Your vision will become clear only when you look into your own heart.
~CG Jung
Dear Reader,
The reality of a rapidly shifting world hit hard this week, with some repercussions landing closer to home than I found comfortable. When my looping thoughts could be momentarily redirected into tangible gardening or farming projects, my mind stayed off the worry train, but sustaining that has been a challenge.
Fortunately, my schedule was spacious enough to provide for some curious observation. I watched my neuroception detect the least bit of instability and then chase it down with an overwhelming desire to comprehend and fix. Not surprisingly, this process was highly unsatisfactory. Not only is comprehension currently inaccessible, but fixing is also out of reach. Before losing myself completely, I recalled the beautiful Douglass Rushkoff video my friend Lois had shared. With new eyes, I rewatched Metabolizing Life, a 15-minute artfully produced compilation of a much longer talk.
Rushkoff suggests that our culturally conditioned response to suffering is either an attempt to escape or to fix. This aligns exactly with my experience. Although presented through a slightly different lens, this is also the message Pema Chodron has shared for decades. Despite the varied themes of her talks and writings, she continually invites us to stay with the discomfort. Her work was relevant to my life a dozen years ago and remains so today. The source of pain is just different.
Last week, I shared my commitment to consciously serve my heart’s desire. If you are joining me in this practice, you may already note what I’m discovering. My heart has an unspoken plan. It seeks to push my edges, which, so far, has translated into guiding me into uncomfortable settings where I am grasping for context. Yet through these experiences, I'm discovering there are great rewards for staying. Each situation leaves me moved beyond words, and my capacity grows.
One of my first heart-led decisions of the year was to make reservations for us to attend an event that I felt was timely and important. As new members of the Monadnock Grow Coalition, we are finding our way, learning about our local food systems and the farmers involved. So when this invitation came along, I saw it as another opportunity to lean further into our aspirations to become active contributors. Despite knowing few members of the context for what was billed as a policy discussion and dinner, I signed us up. What could go wrong?
It was a snowy night, and we were among the most fortunate attendees, living less than 2 miles from the venue. We arrived at a parking lot already filling with assorted pickup trucks. Crunching our way through the snow-covered path, we entered a warm, well-lit space. Welcomed immediately by the first familiar face who presented us with the evening program, I took in a room of round tables, already humming with friendly conversation.
I spotted a few folks I recognized from a previous event, but in truth, many more of the attendees were unfamiliar. I've learned, however, that there is something essentially unifying in tending land, plants, or animals that provides a common ground for conversing. Before long, we had assembled a table full of lively dinner companions that spanned various stages of life and experience. The other tables filled accordingly and right on time.
The program opened, providing the context I had lacked right away. This gathering would be a town-hall style review of pertinent proposed state legislation that could impact the farming community. There were a dozen bills on the list, and the program would be co-moderated by our county farm bureau president and a representative of the New Hampshire Organic Farming Association. In addition to local farmers, state representatives and key leaders from a variety of farm-oriented organizations were present.
I immediately began to doubt my heart-led experiment. Given the current charged energy of the collective, I wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea of sitting in a closed room for an open, politically themed discussion. So, to be perfectly honest, there was a brief moment I considered politely slipping out. All hopes of that were lost when one glance at Joachim proved he was all in for whatever would arise. And so I gripped the edges of my seat and watched. What occurred was not my greatest fear or anything close. Instead, it was something quite extraordinary.
The moderator opened each piece of legislation by sharing the bill's spirit and intended goal, then recognized individuals from the audience who wished to share. Each spoke calmly, respectfully, and directly from their personal experience while holding space for differing views. No one dominated, debated, or demeaned, and this precedent continued all evening. Although there might not have been consensus on how to solve each the challenge, in the end, there was a shared agreement to acknowledge differing opinions.
This demonstration of how things can be was not what I expected, but it was exactly what my heart wanted me to see. Despite the very loud acts of disrespect for humanity, another way of being still exists, and I needed reminding. What a privilege it was to witness this in action in my small corner of New Hampshire, and if that is possible here, certainly it is occurring elsewhere.
I slept more deeply that night than I have in weeks and woke in a state of wonder. What did I just witness was the question that I pondered. For one particular stretch of time, I was shown that we already have what we need to move beyond this hate, and the lesson was delivered by a very unlikely cross-generational group of farmers and farm supporters who are out there every day doing the good work. While its true that this single experience doesn't resolve what's occurring on the larger stage, it did give me insight into what's still possible. At a time when we all feel like drawing inwards in isolation I can't help but wonder if just the opposite is what our hearts will require to heal.
May this be another prompt for you to follow your heart. Let it lead you into the places you would least expect and bear witness to what unfolds.
Until next week,
Mark your Calendars and join us!
All live participants will receive a complimentary copy of this gorgeous journal calendar.
Learn more about what to expect in the first few minutes of the video below.
Questions? Just email me.
Sun Transits 10 January to 21 January
