Lifeletter 101: Water Of A New Life

Along which secret aqueduct,
Oh water, are you coming to me,
water of a new life
that I have never drunk?
                                                     (Antonio Machado)

Dear readers:

Did you know there is something stirring in the landscape of our world? Along with ‘the spectacular chaos and degradation’?* There is a new movement, a pulsation of aliveness, energy and intelligence moving through our collective field. I see and hear it daily, in the work I do. People, all kinds of people, people you would never imagine, are speaking of being drawn relentlessly toward a new way of being, a new life, a larger identity. And here is the improbably good news: they are not just talking about it. They are moving their feet in the new direction. They have tried to avoid listening to the strong clear voice of the heart, or the soul, and it will not be silenced.

The last time I felt anything like this was in the sixties. And we all know what happened there. Something got blocked, shut down, put back inside the box. But not forever.

I am deeply moved by the courage I see, by the deep honesty and integrity that is claiming its place in people’s lives. I feel a power, a deep strength in these people, that listens to all the old reasons for compromising, and says, “No more.” I hear them speak about the endless voices in the mind, telling them why they have to stay constricted, huddled up in a safe place, and still they are moving forward, into the unknown. They know how long they have compromised with their deepest yearning, and they can’t do it any longer.

Of course, there are millions of people still trudging along the old roads. I’m very lucky to be someone who serves the ‘evolutionary impulse,’ when it appears. And we do need support for this next step, this adventure, this love affair. Because when we really commit to a new way of being alive, which is open, fluid and essential, the old structures in our identity resist this kind of change.

It’s easy to think we’ve been taken over by dark forces—the resistance can be that strong. The nature of form, the function of structure, is to hold itself together, to maintain its own existence. That becomes more and more obvious, as we open ourselves to something beyond where we are now. The brave warrior, who fights with this kind of resistance, will get exhausted in the end. That way lies defeat.

It’s in relationship, in the field of true connection, that we can discover our deepest resources.

We need to keep going, we need to persist, we need to commit, from our deep heart, to not giving up on ourselves. We need to know how to pray, instead of running and hiding. We need to know how to make true friends and allies, in the visible and invisible worlds. We need to know how to let go of something that feels so precious, but is actually holding us down. We need to know how to stay true to what matters more than anything, even when our faith seems to have disappeared.

All of these capacities and qualities emerge in the shared field, the place where we come together. It’s a new time now. The way of the hermit, the way of the monastic cell, is a very lonely life.

Let’s be humble enough, let’s be human enough, to participate in the endless circle of giving and receiving. Let’s step away from the sidelines, and join in the general dance. While we can.

with love

Shayla

* A friend used these words a few days ago