For the past seven years, I’ve written weekly about transformation whether within an organization, a team or my own personal being. As I say to clients and friends, there is no more captivating a subject. Such a statement might indicate I have found my life purpose, and I would agree. I am in awe of our human capacity to grow beyond suffering and struggle, and to further know that amidst such suffering lays the richness of wisdom. Like any master gardener, one must nurture what is vulnerable to strengthen the whole.
After decades of experimenting with various transformation “tools”, I’ve kept those that fill my heart and enrich my journey — gardening, the eight limbs of yoga, awareness writing and gathering in spiritual community (the latter of which whose benefits I cannot over stress). In fact, I might suggest this — find or create for yourself a group of spirit-minded souls whose aspiration is to serve and contribute by being all they can. There, you will grow and know safety, confidence, compassion, contentment and joy. I am blessed to share in two such purposeful groups who regularly gather together and uncover what remains to be known.
In honour of my spiritual networks, I wrote the following poem.
Mad Women Laughing
Special moments of falling together, not apart,
come into view when hearts join,
when experience is not premeditated,
when we laughingly, even hysterically,
recognize we are not in control.
Only then, as mad women laughing,
can we stop the inner war of resistance.
The smokeless flame of awareness calls
and our senses float up, alive
to life’s ordinary radiance.
Individuality morphs, no longer forging,
and a reversibility takes place.
Bound for new beginnings, Life’s gifts
are not always tinsel and chocolate
wrapped round with ribbons.
Bound to restore, this place of wonder
equally welcomes tawdry and tasteful ways.
Bound to awaken in this gift exchange,
love always comes to seed its glory.
12 June 2015
What tools do you use to enable the transformation process in your life? Are your networks spiritually as well as physically, intellectually, socially and emotionally strong?
To participate in such networks or for establishing your own collaborative “whole-person” community, click here.
