You and I, we’ve taken a very large step forward this year. One step forward towards Martin Luther King Jr’s “Beloved community.” As part of this sea change, we’re feeling a wonderful uplift and a salty renewal in our lives. It is our community, our time to shine.
Marker moments for this uplift include the ocean of beings gathered in Grant Park on November 4th. We shared our tears and shed our burdens there, watering of our hopes for the future. Then on January 19th we were inaugurated further, hearing the summons to “our better angels.”
We draw inspiration from these high water moments for the good work ahead. We’ve planted some “heirloom seeds” with this election; but like all true gardeners we still have a long season awaiting us. There will be storms and droughts, pests and predators and sunshine along the way. To enjoy the harvest of our potentials, we need to fully understand what we’re cultivating.
In the March/April issue of HGJ, authors Brad & Jan Lundy gave us some wonderful insights into the work of creating “beloved earth community.” Their article “Inner Sustainability” offered 17 excellent guides for “Living Gently with the Earth by Living More Gently with Yourself.” The focus was on “inner sustainability” for the individual - but the same approach is vital to our human social groupings and organizations too.
Most organizations define themselves with a mission statement that is outwardly focused. I think of the Peace group I’ve belonged to for many years, whose mission was “ending the war in Iraq.” Such groups usually have some “Robert’s Rules” guidelines for operating, but the well-being of its members is rarely part of the mission. It’s not seen as the organization’s job to help nurture the esteem or emotional health of its members. The work of our Peace group was to hold vigils and protests, lobby our legislators, and sponsor educational workshops. By definition, our goal “ending the war” often left us feeling defeated and dry. Our outward focus and oppositional stance seemed to engender the “critical parent” voices among us. Marathon meetings and arguments erupted, leading us to “burn out” and lose several members. We paid little attention to the work of own “inner sustainability” as an organization.
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I also belong to a group called “Circle of Community,” which focuses both on outward goals of community networking, and inward goals of our organization’s sustainability. Our key tenants include:
*leave each meeting with more energy than we came to it with.
*nurture each other within our group. We can then take this positive energy outwards, into the larger circle of our community.
*avoid “burn out”, by taking on only tasks we can reasonably and joyfully accomplish.
In the world’s spotlight as they are now, I believe the Obamas offer us something more than Barack’s formidable problem-solving visions for our nation. Michelle and Barack together offer us an extraordinary “first family” model of family sustainability - even as they perform their outward service to the nation.
The “beloved community” we desire for this world will arise from our own beloved interactions within our homes, our businesses, our workplaces, and our civic organizations. Any human grouping, any social organization that does not include in its mission the well-being of its members is likely to run their batteries dry. And we cannot water our larger community garden if our own souls are suffering a drought. Now is our chance to birth a Beloved World, now is our moment to shine.
Seamus Norgaard is a teacher, life-coach, activist, and carrier of the Celtic Spirit. He hosts guests at Tara’s Meadow Retreat Center on Beaver Island, where he teaches "Celtic Body Prayers" and other offerings. www.CelticBodyPrayers.com |
