Greetings, Dear Friends and Family,
This week, I watched the COP26 conference through my fingers as if it was a scary movie. It is a wildly unsettling time in our world, and finding a place within ourselves of steadiness feels, at times, somewhat elusive. So this week, I felt called to bring messages to you that offer insight and succour in the face of these unprecedented challenges. I do this with some emotion in this moment, combined with a knowing that our optimism cannot be blind to the disturbances in our world. Our hearts need to be open to what is needed to come into balance. I so appreciate being with you on this journey of sustaining our individual and collective wellbeing.
Choosing Earth : The Great Transition
The first offering I would like to share with you today is a documentary based on Duane Elgin's book Choosing Earth: Humanity's Great Transition to a Mature Planetary Civilisation. When I first read the book, I was deeply disquieted by it, yet at its heart, I found the optimism within so compelling.
I joined a study group with Duane and his wife, Coleen, to help me find that steadiness I spoke of earlier. During that time together, two statements made by Duane resonated powerfully with me. The first was, 'My writing desk was a place of sorrow at times.' And so I asked him how he stayed the course with writing the book in the face of such sorrow.
He said, 'I simply followed my aliveness.'
Aliveness is the primordial calling of our Soul that fuels our passions, dreams, goals, and intentions. I feel that this is an important message for us. As we follow our aliveness, it will guide us to actions and activities that enable us to each play our unique part in The Great Transition. Mmmmm.
Duane's wife, Coleen LeDrew Elgin, produced this beautiful and impactful 70-minute video. It sets out in detail the trajectory we are on if we do not make the necessary changes. It also provides clear-hearted guidance on the options and opportunities humanity has to step back from the brink.
I invite you to set aside time to just be with the information and insight offered. Click here or on the photograph to view.
The Birthing of a New Humanity
The second offering today is an article by Charles Eisenstein called Time to Push. In this, he likens what is happening globally to Stanislav Grof's four stages (perinatal matrices) of the human birthing process. I love the evolutionary sensibility within Charles's exploration that, for me, is lovingly captured in the image below. We are not alone. We are not small. We are all part of the magic and majesty of the Universe. We are just in a powerful time of transition. I love that.
Charles says in the article;
‘I know I am not alone among the culturally sensitive who have stared abject hopelessness in the face in the last year. But now I feel that the winds have changed. The ship continues forward under its old inertia, but a new breeze is stirring.’
This article gave me a metaphor that enables me to rise above the noise and the clamour that permeates our culture at the moment. To perhaps better understand that there could well be a Divine purpose to it all. The discomfort we are experiencing is in service of a new humanity that is yet to be born. I can feel in this moment a relaxation in my body: perhaps all is not lost.
Questions for this Week
And so, dear Sunny Optimists, my questions this week are:
What does Choosing Earth mean for you in these times?
Where is your aliveness calling you to be?
How do the birthing pains of humanity show up for you?
Do you feel ‘the new breeze stirring? If so, how?
As always, dear ones, I would love to hear from you.
Ann
There is so much to think about with climate change and the earth. It’s such a complicated subject. I try to learn whst I can. I think of some of the music in Das Lied Von der Erde…. Yes the survival of the planet is a huge subject. I try to listen and understand as much as I can.
One more short comment: a poem that has come to me several times in past couple months (dropped into my lap) has helped me keep my head above the discourse, my eyes focused on the beautiful horizon, is “Adrift” by Mark Nepo. A line that speaks volumes, “I’m so sad and everything is beautiful.” ❤️💫
Such a gift to have friends that remind us when we are finding it hard to see the beauty. You and your readers are this. 💕