This time of year is a favorite for Edgewalkers. It is liminal space. One year is ending (at least in most Western traditions), and a new one full of possibility ahead of us. It has not been the easiest of years, but it has energized the visionaries who want to use their gifts to solve the world’s problems, whether those problems are environmental, social justice, equality, educational, or spiritual. Edgewalkers are joining together in local, national and global communities to bring forth the next evolution of collective humanity.
These communities and these efforts are typically below the radar because this kind of news doesn’t sell. So many of us find ourselves glued to the television or the internet to learn about the latest crisis or the latest shocking breach of our expectations for how a healthy society should operate. These emerging movements don’t make headlines, but they make headway. It is our nature as collective humanity to evolve, and even the steps backwards serve a purpose in helping us realize more deeply what doesn’t work.
These are my wishes for you and for myself in the coming year:
1. Take care of yourself – body, mind and spirit. We have a big vision and we need to be at our fullest capacity to play the role we came here to play. I will continue going to the gym and will add a yoga or tai chi class.
2. Continue to find like-minded people and build connections and community. This past year I began to build a community of people who wrote chapters for my Handbook of Personal and Organizational Transformation, and I plan to find more ways to integrate this transformation network and the Edgewalker community.
3. At the same time, continue to reach out to others who may not share your worldview and be curious. What is important to them? What do they value? In what ways are they suffering? Practice compassion, not defensiveness. I will be getting more involved in the Omni Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology here in Fayetteville because they are a model for building these kinds of bridges.
4. Make time for people and things that bring you joy. The more committed we become to living out of our vision and being on our leading edge, the more there is a possibility of becoming sacrificial lambs to something we believe in. We need to be intentional about the Edgewalker quality of playfulness. One of the ways I invoke this quality in myself is through music. I am taking bass lessons and while learning new things is awkward, I also feel great joy when I master something that used to be difficult. I also get great joy in playing music with others. Something transcendent happens.
May we all realize that we are a part of something much bigger than ourselves and may we have increased clarity and energy for doing what is ours to do.
Blessings for a light-filled, love-centered, adventurous and healthy New Year!
