Several people have asked us if we are going to say something about this moment in history.
Committed to not just adding to the noise, we have been asking ourselves what matters to say now.
A few things we have been pondering from the context of Sustainable Abundance:
First, what is wise attention in a world of distraction? We have often articulated time, money and relationships as scarcity three biggest pain points. Now we add our attention.
As Gina scanned her attention recently, she saw it flowed to:
- Charging Batteries
- iPhone
- iPad
- Laptop
- Biometric ring
- Camera
- Headphones
- Car
- Attention on things to do—tax preparation, laundry, snow removal
- Attention on promises made and not kept, as well as honored
- Attention on taking care of others (pets, children, spouse, employees, clients)
When she asked friends and family members where their attention flowed, they said:
- Snapchat
- TikTok
- X
- Breaking news
This modern hijacking of our attention is a form of craving—grasping for stimulation, information, validation and belonging. It can keep us from stillness, equanimity and compassion for ourselves and for others. It also keeps us from each other.
Some antidotes: Pause. Take a technology sabbath or a media fast. Walk. In nature. Remember you are nature. Find other beings with whom to talk, grieve, pray, sit with, and dream. We must keep dreaming, especially now.
Pause. Take a breath. Feel your feet on the ground. Take real abiding refuge in:
- The Earth/Land/Nature
- Our Ancestors
- The wisdom of our lineage
- The support of our benefactors
- Our communities and our spiritual friends
- The body and breath
- Holding Wise Attention
- Setting Clear Intentions
- Offering Small Kindnesses
Then ask:
- As I think about my “normal” day, what is my relationship to my attention?
- In what ways does my body capture my attention?
- What pulls my attention away from my current focus? What distracts me?
- Where is my attention right now? This could be asked multiple times a day.
- What is the quality of my attention? Is it sharp, scattered, deep, or shallow?
- Where would I like to place my attention?
- How do changes in my attention affect my feelings of stress, overwhelm, joy, or relaxation?
This brings us to the second pondering:
A dear colleague of ours gave Jen a framed quote once. It said; “The future belongs to those who believe in the power of their dreams.” It seems almost impossible to dream right now. As systems continue to fray, as governments exert more power over citizens, as fear courses through our collective veins, how can we dream?
Everything ever created began with a dream. So we either dream NOW or let the dream be dreamt by someone else. The dreams dreamt in the last 500 years have brought much “advancement” and much destruction. We have collectively been seduced by a certain kind of dream: progress, accumulation, consumption, having, growth, and individualism. We can no longer leave the dreaming to others, for dreams belong to us all. All beings can dream. We must reclaim our dreams.
Are you willing to join us in awake dreaming? If so, what is the dream you have for our collective future? How is your personal dream connected to a larger new dream for humanity’s well-being?
We continue to dream of a future that is both sustainable: ethical, reciprocal, and just for all of life as well as abundant: grateful, radiant and present to the bounty available to all beings, no-one and nothing left out.
If you were to dream a life that is both sustainable for all and bountiful, what would you dream?
If your organization were built on such a foundation, how would it operate?
If our communities and society were built on this foundation, how would it look?
As old systems fray and crack, what will replace them? Who decides?
We do!
This is THE moment right now to dream it.
“In the long run, change is as much devotional as it is psychological. It is out of love that we ultimately reshape our lives. It is a matter of discipline, a word which, as I tell most of the people I work with, has the same root as the word disciple. In other words, “to what will we be devoted? What is it that we will love and serve?” — Excerpt from The Wild Edge of Sorrow by Francis Weller
Finally, how are we making sense of it all?
Truthfully, sometimes we cannot. However, we are inspired by Oriah Mountain Dreamer’s Invitation:
We dare to dream
of meeting our heart’s longing.
We risk standing
for love
for our dream
for the adventure of being alive.
We sit with pain
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.
We find joy, daily
and allow ecstasy to fill the crevices
attempting to forget the messages
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations
of being human.
We know that sometimes we must
disappoint another
to be true to ourselves.
and bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray our own souls.
We look for Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
We live with failure
and still stand.
We get up after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done.
We attempt to stand
in the center of the fire
and not shrink back.
We remember what
sustains us
from the inside
when all else falls away.