Tender.
Tender is how i am, thanks for asking, and what about you??
Tender is a dignified understatement, i will add; and i’ve reached a point in life where i’m willing to let that leak out a bit in front of you…
There’s even the rare chance that maybe you’re feeling tender too, which would explain a lot…
i see such sadness, such hurry, such worry, and such fatigue around me; things and systems malfunctioning and breaking down at epidemic rates; such an utter resignation to the constant battering that has become our new norm.
Can’t stop, can’t slow down.
People are clearly tired to the bone, and i don’t blame them. We’re forever outrunning so many threats.
Demoralized.
Demoralized. That’s a good word for it.
With relentless threat and abuse as a baseline; and the world long morphed into a tech billionaire’s wet dream; what’s left for the have-not’s?
Or the used-to-have’s-then-lost-it in a global marxist coup?
“Why, and where to now?” is the question of the hour.
And i must dig with even deeper inquiry beneath all possibility of despair, or else i too will fall.
But i must stand.
“Where, in fact, is the edge of my seeing?”
“Can i stretch wider between the ears of my heart to also include this?”
Where, at last, can hope be found??
In my own not knowing how we meet basic standards for all to have healthy and abundant human lives, i turn to esteemed substacker Charles Eisenstein for his ideas about where this puzzle begins:
”Any act of forgiveness, generosity, courage, or love is a political act. It disrupts the psychology of passivity and confirms to receiver and witness their intuition of human worth. It establishes a morphic field that brings those virtues to social and political expression.”
When Charles Eisenstein speaks, people listen, for he poetically sparks the next micro-level of self-scrutiny in each one of us; and in this, we unite.
…for who among us, in their heart of hearts, doesn’t harbor a deeply cherished wish to help??
So, where can hope be found??
IN A RENEWED ETHIC OF HUMAN INTERACTION, AND NOWHERE ELSE!
Under drastic environmental pressures and the mysterious acceleration of time, the human animal has grown harsh and impatient, and all too often forgets to listen to a neighbor’s heart. Tap-Scroll -Ping takes far less mental energy than actual interactions do.
Might we restore open-hearted connection and sincere consideration as our bottom line? Could each living soul feel seen, valued, and safe here and now, wherever they are?
And what would this look like in the day-to-day?
Let’s explore, and revise our vision based on the merits of the heart’s unbridled and intuitive response…
Honor Real Connection: there is nothing as fundamentally regenerative to the body and soul as the bio-regulation of actual contact face-to-face. The expansive capacity of both brain and heart is exponentially increased.
Honor the Senses and the role of touch in keeping our neurophysiology alive and in peak tone. Feel the essential heatbeat of the Earth.
Never ever cave to a touchless world!
Safe contact and exchange with life breeds neuroplasticity and synaptogenesis - the highly desired evolutionary and regenerative capacity of the brain.Could there be a better destination or time than now?
Honor the “Other”: develop a telescope that sees into their heart, so that should they feel a pain i may lighten, i am right there.
If i have something that you need: i will question and challenge my fear that by sharing i will ultimately shortchange myself.
If you’re my friend and your internet connection is scrambled (as so often happens these days!), i will gladly place that online order for you, and let you reimburse me when we meet again soon.
After all, it’s the little things in those times of need that restore hope…Road Etiquette of Clarity- Consideration: should i wish to pass you on the highway, i’ll be courteously one lane left of you. i will signal before turning, or cutting over onto an exit ramp.
Road Etiquette of Flow- Safety for All: i offer my prayers to all bikers and tiny cars that they may heed the same courtesies as me; and to all truckers that their blind spots be clear. i extend those prayers that all living beings reach their destinations safely on this day.
Perpetual Intention to Bless: May you always have what you need; and by my remembering to wish that for you, may all our dreams and visions be mutually and generously fulfilled.
Any takers for my team?
I'm already on your team - I just didn't know I could sign up!
beautiful Yolanda, very wise to stay tender, thank you! Sabrina