The Great Turning
What Story Will You Choose
On Friday I performed music at the opening of a conference hosted by The Environmental Resilience Institute of Indiana University. People came from all over the state of Indiana to attend workshops, hear speakers and gather for information, inspiration and community. I want to lift up the spirit and concrete projects and variety of hopeful efforts that individuals and groups are doing in our little state to move us toward a better more sustainable and resilient future. I remember a conversation with John Paul Lederach, Notre Dame professor emeritus and globally recognized expert on non-violent conflict resolution. When talking about the enormity of many of the current problems we face socially, politically and environmentally he sited the evidence that it doesn’t take getting 100% of people on board to make lasting and positive change. He described nodes of individuals and groups like connection points on a spider web. If you’ve ever seen a spider web close up in the morning light you might notice that when one point of the web vibrates the rest of the web vibrates. Singing with a room filled with people who represented nodes of care and concern was incredibly hopeful for me. The space was quite literally vibrating with the sound of song and the power of lifted voices.
It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the size and scale of a crisis that is creating unprecedented events of flood, fire, drought, super sized tornadoes and hurricanes. It is hard to process the loss and grief of knowing we are losing plant, tree, bird and animal species at an alarming rate. It is hard to hold the knowledge that many things I loved about the native Indiana natural environment has changed in devastating ways and will not return in my life time.
But a crisis can be a window and an opening that might not have happened otherwise. In her book Active Hope Joanna Macy calls describes this moment in time as The Great Turning. Yes, it is a time of great loss and challenge, but it is also a moment of daily decision and possibility. What I saw as I looked at that packed conference auditorium was a diverse community of people who are all stepping up, each in their own way, with their own particular gifts, to embrace how we might shift the balance toward a more just, more sustainable, more effective and connected ways of being in relationship (with one another and with the earth). There were people working in public policy, in environmental education and natural resource management. But I also met a young woman who teaches yoga, a retiree who has started a local hiking club. I listened to a man who inspired faith communities all over the state to lower their energy usage, a woman who works with a prominent business to encourage sustainable practices. There were stories from a very energized Deputy Administrator of the EPA about new programs and initiatives, photos of a community gardener, a man who is helping neighborhoods create green space in urban settings for kids. There were young people and older folks, parents and students. They were all there representing nodes on the web of care. They were there because that had decided that the daily actions of individuals matter. They were there because of the power in sharing our stories of love for our homes, communities and the natural world….here at the rim of The Great Turning.
Wendell Berry wrote “The significance—and ultimately the quality—of the work we do is determined by our understanding of the story in which we are taking part.”
We decide the story we tell ourselves. We choose the story in which we take part.
There will be those who will tell us, one person doesn’t matter, a small community in a small state can’t possibly make a difference. But one of the events today was something called Hoosier Resilancy Heroes where individuals were acknowledged for all kinds of creative personal and daily actions in care of the land and home and communities they love. This year’s “heroes” includes my dear friend, Marcia, who has been faithfully and passionately supporting local food systems, sustainability and earth care in a variety of powerful ways.
The truth is, nothing has ever changed for the better except one heart, one person, one community….one daily action at a time. This is not to diminish the all too real stories of struggle, suffering and frustration concerning the effects of climate disruption. Indeed, part of our collective story is how to meaningfully hold grief and hope, acknowledging what cannot be changed and still envisioning all that can. But that said, I think it is important to lift up stories of dedication, ethical and loving actions, the countless stories of one person, a small group, one community partnering with another community to make a difference.
In Finding Beauty in A Broken World by Terry Tempest Williams, the author writes about a visual artist who goes into urban neighborhoods and helps them create community murals. Terry described how the artist visited a tough area of Philadelphia and asked interested people to go out with baskets and collect up pieces of broken stuff discarded on the streets. People brought back armloads of broken glass and other materials. From this collected mountain of brokenness the artist and volunteers created a beautiful mosaic mural about the story of their collective experience on the outer wall of a neighborhood community center. Out of what seemed broken, useless and abandoned, a group of volunteers claimed a image of solidarity that affirmed the power, courage, struggle and beauty of their collective story.
We are part of the story of what has been broken, but we are also part of a stories from our history that ground and inspire us, as well as the stories that envision, heal and connect us to one another and the natural world as we step forward into The Great Turning.
To learn more about the inspiring projects including Hoosier Resiliency Heroes at ERI (Environmental Resilance Institute) click here
Question
What does this story bring up for you? What does it mean to choose the story in which we are taking part? Do you have a story of someone you know who has inspired you by the strength of their love, the courage of their efforts or faithfulness of their ethical practice?
Practice
Sit quietly and breathe deeply. Get a sense of where you are grounded. Think of the earth that is below your feet or the room where you are sitting. Feel the strength of the earth, the power of the bedrock below you. Know that you are created of elements of that good strong earth. Thank the earth and choose the story you will live today.
What I’m reading…
All links are directed to my favorite indie booksellers -Morganstern’s Bookstore & Cafe :-)
Many Thanks to my friend Dennis who sent me the beautiful book “Awe” by Dacher Keltner. Keltner is a researcher who studies emotion and in particular the experience of awe. Its full of facinating science, but also inspiring stories of the power of wonder and awe in our lives and communities. I know I’ll be writing more about this book here at A Gathering of Spirits!
The Moon’s of August by Danusha Lameris I discovered Lameris’ work through her poem “Kindness” recommended by Naomi Shihab Nye the New York Times. This is a lovely collection of powerful poems.
Babel -Or the Necessity of Violence:An Arcane History of the Oxford Translator’s Revolution by R. F. Kuang This is an interesting novel set in the 1830’s in an alternative version of Oxford at a fictional school of magical translation. It is speculative fantasy fiction that explores language, privilege and race with powerful commentary on the atrocities of colonialism and its ongoing damage.
From The Heart About Something In The News This Week…..
I want to lift up and appreciate Pennsylvania senator, John Fetterman, for his honesty with the american public about seeking medical help for clinical depression. We did not question the rightness of the senator receiving health care when he suffered a stroke. We would not question if he sought help for diabetes or asthma. There is still social stigma connected to seeking health care for mental health that keeps many people from seeking help, suffering in isolation or silence. I just want to lift up that mental health care IS health care. Clinical depression is a serious, painful and debilitating illness that 1 in 10 people in the United States are currently navigating. I’ll be holding Senator Fetterman and his family in the Light for wellness and healing and commend his openness. I hope you will lift up the senator and all who suffer with depression….as well as those who love and support their healing.
Upcoming Shows and Events
For more info visit www.carrienewcomer.com/tour
A couple of one inch photos from a walk.
So beautifully said Lisa! Thank you for your thoughts here. I believe the more we understand how we are connected the more we are able to find a more loving and effective way forward. Like you, I really sense the importance of lifting up that we all have gifts and passions, and every act of love and kindness deeply matters. Thanks again Lisa. I always so appreciate your posts
This post brings many thoughts. I don’t always choose to write unseen connotations into my personal story, or to write my part with much kindness. I too often write my character as “unknown guy in a small town.” But when picturing a web, and my spot in the thread, the story shifts. I often return to a previous quote of yours, “a tree stands alone, and yet in deepest communion,” to gain perspective.
I also think of the Washed Ashore Project which brings awareness to plastic pollution in the oceans by creating beautiful large sculptures from garbage collected by hundreds of volunteers. And I, too, hold John Fetterman in the Light, along with everyone who bravely overcomes the added challenge of revealing mental health issues in addition to the illness itself. Whether in personal, public, political, spiritual, or corporate settings, may we finally stop viewing mental health issues as weakness.