First of all I want to apologize for not communicating for so long. With all the absolutely crazy events going on here in the U.S. and in Europe — and how friends in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Central America have been experiencing far worse — I’ve really been at a loss about how to respond. I feel like I’ve been wandering in a dark forest.
And I’m very grateful to have met some wise and inspiring people in that forest — people in OWL and ServiceSpace — whose words and actions are helping me find my way. To name a few:
Scilla Elworthy
Visionary Peacebuilder, Nobel Peace Prize Nominee, Global Changemaker
Chad Harper
Singer, Songwriter, Storyteller
Rev. Charles Gibbs
Episcopal Priest, Interfaith Visionary, Global Peace Activist, Poet
Paula Green
Psychologist, Peace Educator, Mentor in Intergroup Relations & Conflict Resolution
Sister Lucy
The Mother Teresa of Pune
Terry Patten
Philosopher, Teacher, Activist, Consultant, Social Entrepreneur, Author
Dimple Parmar
Love Warrior, Healer, Social Entrepreneur
Deborah Roberts
Beekeeper, International Honeybee Educator, Speaker, Advocate, Artist, Writer
Rev. Heng Sure
Dharma Master, Director of the Berkeley Buddhist Monastery
There’s so much to be said about the wisdom they’re each bringing, so I invite you to follow any of these links to explore in detail. But in brief, here’s a common thread that’s coming through to me:
- A new time requires a new “we.”
We can’t meet tomorrow’s challenges by doing what we did yesterday. We’re being called now to reach higher and further.
- The bigger the front, the bigger the back.
Yes, we’re living at a time of instability and danger as the old order unravels. On the other hand, friends and teachers such as those above are pointing out that this is also a rare moment where a positive evolutionary step for humanity is possible. In Terry Patten’s words:
“This is game time on the planet… Wow! What a privilege to be here. Somehow our souls called us to be here. Now… This is our time. This crazy, very wild time. … And what happens in our lifetimes will have impacts on all the forms of life on the planet… What a privilege,… what an opportunity and [what a] responsibility!”
- Communities of communities.
For those of us committed to both the inner work, transforming ourselves, as well as the outer work, transforming the world — I believe it’s time to focus on cultivating stronger connections among us and among our communities.
We’ll soon be scheduling our our first 2019 OWL Wisdom Circle, with a couple of surprise first speakers, The agenda: initiating a new, ongoing OWL conversation to explore interconnecting our communities.
To help us all to prepare, please give us your input on the 2019 OWL Flight Path Check-in on these questions:
* Personal check-in. On both a personal and a community level, what’s up for you now?
* Interconnecting our communities. Your reflections on what this might look like for you and your community. How could you benefit? What could you offer?
* Other priorities. What other priorities would be especially relevant for you and your community?
I believe that our only way forward as an OWL community is with involvement, creative action, and leadership from all of us!
So I invite you to get your responses back to us right away. All of us in the upcoming circle will have the chance to benefit by seeing each other’s responses, as we explore where we go from here.
Looking forward to reconnecting and exploring paths together!
In gratitude.
Aryae
