Joanna Macy put it this way…

“It is a good thing to realize that falling apart

is not such a bad thing.

Indeed, it is essential to transformation

As the cracking of outgrown shells.

Anxieties and doubts can be creative

not only for the person

but for the society because

Our fears permit new approaches to reality.”

“What disintegrates in periods of rapid thransformation

Is not the self- but it’s defenses.

Self protection restricts vision

Going to pieces however uncomfortable

Can open us up to new perceptions”

“In our culture , despair is feared and resisted

Because it represents a loss of control

We dodge it by demanding instant solutions to problems

We seek a quick fix.

Acknowledging our despair

Involves telling the truth about what we see and feel-

Truth telling is like oxygen-

It returns us to health and vigor.”

“Pain for the world

The outrage and the sorrow

breaks us open to a larger sense of who we are.

It is the doorway

To our mutal belonging in the web of life”

You are not alone

We are part of a vast- global movement

The epochal transition from empire to Earth Community

This is the great Turning.

And the excitement , the alarm

Even the overwelm we feel

Are all part of our waking up to this collective adventure.