Melting the Ice
It is obvious that the world as we know it is being all shook up; weather-wise, financially, and structurally. Many of us are feeling this quickening, a knowing that we are in the midst of a great change, personally and collectively. I've talked to many people who are wanting to step into 2009 with open hearts and trusting the process, but are not sure how to hold steady when there is so much turmoil and fear in the world at this time.
There is a think tank in Cambridge, MA, a group of scientists and brainy folks, who are dedicated to studying the changes that are happening on our planet. Each day thousands of reports on social, environmental, and political shifts pour into their office, and they do their best to collate and explore the data so they can help predict future trends and potentials. They have accurately predicted many global events, including the recent financial collapses that started in September.
One of these scientists recently shared this metaphor: We have spent our lives as ice sculptures, and until now the temperature has stayed below freezing. So we look at ourselves as say, see, everything is okay! We are still ice, everything is still solid. There is no problem here. But the moment the temperature goes above 32 degrees everything is different; we change from ice to water. And in the world, he said, the there is no doubt that the temperature, both literally and figuratively, is going up. It is time for us to become fluid water rather than solid ice, to blend together and realize our similarities rather than our differences, to let go of our individual identities and explore solutions for the collective. What will best help during any transitions, whether our own or the planet's, is our capacity to be fluid and flow with what is arising. Fluidity allows us to stay present and enhances our ability to respond in creative ways to change.
* Thanks to my dear mentor, Peggy Dylan, for sharing this story with me because she felt it might benefit the people in our community. She heard this lecture at the Angsbaka festival in Europe this summer.
There is a think tank in Cambridge, MA, a group of scientists and brainy folks, who are dedicated to studying the changes that are happening on our planet. Each day thousands of reports on social, environmental, and political shifts pour into their office, and they do their best to collate and explore the data so they can help predict future trends and potentials. They have accurately predicted many global events, including the recent financial collapses that started in September.
One of these scientists recently shared this metaphor: We have spent our lives as ice sculptures, and until now the temperature has stayed below freezing. So we look at ourselves as say, see, everything is okay! We are still ice, everything is still solid. There is no problem here. But the moment the temperature goes above 32 degrees everything is different; we change from ice to water. And in the world, he said, the there is no doubt that the temperature, both literally and figuratively, is going up. It is time for us to become fluid water rather than solid ice, to blend together and realize our similarities rather than our differences, to let go of our individual identities and explore solutions for the collective. What will best help during any transitions, whether our own or the planet's, is our capacity to be fluid and flow with what is arising. Fluidity allows us to stay present and enhances our ability to respond in creative ways to change.
* Thanks to my dear mentor, Peggy Dylan, for sharing this story with me because she felt it might benefit the people in our community. She heard this lecture at the Angsbaka festival in Europe this summer.
posted by Heather Ash Amara | 11:08 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home