Living on the Precipice and the Gifts of Uncertainty.
Do you wonder how this is all going to turn out? The dismantling of democracy? The intense weather patterns brought on by climate change? Political polarization? The genocide in Gaza? The overall mean spiritedness towards vulnerable people that drives current policy and legislation?
Many self employed people, like me, risk loosing affordable health insurance due to the big beautiful bill that is eliminating healthcare subsidies through the Affordable Care Act. This goes into effect 2026.
My daughter, a queer disabled adult relies on Medicaid for healthcare, medical equipment and support for independent living.
Even as climate change escalates and devastates communities, federal aid is cut for both disaster planning, prevention and relief.
AND AmeriCorps, Foster Grandparents, PBS, the list goes on.
It feels like we exist on a precipice-life on the edge of a cliff where there is no turning back.
We live in a time of radical uncertainty which unsettles many of us. We want to believe (like in the movies), the good guys win, that as Rev Dr MLK Jr stated, “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”
In my experience as a humanitarian, activist and healing arts facilitator, I want to be part of collaborating to solve problems, to right wrongs, to be part of moving the arc of at least my corner of the world towards justice.
And as I age, I understand this monumental shift may not happen in my lifetime.
AND, with that awareness, remains still a sense of hope.
Hope arises from despair, shaking off shackles of heaviness and lethargy. Hope arises when we see we realize we are not alone, when we unravel wisdom teachings and liberate the hold and influence empire has had on these teachings.
Wise humble servant leaders teachers, drawing from these teachings (and stating where they come from), who show up as servant leaders guide us not to spiritually bypass challenging situations and emotions such as fear, rage, anger, grief and despair. Intelligence exists in these emotions.
One of my wise teachers, eco-Buddhist scholar Joanna Macy who passed away at 96 years old at my time of writing this a little over 24 hours ago, amassed a whole body of work around transforming suffering –
The Work That Reconnects.
One of the many teachings from this extensive body of work is the
Gifts of Uncertainty.
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The gift of the present moment-deepening presence and awareness
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The gift of fresh recognition of the power of intention-Intention in the yogic tradition-sankalpa-where we direct the energy of our mind and heart in alignment with protecting and promoting wellness, freedom, safety and peace for humanity, the community and the planet.
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The gift of befriending our pain and the great mystery it brings us- Embracing all of our feelings invites us into a greater capacity to access joy, peace, compassion, courage, inspiration and motivation.
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The gift of our solidarity with all our relations- accessing our greater humanity along with the aliveness and wisdom present in the more than human world.
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The gift of an immensity of time, our true age- The planet is billions of years old. I look at my window as I write this in a valley surrounded by the rolling green hills of the Northern Appalachian mountains, the oldest mountainous geological formation in North America. I imagine this region with its two rivers, many streams and these gentle hills without roads, houses and people. I think of the many ancestors who had to remain alive so I could be here. This orients me towards an awareness of living and acting on behalf of the beings of the future who have yet to arrive. Trusting and acting as if there will be a world livable for these Beings is a radical act of devotion in uncertain times.
I invite you to sit and meditate/reflect on these gifts. Would love to hear what shows up for you!
