The Inner Life
It is very tempting to attempt to survive this chaotic period by messing with structures, policies and the people who manage them. I am in favor of new policies for sure, but I have less faith in them if we don’t also accompany them with new mindsets. We have made changes before to mitigate effects – while never getting to causation.
Where I live, there are some federal monies coming to assist communities in regaining stability post covid circumstances. They are targeted to vulnerable spots in the community – such as youth and services that boost mental health options and housing challenges. They bring with them an air of hope to get folks refocused on thriving and not just surviving. Every community needs and deserves the chance to rebuild with gusto. Just as every individual deserves a chance to make a new life built on new structures that are stronger and more resilient. Its kind of like that story in the Bible where you determine if your house is on sand or rock.
The catch is that doing any of that on top of old thinking – fearful compensations and resentment at the entire predicament will surely produce a like result. For some reason – humans tend to look everywhere but to their inner faculties and build a peaceful world inside- so that it can be reflected to the outside world. It sounds a little “60 ies ish “…sort of like an oldie but a goodie. However, it has teeth and provability. We can’t change the world or our community or our homelife without that old cliché…a change of heart.
What is the heart we need now? For me it’s the open heart – the faith in each other and the collaboration that it requires – it means radical tenderness and generosity and most of all it needs to move beyond this old question of “how does it affect me?” or “what is in it for me?” It needs new vision to see what is currently invisible and listen for what is not quite yet audible. It means centering on the spiritual and a bit less on the material.
Stories of resilience and doing something new with the old tired forms, while holding faith in the goodness of everyone, is depicted in this short video.
May it bring you to focus on the inner and create something new – even if it is only in your own precious heart. It is entitled “Chris’s Story”.
