The last few weeks have been quite full. A couple particulars: I volunteered again this year with the Vancouver International Film Festival, fondly known as VIFF; I joined with Leadnow, a progressive, non-partisan, grass roots activist group dedicated to getting the Harper Conservatives out of office; and I continue my ongoing spiritual work, tapping more deeply into Love, Trust in Being, Oneness… as well as noticing how some of my habitual patterns create barriers, and sometimes managing to bring lightness, compassion, and acceptance to the situation 🙂
I realize that each of these (and I could as easily have picked several other dimensions of my life), have a quality in common: they all invite and allow me to be part of something larger.
As I muse, feel into the topic, and put the upwelling into words, I appreciate that this essay could become a book! There is so much to say, to feel, to share, to learn from the articulation of the interconnectedness…
But that’s not where I want to go now. I (just!) want to touch the surface, feel the ripples in myself, my awareness, my soul and spirit… and to offer a waterfall flow, a sparkling of lights and insights, up and out to the Universe, of which you are a beautiful part!
Working at VIFF, I came together with people young and old, from all parts of the world, many different views, all sharing a love of film, appreciation of creativity, out-of-the-box ways of being and seeing… offering and sharing the chance to see mind blowing, life-altering films… Check this site, and marvel at some of the award winning films that were shown during the Festival. I feel into the thrill of the inspired and inspiring sense of opening, joining together, sharing a wide-eyed wonder. Of course not all films or all interactions had this effect. Still, many did, and the mix was magical.
Working with Leadnow, sharing the conviction that Canada was being seriously harmed under the Harper “Leadership”, our local team joined with tens of thousands of citizens across the country, all working for change. It was a slog, week after week, being scared and challenged by the resurgence of the Conservatives in late polls, but knowing that working together for the common good was a goal in itself, and satisfying and gratifying regardless of outcome.
And, as you know, the efforts were rewarded. The details are now history. What’s important here, is the uplifting sense of hanging in, week after week, with so many others, for something bigger than any of us personally: the wellbeing of regular people, a healthy environment, fair and transparent government. (Many expectations have been set out, and not all will be fulfilled, but there is a major change in tone and direction of this land in the north that nearly 60% of the people applaud. Whew!)
As I keep investigating my inner world, I continue to come across teachers with amazing patience, wisdom, and insights, teachings that enliven, enlighten, engage… Dan Siegel’s work on Mindsight is heart and mind popping, and his Wheel of Awareness a beautiful tool, and I recommend taking the time to follow the turning.
Though I am finite, limited, imperfect, I am intimately connecting to, and not separate from, others on the path, joined to and as the Infinite.
I revel in the truth that whether I am home alone (reading, meditating, writing, puttering, exercising…), or joined together with others (in an Inquiry group, making music, taking a course…) I am, we are, part of something larger: the evolution of consciousness, being Being. One could even say, part of the Community of Saints. 🙂 Happy Hallowe’en, and a blessed All Saints Day!
Jill Schroder is the author of BECOMING: Journeying Toward Authenticity. BECOMING is an invitation for self-reflection, and to mine our memorable moments for insights, meaning, andgrowth. Check the website for a sample chapter, or see the reviews to get a flavor for the volume. Follow me on Twitter, let’s be friends on Facebook