thanks so much for this generous article Rachel. Was great to read your insight about the value of roots before reach and to be deeply reminded of this. As a program designer, I am often walking this fine line of when to push outward and when to nurture what we have.
I also think we cannot truly grow and reach in an authentic way without addressing trauma:
Excerpt from the book Healing Collective Trauma: A Process for Integrating Our Intergenerational and Cultural Wounds by Thomas Hübl, page 199:
"The pain of the global village is a clarion call meant to awaken us to the truth that there is no more "out there" — everything exists in here. Initially, this is terrifying.
Suddenly, we can sense the toxins, poisons, and nuclear and other wastes that flood from our marketplaces through the entire food chain, reaching into our communities, our homes, and our very bodies. Whether pesticides, microplastics, or heavy metals, we are responsible for having saturated our landscapes with waste. Recognizing this permits us the opportunity to choose healing and repair.
Uniting for the purpose of integrating collective trauma is environmental activism. Before we can reverse the anthropogenic mass extinction or resolve the growing climate crisis, we have to look at ourselves. No matter how many international resolutions are signed, past trauma that is left unresolved and uncared for will ensure that some of the signatories breach the agreement.
And no matter how many corporations agree to adopt cleaner standards, karmic repetition will ensure that some will be dishonest and others will simply refuse. We must embrace real-world practices for remediation and environmental care, but to fully embody those changes in any lasting or systemic way, we will have to address the murky ecological terrain of the collective shadow."
thanks so much for this generous article Rachel. Was great to read your insight about the value of roots before reach and to be deeply reminded of this. As a program designer, I am often walking this fine line of when to push outward and when to nurture what we have.
Another idea in a similar vein is designing the garden and soil for seeds to grow. Carol Sanford wrote a great article on designing capability for co-evolution: https://carolsanford.medium.com/a-white-paper-on-regenerations-significance-part-2-the-four-modern-paradigms-ef306f622d1d
I also think we cannot truly grow and reach in an authentic way without addressing trauma:
Excerpt from the book Healing Collective Trauma: A Process for Integrating Our Intergenerational and Cultural Wounds by Thomas Hübl, page 199:
"The pain of the global village is a clarion call meant to awaken us to the truth that there is no more "out there" — everything exists in here. Initially, this is terrifying.
Suddenly, we can sense the toxins, poisons, and nuclear and other wastes that flood from our marketplaces through the entire food chain, reaching into our communities, our homes, and our very bodies. Whether pesticides, microplastics, or heavy metals, we are responsible for having saturated our landscapes with waste. Recognizing this permits us the opportunity to choose healing and repair.
Uniting for the purpose of integrating collective trauma is environmental activism. Before we can reverse the anthropogenic mass extinction or resolve the growing climate crisis, we have to look at ourselves. No matter how many international resolutions are signed, past trauma that is left unresolved and uncared for will ensure that some of the signatories breach the agreement.
And no matter how many corporations agree to adopt cleaner standards, karmic repetition will ensure that some will be dishonest and others will simply refuse. We must embrace real-world practices for remediation and environmental care, but to fully embody those changes in any lasting or systemic way, we will have to address the murky ecological terrain of the collective shadow."