During my ongoing process of trying to understand how we, as intelligent humans, could have possibly brought ourselves, along with countless other life forms, to the brink of destruction, I have, in darker moments, found myself thinking thoughts of how awful humans are. I have seen this also reflected in other writings I have read, and in conversations with others, where words like “ parasitic”, and “idiotic”, and so on, have been used.. For a time I found it hard to see what good we were doing here on earth. This, of course, is in direct opposition to the dominant cultural story that humans are the best and most entitled creatures on the planet, that somehow we are”better” than other life forms. I have found that neither belief–that we are the ultimate expression of life, or that we are the worst of life forms– facilitates my goal of serving the continuation of life on earth and helping to navigate us through this time of the Great Turning. What does serve me in finding my way in this journey is the idea that we each contain within us great power. Humans are amazing creatures, of that there is no doubt. We are gifted with so many talents. It is how we use what we are given that makes the difference.
Humans have a history of stifling our potential. When we tread only along the well worn path of those who have come before us, we give away our power, and with it our ability to make a better life for ourselves and our planet. If we act out of someone else’s idea of how we ought to be, if we submit to the authority of our old stories, and those of the dominant culture, we limit our potential to be a gift to the world, and become, instead a groaning burden. But the truth is, we are still species in evolution. Hope lies in the fact that we are still in the process of becoming. If it is true that we use only ten percent of our brain, then what of the other ninety percent? There is an idea floating around out there that humans are shifting from Homo Sapiens to Homo Imaginens (Homo, Human and Humus all sharing the same root–Earth, and so Homo Imaginens translates as the “imagining human or the “imagining earth”), a term coined by Geneen Marie Haugen. Of all our gifts, humans are most blessed by our ability to envision, and imagine and then to create. It is our consciousness and our bountiful imaginations that make us so different from other creatures on earth. As Haugen writes: “ Imagination may be the most essential, uniquely human capacity– creating both the dead-end crises of our time and the doorway through them.” ( from Cultivating a Planetary Imagination”). In looking at the history of the universe it is true that the greatest crises engendered the greatest opportunities. As Bill Plotkin writes, “ If ever Earth, in its fecund generativity, were to bring forth a new human species, now would be the time.” (Nature and the Human Soul, pg. 19) One of the keys to this great shift we are undergoing, continues Plotkin, is “universal visionary capacity. For most of human history , the highest development of visionary skill was limited to a few exceptional individuals in each community (shamans, prophets,visionaries and so on). Now this capacity for deep imagination must be cultivated by all adults if we are to create sustainable cultures.” (Pg 19) This capacity is part of our very birthright.
The trick lies in following and believing in our own unique way of imagining and creating. It is difficult, amidst all the messages we are bombarded with each day from the voices of the dominant culture, to see your own true path and to hear your own true voice, and harder still to create something from it. But if I neglect my heart’s call, if I let my imagination wilt, I lose the unique beauty of my seed’s potential flower. My unique Hannah-shaped space in the universe won’t be fully inhabited. As Martha Graham said, “There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world will not have it.” Perhaps the universe works through us, each original one of us, to bring forth ever-new creations, relationships, ways, solutions, expressions on its endless search for harmony.. We each have unique roles to play in the unfolding of the universe. What if we thwart that? How can we allow and cultivate this true and uniquely personal role of ours, for our own benefit and for the future of Earth?
Of course, there are millions of books and teachers out there to guide us on our quest for finding our own true calling, or perfect place in the cosmos. I find help from the writers who inspire me, by music that beckons me, in friends who listen to me and ask important questions, through people who touch me with their presence, through dance and art and walking in nature. And so muchmore. But even with all this help, the work of finding and following and stretching and growing is ultimately up to you or me. As I look back at my own life path up until now I see that I have been quite adamant about finding that unique place for me. I have followed my heart, for better or worse. For worse because I am not always perfectly happy. And my path has been, thus far, winding and confusing. It is so hard to see through the haze of what my culture expects of me.But I find I cannot live my life in an unauthentic way, following anyone else’s ideas of what is right for me. Even if I end up sacrificing ease, comfort, fun. I have a hard time following the “rules” because my emotions rebel against them if they don’t feel right. I have been blessed and cursed with being born this way, and with parents who encouraged me to do what I wanted, to follow my heart’s lead.I’ve been privileged with an education an alternative high school and art school for college) that taught me to look–really look at life, to question and to see in new ways. Maybe this is part of my unique path and gift to the world .The results haven’t yet panned out quite as I hope they will someday. I struggle through many a day with my two little boys (who I wanted in my life); with our tight finances so I don’t end up in a survival job with my children being cared for by other adults; with the never ending construction of my strawbale house ( which I dreamed of for years); with balancing time with my family and my burning desire to create, and to reach the world, and to touch the world, and to change the world. In some ways I feel tethered to following my dreams, visions, ideals. But I believe in it–this voice deep within me, urging me on. I believe it is the key to creating a sustainable culture.
Albert Einstein said,“ No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it”. Our seeming dead-end of planetary crises– which has arisen out of an old consciousness that is rapidly changing, one person at a time– can only be transformed through a change in vision and value. Right now we need visionaries. Right now our species, our planet, and you personally need to follow your own inner visions and dreams of who you can and want to be, unedited by the dominant mainstream culture you live in. We are all visionaries, but we will only manifest this part of ourselves if we believe in our dreams.
“ At this critical hour any dream worth it’s salt ought to seem impossible to mainstream society and to the mainstream elements of our own minds. . . But. . . look at the fact of miracles – moments of grace– throughout the know history of the universe. . .Given that we cannot rule out moments of grace acting through us in this century, we have no alternative but to proceed as if we ourselves can make the difference. . . it is vital that we each believe in and perform our impossible dreams. . .In the end, I am quite certain, we will not be rescued by anything other than ourselves.” (Plotkin, pg 457)
One person does make a difference. Not just because you can change the light bulbs in your house. Rather, you make the biggest difference by following your “wild want”, as inspirational writer Tama Kieves puts it, or your “impossible dream” , and by imagining and following the imperfect, frightening, and most joyful path of engendering your own unique expression of your Self. One miracle is that your way of living and being in the world radiates outward, from you to your neighbors, to your town, your country, and your world. Far from being a burden on this planet, you have the potential to be the harbinger of a more natural and harmonious way of being part of this earth and a more perfect expression of the universe.
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