There is change in the air. We are not just talking about a movement to a new season, although the welcome signs of summer’s arrival are all around us. The transformation we are witnessing goes well beyond a seasonal change to an evolutionary paradigm shift. To paraphrase the famous Joni Mitchell boomer anthem, written as an ode to Woodstock: “Maybe it’s the time of year or maybe it’s the time of humanity.” Maybe it’s a little of both. The jury may still be out as to a definitive answer, but there is a visceral arising that is unmistakable when we pay attention, and it is pointing to the latter – it is humanity’s time.
And it can’t come soon enough. We live in challenging times with a highly charged political and cultural divisiveness. The nightly news offers up a steady stream of reports that paint a picture of a dominant paradigm of global and domestic violence, climate-related disasters, corruption and discord. It appears that we are steadily marching toward a future that looks to be dangerously in peril.
It can be easy to sink to a place of hopelessness, frustration and anxiety, especially when looking at the youngest on our planet and wondering what the future holds for them.
In the midst of this chaotic sociopolitical and cultural climate, there is a ray of hope. A positive redeeming factor inherent within the current divisiveness appears to be the mobilization of a force for positive change. This arising is a powerful collective evolutionary impulse that transcends religious, political, racial and economic polarities. And it links us in our common humanity.
What if we are poised to make a paradigm shift in cultural development? Imagine if our spiritual principles could help with the emergence of a kinder, more compassionate world. If so, how might we be a part of bringing that forth? What actions can we take that will support movement beyond the last vestiges of an ailing paradigm, facilitating the emergence of something new and greater?
These are the exciting and inspiring questions we are exploring as part of the monthly Transformation Transition Team gatherings.
So, are you on this transition team? Do you feel a call to put into practice the spiritual principles we study here at Unity Spiritual Center in order to help hospice the old, while midwifing the new? It sounds like a tall order and it is. But tall does not equal impossible. We just need to drag out the stepladder of Spirit and rung by rung, take the steps we need that lead us to the to the emergence of what is ready to be revealed.
As always, it begins within. Sigh. Why? Because peace is homegrown. It can be very easy to claim a big vision of creating peace on earth while neglecting what is right in front of us. As the writer, Tish Harrison Warren woefully laments, “I’m a pacifist who yells at my husband.” So it is about healing the internal divide, ending the inner war, cleaning our own backyard and then moving outward into the greater cultural landscape.
The psalmist writes, “Deep calls unto deep.” To borrow from the wisdom of one of our board members – there are so many directions we can go but deep is the starting point. So we begin by deepening our own connection with Source and then continue doing the work of moving outward into the interpersonal, relational and cultural realms. Aligned with Life, as we do the inner work, we become more available to consciously co-create a world of peace, and we can aspire to be living examples of what we want to bring forth.
As Margaret Mead reminds us, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Imagine if one person’s empathy or kind act could serve as the contagion that kick starts an evolution revolution!
If you are feeling the nudge to being a part of a cultural paradigm shift, consider joining the Transformation Transition Team. The only requirement is a willingness to be the change.
Blessings, Gary and Jane
