5 Considerations for a heavy world

thoughts for the weekend

Photo by Cayetano Gil on Unsplash

Hi friends,

I’m in southern Arizona this weekend, spending some time with some incredible folks at a ranch with little cell service and internet only in certain areas, and for that, I’m incredibly grateful.

I’ll be sharing more about the summer series soon, but right now, I just want to pause and lean in—lean into our humanity, lean into this moment in time, for those of us in the United States, to lean into the horrors of our political and social climate. So, so much is wrong, and I keep turning to words, to poetry, and to community to find the right kinds of balm for this season.

So I want to share 5 realities I’m considering right now. I just want to share what I’m processing, and invite you into that. What are you processing lately? What’s showing up in the most tender, deepest spaces in your heart and mind, and where do you go to find rest and support to be someone who shows up well and with kinship in this world?

1. It is difficult to be present right now.

   Right? difficult to sit still and to be, difficult to lean into a moment of pure joy without also recognizing that around the world terror is unleashed day after day and we are dealing with a climate crisis and people just suck sometimes and, and, and—it is difficult to be present right now, but we need to be. Even if it’s five minutes a day of pure mindfulness, of getting back into our bodies, of remembering our story or listening to someone else’s with complete presence—do it. Practice it. And see how it helps you hold the realities of the world.

2. Being a global citizen feels extremely complex.

   This is especially true online, in a globalized world where so much happens through the computer screen. But I know something to be true of these spaces— some of my dearest friends, some of the people who have helped me see the world in new, precious ways, I met through the internet. We continue to show up with and for one another, we continue to write poetry and books and articles, we continue to make room for care, and we embrace the complexity of being human. I hope that for all of us. So take time to listen, to hold space, and to see how your online spaces shape your very real communities and the communities of those you love.

3. We must celebrate one another’s gifts and explore the diversity of ways in which those gifts can be used to change the world.

   I’m feeling a lot of…pressure out there to be a certain kind of everything. Be a certain kind of activist or a certain kind of writer and public speaker, even a certain kind of feminist or {insert your own identity marker here}. I want us to pause a moment and just remember that the world expands with such richness when we do our work from the deep well of understanding our own gifts and how to use them well. It won’t do the world any good if I show up in ways that are inauthentic to me—we can’t force ourselves to use our voices in ways that don’t work for us, so pause and hold the diversity of gifts out there, and let’s ask how. How are we showing up? How are we using the authentic gifting each of us have?

4. Religion has always been a tool for oppression AND for healing and we need interfaith conversations to guide us.

   This one is tough for me right now. If you’ve followed me for very long or if you read my books, you know that I grapple with religion, specifically Christianity, for its obvious history of colonization toward peoples around the world and the ways colonization, patriarchy and white supremacy still show up today. But I’ve had some of those moments lately, you know the ones, where I’m reminded, oh, thank God I’m not alone in this, thank God someone else sees it, feels it, processes it, holds it. And in so many of the interfaith gatherings I show up to, we are all asking some big, tender questions of faith. I’m grateful we are talking about how religion is used to oppress and colonize and that it’s also a tool for hope and healing. I want to keep having that conversation.

5. Being subversive in empire is a difficult, beautiful, rewarding journey.

   The idea of being subversive really started showing up a lot in my career a few years ago, in those moments when I’d doubt myself, doubt my voice, doubt the way I show up to my work in the world. Being subversive is about the quiet ways we show up, make room, create change. And here’s the thing— we need the loud voices, the big, open wide changes and pushes, yes. And we need the subversive ways of showing up, ways that erode and change things. I think about my children’s series, and how children’s books are such an incredible, subversive tool against a society that shames us for connecting to our child selves. Keep connecting. Keep subverting. And let’s see what happens.

Thanks for holding this space with me, friends. Onward.

Photo by Robert Murray on Unsplash

Come retreat with me in Ireland this fall!

Friends, even though October feels far off, it will be here before you know it, and if you have the space October 16-24th.

Join me, Micky ScottBey Jones, Gareth Higgins, and Brian Ammons for a retreat called Listening at the Edges: Healing for Our Broken World.

Gareth shares a bit more about it here:

Ireland appeals to many people - the landscape, culture, and spiritual resonance of the place and people call around the world. I'm grateful to have grown up around Belfast, where I learned a love for how the island looks and feels, the hospitality and creativity, and the sense of being small but also perfectly formed. I also bore witness to, and sometimes experienced the civil conflict that caused so much harm to so many; and I'm deeply grateful to have been mentored by peacebuilders, and encouraged to collaborate with others to change the story of the north of Ireland to one of conflict transformation and sharing power for the common good. 

I've been privileged to co-host these retreats for a decade now - experiences of immersion in the better story of being held by the land and honoring it, of discerning ways to address the bad by practising the better, and finding our place as people touched by history and contributing to the future, while becoming in the present moment.

Northern Ireland continues to hold space for a movement that champions the best things about a broken and beautiful society; many people from the US who have visited, or attended our retreats have spoken about the parallels with their own concerns, doubts, and loves regarding where they live. We're not interested in speculative tourism or showing off; but we do want to share with you some of the gifts and challenges, and perhaps even the lessons of a place and a people who (sometimes!) help us take life seriously without taking ourselves too seriously.

It's my great joy that Kaitlin and Micky will be joining us as guests in October, along with my co-host the brilliant, wise, and compassionate Brian Ammons - I hope you will consider joining us too.

Please consider applying! There’s still time to secure your spot, and I believe it will be life-changing. Click here to apply!