Hibernation and Connection
We all need Hibernation . . .
AND THE PEOPLE STAYED HOME
by Kitty O'Meara
And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still. And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently.
And the people healed. And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal.
And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed themselves.
We all need Connection . . .
TURNING TO ONE ANOTHER
by Margaret Wheatley
There is no power greater than a community discovering what it cares about.
Ask: “What’s possible?” not “What’s wrong?” Keep asking! Notice what you care about. Assume that many others share your dreams. Be brave enough to start a conversation that matters.
Talk to people you know. Talk to people you don’t know. Talk to people you never talk to.
Be intrigued by the differences you hear. Expect to be surprised. Treasure curiosity more than certainty. Invite in everybody who cares to work on what’s possible. Acknowledge that everyone is an expert about something.
Realize that creative solutions come from new connections. Remember, you don’t fear people whose story you know. Real listening always brings people closer together.
Trust that meaningful conversations can change your world. Rely on human goodness. Stay together. ______________________ 1 Wheatley, M. J. (2012). Turning to one another: Simple conversations to restore hope to the future. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.