Dear friends and fellow travelers,

in the blinding clouds of a sandstorm, I believe it is vitally important to reach out to one another. To be reminded that even though we may not all be in the same boat, we are all in the same storm.  I’m jumping in the deep end. Hold my hand. We must share our experiences, including our feelings of profound uncertainty.  For me, connecting to others is a source of great strength; the heart of humanity on which I can place my resurgent hope.

Once the sands settle over our new landscape, we have a profound opportunity to reevaluate  and recalibrate everything.   Among other things, simple inner contentment begs to be rediscovered.  Our deepest selves tell us that our longstanding disconnect  from nature can no longer be tolerated by the human heart, or the planet itself.  And certainly, for the survival of our humanity, we must unite under the banner ‘black lives matter’ because we are family.

Life is an exquisite manifestation of creativity and I believe the inherent wisdom of nature is breaking up our misguided, fear based toxic constructs of the past. Everything global, national, local and familial is rife with violent change while our attempts to grasp toward the imbalance of control are proving feudal.  We can no longer be disconnected and survive.

Visionaries are stepping forward now; healers, artists, poets, musicians, philosophers, dreamers; whoever understands that our future is only worth envisioning if we awaken to our humble place in nature by honoring, not exploiting Mother Earth.   Our efforts to envision a community, a world, for our children must be born from our hope of equity and harmony.  Woven with the understanding that our inherent freedom can only exist if all are demonstrably free.   My visions for community are inexorably intertwined with kindness toward the earth and love of neighbor.   Our inborn,  yearning to be free and at peace resides at the core of everything we desire.  It is buried in our words, our hopes, our quest for more.  But no matter how much any of us has, no one is free and safe until we all are.