One of the many fault lines in our polarized society is over how we choose winners and losers: admission to “elite” colleges, selection for “prestigious” jobs.
“What if we knew, deep within ourselves, that we are already whole, that we are loved, that we are intricately interconnected?”
For me, this is what is making the shift from taking action for an “idea” of something, whether that is approval, credibility, worth—and taking action because I want to, that want, being desire, encased by love, an energy that is moving me to do so.
I am still having to meticulously look deeper at my choices to see what’s hiding-is it for some old hierarchy within myself? Or is it this new way of being, one that feels the heart. Learning through practice.
Thank you always, for sharing. I find myself looking forward to the 21st of every month and happy when you surprise us with more. :)
For myself, I have found that *what* I choose usually comes from a deeper desire or love within myself, but there is a pressure to shift the *how* out of resonance. To commercialize, to compare, to compete, to advertise, to pursue profit.
In this particular time I have found myself drawn to inner work, and I still have a part of myself that says I am being lazy, that I should be doing more or earning more, that am in some way inferior to those who schedule their days full. And yet, I feel, I am learning to trust my own guidance, to know that inner work is where I am meant to be, to trust that my passion for creation, invention, engagement will rekindle when the time is right.
Stunning. In every regard. Thank you for writing this! And when I muse on our "winning and losing" culture, I am often led to the wisdom of the natural world where every being and every role matters. A stone in a river is as important as a 2,000 year old tree. We could learn so much. And your writing takes us there. ❤
I found you through your comment on Eden Ariel's post. There is something I sense in your writing - a curiosity, an openness to mystery, an ability to see beyond and outside of stories as well as within them, the sort of deep listening and presence that connects more intimately with birdsong than with the sights and sounds of a city. It is something I will try to capture in words next month. I have been exploring the web of interconnections on Substack and have found it to be relatively rare - there are many writers who are more or less in alignment on a level of mind and thought but fewer who listen deeply, who sense within themselves the threads that run beneath it all and weave their patterns into words.
If you have not yet discovered them I think you would find resonance with Kate Clearlight, Hannah King, Bill Davison, Emma Liles, Marija Petkovska.
I have been reading through your posts, and I look forward to reading what you create. You are touching on themes that I have also explored, and rather than comment on all of your posts I would share some here.
I can't tell you how meaningful I found this comment Markael. A million thank yous for the keen lens through which you see/read my words and the prose you chose to describe that lens too. Both were powerful for me. I am delighted by the recommendations you provided of other writers as well as your own essays which I will be eagerly exploring very soon. Boundless gratitude for this healing resonance!!!
My massage therapist has been my most treasured healer for the last 14 years. Excellent read, I too continue to explore enoughness, currently with class themes considering our overly divisive society.
You are sharply tracking the very themes my own heart is calling out for…. the entire human superiority complex is continuously re-seeded by our obsession with validation. I see this writing as a case for collective mattering ❤️🔥
Yes, we are more OK with the existence of "elite" or "superior" humans if we have a secret wish within ourselves to join their ranks, or if we grant them the power to validate us in our striving. Or if we feel validated by being judged to be elite or superior to someone else lower in the pecking order.
Thank you Kate for weaving in your own heart-themes, and may we all acknowledge our collective mattering!
Yes, and even in my own process of understanding myself I see how deeply engrained this response is.. it requires a totally new way of belonging, a new vision for humans in the earth process. It’s such a tender reckoning.
Elite colleges prioritizing legacy students is not "merit" and there's many other examples that make the dichotomy between merit and equity totally fall apart on examination. Positing merit and equity as opposites is a central lie of the ruling class, and that dichotomy is currently being used as a dog whistle for all kinds of ugly narrative. Seeing that meritocracy is an illusion in all it's ramifications has helped me heal exactly what you're exploring here.
“What if we knew, deep within ourselves, that we are already whole, that we are loved, that we are intricately interconnected?”
For me, this is what is making the shift from taking action for an “idea” of something, whether that is approval, credibility, worth—and taking action because I want to, that want, being desire, encased by love, an energy that is moving me to do so.
I am still having to meticulously look deeper at my choices to see what’s hiding-is it for some old hierarchy within myself? Or is it this new way of being, one that feels the heart. Learning through practice.
Thank you always, for sharing. I find myself looking forward to the 21st of every month and happy when you surprise us with more. :)
Thank you Hannah!
For myself, I have found that *what* I choose usually comes from a deeper desire or love within myself, but there is a pressure to shift the *how* out of resonance. To commercialize, to compare, to compete, to advertise, to pursue profit.
In this particular time I have found myself drawn to inner work, and I still have a part of myself that says I am being lazy, that I should be doing more or earning more, that am in some way inferior to those who schedule their days full. And yet, I feel, I am learning to trust my own guidance, to know that inner work is where I am meant to be, to trust that my passion for creation, invention, engagement will rekindle when the time is right.
Stunning. In every regard. Thank you for writing this! And when I muse on our "winning and losing" culture, I am often led to the wisdom of the natural world where every being and every role matters. A stone in a river is as important as a 2,000 year old tree. We could learn so much. And your writing takes us there. ❤
Thank you Stephanie!
I found you through your comment on Eden Ariel's post. There is something I sense in your writing - a curiosity, an openness to mystery, an ability to see beyond and outside of stories as well as within them, the sort of deep listening and presence that connects more intimately with birdsong than with the sights and sounds of a city. It is something I will try to capture in words next month. I have been exploring the web of interconnections on Substack and have found it to be relatively rare - there are many writers who are more or less in alignment on a level of mind and thought but fewer who listen deeply, who sense within themselves the threads that run beneath it all and weave their patterns into words.
If you have not yet discovered them I think you would find resonance with Kate Clearlight, Hannah King, Bill Davison, Emma Liles, Marija Petkovska.
I have been reading through your posts, and I look forward to reading what you create. You are touching on themes that I have also explored, and rather than comment on all of your posts I would share some here.
On deep time, and expanding our perspective: https://dendroica.substack.com/p/a-letter-from-earth
On building a relationship with a particular place: https://dendroica.substack.com/p/chapels-of-nature
On a both-and perspective, finding a middle path: https://dendroica.substack.com/p/denaturing-duality
On listening and resonant communication: https://dendroica.substack.com/p/interlude-on-communication
I can't tell you how meaningful I found this comment Markael. A million thank yous for the keen lens through which you see/read my words and the prose you chose to describe that lens too. Both were powerful for me. I am delighted by the recommendations you provided of other writers as well as your own essays which I will be eagerly exploring very soon. Boundless gratitude for this healing resonance!!!
My massage therapist has been my most treasured healer for the last 14 years. Excellent read, I too continue to explore enoughness, currently with class themes considering our overly divisive society.
Thanks Rebecka! You do wake early :-), as do I it seems these days.
You are sharply tracking the very themes my own heart is calling out for…. the entire human superiority complex is continuously re-seeded by our obsession with validation. I see this writing as a case for collective mattering ❤️🔥
Yes, we are more OK with the existence of "elite" or "superior" humans if we have a secret wish within ourselves to join their ranks, or if we grant them the power to validate us in our striving. Or if we feel validated by being judged to be elite or superior to someone else lower in the pecking order.
Thank you Kate for weaving in your own heart-themes, and may we all acknowledge our collective mattering!
Yes, and even in my own process of understanding myself I see how deeply engrained this response is.. it requires a totally new way of belonging, a new vision for humans in the earth process. It’s such a tender reckoning.
Elite colleges prioritizing legacy students is not "merit" and there's many other examples that make the dichotomy between merit and equity totally fall apart on examination. Positing merit and equity as opposites is a central lie of the ruling class, and that dichotomy is currently being used as a dog whistle for all kinds of ugly narrative. Seeing that meritocracy is an illusion in all it's ramifications has helped me heal exactly what you're exploring here.