The journey from people-pleasing rule follower to authentic sovereign is not for the faint of heart. But many of you know this, because the pain of staying the same has, at last, exceeded the pain of change. At least for most of us.
In one perspective, the world is broken. Everywhere you look, we appear to be in an unfolding ecological and planetary crisis. You may have observed in yourself or others the tendency toward overwhelm, shutting down or dissociation at precisely the time when creative collaborations are vital.
In another perspective, we humans are in a metamorphic shift to a new species, and of necessity, systems must break down, institutions and cultural mores must crumble to make space for a new Earth and species. You may have observed in yourself or others a tenacious surrendering, undoing, and yielding that this shift requires. We can choose to see what is happening as an opportunity of the most crucial kind.
My new website is counter-cultural. It’s an experience in non-hustle; its own sanctuary. The welcome video, with dreamy animation by Edie Art, music by Gary Malkin, and birdsong recorded by me at Maine’s coast, ushers in a new era of beauty over pushy. With an exquisite design by Diana Strinati Baur, I’m so proud of this website, and grateful for my co-collaborators. I hope you’ll give it a look. At the very least, the welcome video will soothe your spirit.
From the welcome video:
“Here, there is no hustle. Here is sanctuary; a place your heart longs for. Here resides, elementals — fire, air, water and earth; where the breath of creativity – of life force energy – rekindles something in you that has longed to be sparked. Here your dreams flow like an underground river, feeding the mica and mycelia of your soul’s sacred grove, deepening the roots of your genuine, sovereign self.”
Edie Art’s gorgeous illustration that drapes over my website like a cozy blanket.
Something to know about me:
I’ve been ahead of the mainstream, or, one might use the term, “out there,” for almost two decades. In 2006, I created my first corporate consulting website . My words implored businesses to see things differently. To redefine “success.”
When truth is told, it has no expiration date. From that website:
Many of us have responsibly followed our culture’s rules for success, working hard to clamber up the organizational ladder, striving for and often achieving titles, minions – and, yes, results as well. But what kind of results? Increasingly, they are inadequate – without consideration for those who cannot voice their needs, and for what is wanted best in the longer term. We need a new definition for success.
The world needs a new definition for success. Paul Hawken writes in his ground-breaking book, BLESSED UNREST: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw it Coming
“The dawn of the twenty-first century has witnessed two remarkable developments in our history: the appearance of systemic problems that are genuinely global in scope, and the growth of a world-wide movement that is determined to heal the wounds of the earth [and humankind] with the force of passion, dedication, and collective intelligence and wisdom.”
My website went on to say:
Each of us has something the world needs that is ours uniquely to contribute. And the gains awaiting us go far beyond external status and the acquisition of stuff but to the absolute essence of our existence: Humankind’s natural longing to contribute to something greater than personal gain — and the paradoxical inner richness we receive as a result. This is the new definition of success we seek.
18 years later, my new website blooms amid the push and hustle of a world in the box of programming that says we need X number of followers, Y subscribers, Z platforms in order to be “successful.” I don’t buy it. I wish I had come to this conclusion earlier. But, as the Sufi’s say, “it’s your walking.” My lesson to learn. My lengthy process of choosing inner sovereignty over outer “success baubles.”
Still, as I launch this new website, what lurks around me are ghosts that ask whether I’ve done sufficient SEO (search engine optimization), why in the world I’m offering my music for free, what could possibly be gained by a new business in forest bathing, at a price tag that says, “buy one woods walk, you get to join the Community of Practice and any other woods walks are free.”
I’m counting on quantum physics. Yes, non-locality, the god particle, Rupert Sheldrake’s morphic resonance, Lynne McTaggart’s Intention Experiment. Despite my masters degree in engineering, I grasp these concepts like the opportunistic black skimmers who show up on Maine’s shorelines after storms. But my heart knows them as though having had twelve years as an initiate.
The masters of ten thousand years ago have said the same: we are creators. We create our reality by focusing on what we want, by guarding and sweetening our thoughts so they are only on creating, and not on being triggered into anger, “othering” or struggling with our demons (i.e. what we don’t want).
My question to you:
What do you want?
When I ask myself, what do I want? I drop into visions of deep, meaningful exchanges with humans and creatures from all across the globe. I drop into songs that spring from an inner light I carry. I drop into stories of enchantment that light the way toward wisdom and homecoming. I drop into scenes in natural beauty close to my beautiful Maine home. I imagine thousands of people who resonate with a new definition of success, who seek me out to ask, “How can I create my own definition of success, and how can I live in a world that supports my vision?” I imagine children loving my nature-themed picture book (out in June ‘24 from 12 Willows Press, with gorgeous illustrations by Suzi Linden), I drop into community, richness, connection, and a deep, reverence and respect for Mother Earth as our home.
My website aligns, finally and fully, with my life. It is suffused with beauty, sweet words, beguiling invitations, and restorative offerings. It may be risky. It may be a flop from the perspective of today’s metrics. I’m okay with that. In fact, I’m delighted.
No, I can’t write that because it’s not true (I realized after sleeping on it). I would be deeply disappointed. Because this website is beauty and I believe the world needs beauty as much as I do. The true thing to write is that no matter the outcome, I am now, (in the words of my protagonist, Morrigan Lane), “all lined up on the inside,” and that carries tremendous value. Quite possibly, it is my new definition of “success.”