We are planning a community ceremony to take place this spring to honor the indomitable bell hooks and mourn her passing. We will continue to cultivate love as the ground of our being, we will continue to learn as a means to elevate our mind, and we will continue to embrace loss as we open our hearts to our ancestors and the impermanence of all. Thank you bell for all you taught us about love, loss, and learning.
This fall, both bell hooks and Archbishop Desmond Tutu became ancestors. These two wildly different leaders have deeply influenced me in my life and work over the years. Particularly their capacity to be fierce and uncompromising in the face of “imperialism, capitalism, white supremacy and patriarchy” (to use the phrase that rolled off bell’s tongue decades before that language was spoken on NPR, or even uttered aloud in white led organizations), while also calling for a foundational, embodied practice of love. This it seems to me is the journey ahead – one of fierce commitment to justice and change, fueled by love.
This isn’t news - but it bears repeating, remembering. Our actions can create a path toward a culture of belonging, and away from one fueled by our human conditioning and the need to create an us vs. them. We need to begin again, walk the path until it is well worn and easily found for future generations to tread upon.
As we are moving into 2022, my longing is for each of us to experience an abundance of joy, a deepening of care, love and connection. May we each without exception find healing in relationship with Mother Earth, our human and more than human relatives, places and the beauty that is all around us. May we find the strength to call for accountability and repair, and to extend forgiveness and compassion to ourselves, our loved ones, and those who have harmed us.
No telling what lies ahead. Let’s keep loving each other through it. I am so grateful for all of us, this Earth, this day, this life. Thank you for being with us on this journey.