"Celebration of Interdependence"
Relationships are all there is. Everything in the universe only exists because it is in relationship to everything else. Nothing exists in isolation. We have to stop pretending we are individuals that can go it alone.
– Margaret J. Wheatley
Dancing our way into the New Year: A Declaration of Interdependence
I want to express my deep gratitude to the close to 50 volunteers, and the approximately 300 people who co-created and attended the New Year’s Eve and Day Celebrations. Several thousand dollars were raised for Conversations on KVMR. I am deeply moved by the outpouring of support, the love and the inspiring and energetic interactions that took place…
It was an auspicious evening with not only a full moon, but a blue moon and a Lunar eclipse. Reflecting on the event, the love and attention put into the decorations, the delightful food, and the guest djs who contributed to the inspiring dance music, I wanted to thank all of you for your part and for the commitments you made to our community Declaration of Interdependence. (click here to read)
In my opening talk I offered this invocation:
May the power of these lunar forces (which for eons have represented the Divine Feminine) draw out the tide of love and compassion in us and move us towards a deeper connection with each other and the natural world. As we move into a new decade we have a once in a Blue Moon opportunity to create and celebrate a Great Turning towards an earth/human harmony that brings a rising tide, no, a Tsunami of peace, love and understanding into our world. May tonight be a night that ignites a fire in every heart and generates a rising understanding of the depth of our interconnectedness. Tonight we come to celebrate each other and our mutual inter-dependence!
Post Copenhagen
As most of you know I just returned from Copenhagen and covering the UN Climate Change Conference. It was an overwhelming, emotional, frustrating and activating trip. The bottom line is that we have a huge opportunity available in this crisis. It is clear that our governments are not going to save us, but what is happening is the emergence of the largest people’s revolution ever on this planet. Environmentalists, Youth, Indigenous Peoples, Women, Spiritual Leaders, and We the People are rising up and saying “Enough!” We can no longer continue to trash our beautiful planet, destroy our air, water, soil, cut down our trees, and pollute our oceans. This is a people’s revolution. Again, no government is going to save us. We must each take responsibility in our own way. Though we may be on the edge of destruction of most life forms on earth sometimes it takes going to the edge to wake up and act.
Climate change could be the key to opening the door to a truly Golden Age -- the key to healing the wounds that separate, alienate, and marginalize us not only from each other but from the other species that share this planet that we depend on for our very survival. To solve this global problem, we must find ways to come together with our brothers and sisters around the world. We have a common enemy! It is the collective global un-consciousness that holds us above nature. In short we must get out of our heads and into our hearts… We must let go of the myth of separation and honor our connection to all life. We must seek to understand and celebrate diversity. Underneath our differences is our common destiny and the destiny of future generations.
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but a strand within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.
– Chief Seattle
Urgency
The window to take advantage of this opportunity is small. Scientists are very clear that we must act decisively within the next 2-5 years if we are to avoid a collapse of civilization as we know it. It’s like having a full bladder – those of you that are older can appreciate this – you wake up in the middle of the night and have to pee, but it’s cold, uncomfortable, it’s dark, you’re not sure you can find your way. So you lie there until it is almost too late to avoid disaster, but finally you surrender to the pressure and get up and go. Well it is time to bring that kind of urgency to our lives and to this opportunity of creating a Golden Age.
One of the sights that haunts me from Copenhagen is from the Klimaforum (people’s conference). One day a group of about fifty 5 and 6 year olds came in, hand in hand, with shiny faces, unbounded exuberance and a sweetness that touched the hearts of everyone in the hall. I just lost it and broke out in tears when I saw these innocent souls who will have to pay for our unconscious denial of reality. It was clear to me that I was working for them and that my actions today had a direct impact on their lives tomorrow.
So many of us feel overwhelmed by the scope of the issues that are confronting us today. But, really it is about finding what touches you most deeply and giving yourself in service to that which moves you. There’s no shortage of issues that need our attention. What is there to do? Get involved. Get Informed and Act. I have chosen to act through Conversations on KVMR:
Conversations
Over 4 years ago I started Conversations as an expression of my participation in The Pachamama Alliance’s Awakening the Dreamer Symposium.
Our two-fold mission:
1. To inform, inspire and activate a new story of peace, equality and right action towards all life.
2. To provide a platform for today’s leading edge thinkers in the area of Environmental Restoration, Social Justice, Conscious Evolution and Spiritual Fulfillment.
I am so grateful to this community for all your support. Every time you come to dance and participate in the events we offer you are supporting Conversations. It takes a lot of money to keep it going. The money goes to editing the shows, getting them out to a larger audience, maintaining the website and blog, the Well of Light newsletter and special events like going to Copenhagen and yes, I will be in Mexico City next December to cover the next conference.
If you feel called to make a tax-deductible donation you can do that by sending a check to Conversations on KVMR* or going on our site, www.arewelistening.net and using Pay Pal. I know for most of us resources are limited. But, if you feel inspired to invest in educating our community in this way, I would gratefully receive your support.
People often ask me about the connection between dance and Conversations. For me it is very simple: How can we save our planet if we are not fully in our bodies? To be embodied is to feel the cycles of life more fully, to hear the calling of the natural world and to recognize that we are all connected. Separation is a myth. We are interconnected and interdependent. That is why we had the theme of this year’s celebration as a Declaration of Interdependence.
Declaration of Interdependence
Rudy Udarbe and his team put together a beautiful Installation with our declaration as a centerpiece and provided an opportunity for people to declare their own recognition of our interdependence. We invite you to read the declaration and, sign it, and forward it to your friends if you feel moved to do so. (click here to sign and forward)
New Year’s was an opportunity to recognize the many ways in which we are connected. But it is important to recognize that we are all, everyone on this planet, more similar than different. We all breathe the same air, need clean water, shelter, schools for our children – we want them to grow up and have a good life. We all have fears, pain, sorrow, and sadness. We also have a capacity for great love, joy, and ecstasy. Love is the common bond that we want to strengthen. We can do that by getting out of our heads and into our hearts…by celebrating our differences, and our diversity. Look for the connections, rather than focusing on differences.
I hope you will join me in taking the glow of our New Year’s connection out into the world to honor and celebrate our deep interconnectedness with all life.
With love and Gratitude I bow to the common Spirit that lives in all things.
Namasté,
michael
I believe that to meet the challenges of our times, human beings will have to develop a greater sense of universal responsibility. Each of us must learn to work not just for oneself, one's own family or nation, but for the benefit of all humankind. Universal responsibility is the key to human survival. It is the best foundation for world peace.
Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
*KVMR FM, 401 Spring Street, Nevada City, CA 95959
