Live in the along!
By: Being Of The Earth, Petra Bongartz
Tags: Be The Change, Changemaker, Earth, Ecology, Body

Image by Jordan Whitt via unsplash

‘Live not for the battles won. Live not for the end of the song. Live in the along.’

The above are the last three lines of a poem by Gwendolyn Brooks that I often come back to. It feels like an important mantra for times of hopelessness and despair… When the issues that need addressing seem huge and complex and the direction the world is heading in is making them worse. When there seems little that makes sense and that which makes sense is far away. When every day there is more to be concerned about and less that feels possible to do about it.

A dynamic I know well in myself is that I sense my longing for a different world where we have reprioritised our relationship with the Earth and each other over profit…but then I think of how complex it is to get there given where we are now and the intricacies of the systems that sustain the status quo, and I lose hope and feel that all my little efforts are perhaps pointless. A different world and a successful outcome to our efforts seems so unlikely.

But when I ask myself if it’s possible for us, for humanity to create a more beautiful world, a better way of being human on this planet that is our home, with each other, with all beings, holding life sacred once more, then I believe the answer is a firm yes.

I don’t have certainty that we will be successful at creating a perfect world without problems. Not at all. However, what I do feel strongly is that with whatever steps we take and efforts we make in alignment with our values and in support of a different story about what matters, we are already creating and living that which we long for.

We can live in the along and in the process already embody what we believe in and long for.

When we put our attention, our time, our love and care into what we feel is important and needed — it is a radical act! And it matters, that,

whatever the outcome, we take this moment, this time to stand, to dance, to sing, to dream, to act ourselves back and forward into our full potential, to weave ourselves back into deep connection with the fabric of life.

No matter what happens, this is a chance to be part of something beautiful. Living in the along and alongside each other where our process of engagement is the purpose and the journey itself gives us the meaning we long for.

Image by Anna Breytenbach

So, what could this look like?

Our bodies and our movement are a great place to start. Here is a small and simple practice:

Take a moment to connect to yourself. Ground yourself through your feet, make connection with the support of the living Earth underneath your body. Find your breath and see if you can make a little more space for who and how you are in this moment. Then ask your heart what it is you long for, for the world, for humanity, in terms of the changes you wish to see. Think of a quality or a value that you would love to see more of in the world. Perhaps it’s kindness or compassion, perhaps it’s patience or acceptance, or something like speaking up when it matters. Let yourself be with this quality for a while, listening inwards, feeling where this state of being or value lives in your body- where do you feel it when you connect with kindness for example? Give yourself time to feel the texture, shape, colours, sensations, temperature etc and to receive any images or words that come. See if there is a natural shape or movement your body wants to make and follow that impulse. How does this quality or value live, breathe, move in your body? Make this into a shape you can easily hold and animate with your breath, or into a repetitive movement. Add this shape or movement to any existing (morning) practice you have or call on it when you need it, as a reminder that you can carry this quality into the world.