Dear Friends,

Sometimes it’s tiering to always have different opinions than others and feel different about things and, well I guess, just be different. Being different than people expect you to be, different than people wish you were and different than most, starts to feel lonely and hopeless. Its easy to blame our struggles on our differences but hard to suppress our uniqueness and still find connection.  While some of us seem wildly different, we all have unique finger prints, one of a kind irises and even a signature heart beat, we all are individuals, we bear the essence of something new the world has never seen before. It’s a responsibility.   In light of that it’s no wonder we all experience our differentness, and continue to find differences in the rough edges between us and the world.   Rather than just thinking about smoothing out our own edges or changing the world to suit us, what if we search for ways to weave together and integrate these edges into a fertile lattice of creativity and resilience? That way instead of just thinking of ourselves as the isolated special ones in need of perfection we start recognising how much we contribute to each other’s becoming, how much we create when we make new agreements and collaborations and how much life we restore when we use the hard stinky stuff to fertilise new ideas rather than ignoring it and hoping it will disappear!  By no means is this the path of a coward, quite the opposite. It’s time we stop imagining the opposite is always a hero the opposite of cowardice could be boldly making things beautiful despite the wars in the world, it could be advocates standing up for each other’s rights, people who protect land and water, and communities who are brave together honouring peace. 

Time changes humanity not only in technological progress but in the sacred evolution of the human being. In the history of our becoming we have exalted and exhausted the plight of the hero’s journey to discover the jewels of individualism.  Instead of revealing a humanity sparkling in their unique gifts and services for each other we have inadvertently unleashed a tidal wave of greed, together creating an arena where every individual is prompted to fight for their needs, their desires and their well being over everything else.  While some still march to their higher ideals, morality and/or sense of service, our collective agreements perpetuate rewarding greed, speed and power over vision, contemplation and honour. Perhaps there are still gems to be uncovered through the classic story of the individuals’ plight to become themselves against all odds and hardships but lets start complimenting this model with one of bridge making, healing and regenerating life. What could this look like?  Thats the kicker isn’t it?!   I can’t just tell you, you can’t just tell me, we have to actually create it together.  No one person can present a finished picture of how we can do this, but wondering about what the human being is, honouring nature and the being-ness of the whole earth, and/or committing to truth, kindness, life, and beauty all start to lay a foundation for a future that has room for every difference. If we depend on our heroes to make the world for us then we just have to keep finding new enemies for them to battle while we lament all the suffering, instead if we treat our gift of individuality as a responsibility rather than an isolating burden then we can respond by asking ‘how can my differences become gifts for the world?’ ‘ What future is possible through our collaboration?’  ‘What has been planted in me that belongs to supporting life in the future?’ ‘What live in me that is a jewel for your becoming?’ These same questions we ask of ourselves could also create a lens to look at all the different people with their ever challenging differences, what happens when we carry this wonder and questions diligently as we bump into another’s rough edges? What could happen if instead of fighting we ask and wonder ‘what needs to happen now to create more beauty, love and life in the world’?

with lots of love, Rachel