, words, deeds!

This introduction to Marco Vangelisti’s ideas of ‘no harm’ and ‘regenerative’ investing are getting me started on the path to improving my financial stewardship. His article Making Amends Through Regenerative Investing gives me hope as we awaken more deeply to our impact on ourselves, on one another, and on our precious planet.

Taking stewardship to heart is a bold act of caring.

Evening Shadows

Discovering and Creating The Ways Between

There’s always a Way Between … Think about it until you see it clearly. Shulen, the Old Warrior challenging his apprentice Ari Ara (Not This, Not That), a young orphan girl, in Rivera Sun’s novel, The Way Between. https://www.riverasun.com/

The Way Between must have been with me early one morning a few days before the Summer Solstice when this flow of words landed on the journal page in front of me.

I love being awake to watch the day dawn.

Dark mountain against the lightening sky.

First sounds of life

Winged beings flit about

Singing, not quite – testing their voice in preparation to

Greet the Day.

Hummingbird buzzes.

And, yet these woods are oh so quiet in their waking.

Gentle

in the cool morning air,

reminding me

Gentleness is the way – MY way.

Gentle with self.

Gentle with others.

Ah, ‘others’ …

Solstice Sunrise in the Woods Out Back

That particular morning I was thinking about creatures that we label as ‘pests’ – ants, mice, mosquitoes (it’s THAT season here in the mountains) - and, how often I mindlessly swat a ‘skeeter’ or squash an ant that, perhaps with at least equal mindlessness, has dared to crawl on my arm while I’m engaging in a Feldenkrais lesson. I think about this as I observe myself and others in our relationships and our conflicts with one another. I think about it in relation to working with my canine companion, Zadie Byrd, when I become frustrated or confused. I know that there are better ways.

Discovering and creating those ways, then practicing and following them with conviction and commitment is a sure path to creating a more peaceful and just world. This, my heart knows. These better ways? Most start with listening – listening to others, to nature, to self, listening within.

Shulen’s quote above is from a scene where he has told his apprentice in Azar, The Way Between, to put an end to the bullying she has been subjected to by another orphan. She is challenged to not fight (she’s committed to peace and, besides, she’d likely loose) or flee (report the perpetrator to the Head Monk at the orphanage). She must find The Way Between for this situation.

She does so, first by connecting to and acknowledging the boy’s pain and by listening to his angry, heart wrenching story. Then,

The moment opened like a door. Ari Ara saw his leap coming in slow motion. She stepped through the possibilities between fighting or fleeing and entered The Way Between. As Brol sprang at her, Ari Ara turned his momentum in midair. Softly as a snowflake in Shulen’s hand, she leveraged his flying weight into a flip and brought his body to the ground. ‘It ends here, Brol,’ she warned him in a low voice as his shocked eyes stared up at her. She held his gaze for a moment, until she saw something shift in his face. Then she stepped back and strode out of the monastery without another word. Rivera Sun, The Way Between

Ari Ara came to this strength and capability, not in a moment of sheer luck, but with months of study and training, of trials and tribulations. (Get the book, read the story, be inspired).

My own dive into exploring nonviolence and peace this summer is deepening my understanding that peace and nonviolence won’t happen ‘out there’ in our chaotic, violent world until we each create peace within and craft our lives and our systems from that place, from finding and creating The Way Between in our thoughts, words, and deeds. Listening. That is the opportunity, perhaps the necessity, of this time.

Acts and approaches that exemplify The Way Between abound in our world, often are ignored by a media seemingly trapped by the dark aura of violence and chaos. We are steeped in this culture by our language (think ‘war on poverty’); by products designed to rid us of pests of all kinds; by books, movies, games, cartoons and more. Activism can be as simple as unplugging from the systems and products that brought us to this place: being more mindful of what and from whom we purchase goods and services, and where we invest our time and our money.

I’m imagining a world where we relate, create, and make choices from The Way Between: a just and caring economic system, love for our precious planet, wellness and health systems that honor the body’s intelligence …

These are the pivots inviting us forward. What are you imagining? What are you wanting and willing to create?

Sunset - Day is Done, Rest for the Days Ahead