I seethisinmyselftoo.I wantto
alwaysbeanexemplarofallthe
beautifulhumanvirtuesandI’mnot.
I’ma workinprogress.Andanytime
I makea decisiontodosomethingand
tomoveina certaindirection,even
ifit’sbasedonmyhighest,deepest,
mostsublimeexpressionsofmybest
potential,allmylowermotiveswill
berecruitedinserviceofit.I’llwant
tobeglorifiedbywhatI’mdoing
andI’llwantpraiseandstatusfor
doingthethingthatI wasbeginning
todounselfishly.Itisalwaystrue
thatourmotivesaremixed.Butif
wecontinuetocultivatevirtuewe
willpurifyourselvesthebestwecan.
Wehavea crisismomentinwhichthereareplausiblefuturesthatarenearlyutopianand
othersthatareawfulanddystopian.Ifweorienttowarditintheegoicway:“I’mgoingtobe
theheroofthisstory,I’mgoingtofixit,I’mgoingtodominateit,”andwetrytoopposeour
willtoallobstacleswithoutthenecessaryhumility,wewilljustaddtotheproblem.Sothe
heroismthat’srequiredissomature.Andwhateverwebringtoitisnevergoingtobeperfect.
Wehavetodoourverybestandrespondtothefeedbackthatlifegivesandkeepadjusting,
keeppracticinginnewways.Keepgrowing.Thereisnosimpleknownsolutiontothis
predicament.Butevolutiondoestakeplace.Thereistheemergenceofnewthingsthathave
neverexistedbefore.Andwecanbethat.Letmetrytorespond.WhenI
wassixyearsoldmyfolksmoved
fromChicagotoa placewestof
thecitycalledtheYorkCenter
CommunityCo-opwhichhad
beenfoundedbymembersof
theChurchoftheBrethren,one
ofthepeacechurcheslikethe
QuakersortheMennonites.
Theywantedtoowntheirhomes
co-operativelyandcreatea
reallydeepcommunity.Andveryearlyontheymadethedecisiontoinvitepeopleofother
racesandreligionstolivetogetherwiththemasa witnessforpeaceandbrotherhood.SoI
grewupwithAfricanAmericanandJapaneseAmericanandJewishandChristian,mixed
marriages,beforethecivilrightsmovement.Wewerekindofprecursors.AndasI cameofYou’velivedanamazinglifetouchingwisdomtraditions.AndI wantto
askaboutthearcofyourstory.Alotofyourthinkingcomesfromtapping
intocommunitiesandancienttraditionsthathaveexpressedthemselves
inyourlifetime.Andthere’sthisquestionI alwayshave.Ourspiritual
wisdomtraditions,ourtechnologicalprowess,ourkindness,ourjoy,our
love,theincrediblepeoplearoundtheplanet—manyofwhomI know
andhaveinterviewedandworkedwith—somanyincrediblemovements
havehappenedthatwerebasedonloveandhigherconsciousness,
andyethereweare.Howdidtheynotsetusonthecoursecorrection
30 yearsago?Like,thatfucksmeup—wedidallthisgoodwork!
Yes,twothingsthatI lovethere.Oneistheideathatonecoulddevote
one’slifetowhat’shealthy.What’swhole.What’sloving.What’s
compassionate.Withcommunity,notinanegoicsense.Andthat
tipsintoa bigthingformearoundthepsychologyoffixingit.You’ve
mentionedthehero’sjourney,we’regoingtofixit.I lovea lotofthat.
Igrew up in the ’80s watching American movies. The hero’s journey
is deeply satisfying. But how it’s manifested now is that what you said
earlier, in the cult of the individual—as though the individual life force
was ever separate from the whole. This is a quote from your book.
“Things don’t only keep loudly falling apart. They are also always
quietly coming together. Wounds heal. The intensifying fragmentation
around us summons an intensifying impulse to join with others out
of care for the whole, restoring wholeness when we can. Our actions
do matter because they coincide with and affect the whole.” I adore
the proposition and wish to lean into that. And then am constantly
coming up against egoic “fix it” mentalities as a strategy.We can be a vehicle through which creativity
can come into the world, through whichlove can find a way to re-establish itself in a
completely fragmented human system.
107WORK IN PROGRESSCONVERSATIONS