If you are big picture oriented like me, you are probably
familiar with the theme that we as a human culture are in a “time between
stories.” I think we all feel this as an
underlying anxiety or insecurity. There’s a perceptible trembling of the
tectonic plates that have undergirded "majority human culture" for thousands of
years. The Old Story is forming deep
stress cracks under the weight of its mounting excesses, inequalities and
abuses. As a result, we are being
“shaken awake” by parallel macro-crises that touch every single one of us: the climate, world politics, civil rights,
the environment and economics. The
result is a kind of head-spinning choice-point moment arising for each and
every one of us: What do I believe? How
can I help? What will make a difference?
With so much breaking down all at once, it seems like
whatever we choose to do couldn’t possibly be enough. It is entirely
understandable if you are feeling frozen, overwhelmed and confused, or suffering
post-traumatic stress. More and more of us are experiencing loss as mountains of bad news
are spoon-fed to us every day with a side of mounting anxiety and uncertainty.
Those who have found their way out of the spirit-deadening centrifuge of fear,
even temporarily, have done so by making a choice to take action of some kind. Whatever the focus of their efforts, making a
choice links them to something much bigger:
the forward motion of bringing a New Story into focus.
Yesterday I was at the farmer’s market and a vibrant young
couple was walking along handing out fliers about the “resource-based economy.”
I was intrigued and later went online to learn more about it. As I researched it, I found that it shares
similar if not identical values with other movements I have written about: community currency, the gift economy, Ubuntu,
new economics, Zeitgeist, Humane Education, permaculture, ecofeminism, green
economies…and the list goes on. The
young man with the fliers was passionate and clearly “all in,” practicing his
activism through hosting online trainings and all over the world, projecting a certainty that this
approach could and would save the world if only enough people came on board.
Noticing some of my inner resistance to the
young man’s enthusiastic zealousness (and some inner self-judgment about my
inability to remain 100% open-hearted and grateful for the alignment of our
values and efforts), I was left pondering the current tendency to create and
name new movements. Why would I have a
resistance to that? Is there anything wrong with that? Well, if I were to be completely honest, I’d
have to say both yes and no. People need
a label, a set of defined values and some structure to organize around. A movement
provides that. They need to know that
they are safe and with kindred spirits who are aligned with the same values and
mission. A movement provides that, too. The issue I see is not with those who join
movements but the structure by which movements are created and led, often
around a single person or idea which finds itself competing with instead of
collaborating with other similar movements. It struck me that this model of activism is based in a masculine approach: Create something, name it and recruit people to your cause as “soldiers of the message.” Inherently, a movement draws a line
around a group of people, and therefore can even without intention, exert a kind of control or amass a kind of power that could be abused. Either you are
part of the movement or you are not. You
are a member, or you are not. You hold
up the banner, sign the petition, wear the pussy hat, or you do not. What if you don’t want to be put in a
box? What if your perspective traverses many movements? What if you want to remain empowered and not become just a solider for the cause? Are you disloyal if you
only have enough energy and time for this week’s climate march and not for next
week’s women’s march?
This idea of competing movements, it seems to me, is an unnecessary
drain, not only on individuals and donors who feel forced to choose, but to the movements
themselves who could benefit from collaborating and combining efforts more
often. Another limiting factor is what
I call “founders syndrome” where the founders measure success by number of
members or amount of funding rather than their readiness to respond to how the new world is actually coming into
being and accelerating: through a web of ever expanding interconnections. It seems to me the old
paradigm supported and still supports a “circle the wagon” mentality: Who will get the credit and the grant
money? Whose infrastructure will be
absorbed by another’s? Whose social
media audience will rise and whose will fall? The underlying competitive model
cannot and will not move us into the new world because it is precisely what
humanity is being called to transcend. Therefore, it is no longer only what we build for movements, but how we build them that matters a great
deal. To bring about anything like a sharing economy, the movement behind it
must model shared leadership from the top down and from the bottom up. So much human potential is squandered due to a
scarcity mindset that assumes there aren’t enough volunteers, members or
funders to go around.
My friend, Linda Hogan, coined the phrase, “We don’t
need more movements. We need movements moving together.” I couldn’t agree more. So how do we invite this to happen? I believe that we name what blocks it from
happening: ego and the old corporate pyramid model of leadership. My sister has
been an environmental activist for over thirty-five years. I have been drawn to supporting the
empowerment of women and girls. Over the
years, my sister and I have loved swapping tales and principles from our
differing realms of service, and what has been most exciting is how we are
seeing a very palpable merging of both movements. Women, not surprisingly, make up the majority
of environmental activists. And as women open up to what they truly value,
compassion and caring for Earth arises as a powerful central calling.
Our society has not yet benefitted from an empowered feminine
perspective which would provide greater access to what the masculine perspective
routinely ignores and devalues. Both are needed to perceive the whole of
reality accurately and wisely. For
movements to move together, the feminine perspective must come forward to tend
“connections between,” prioritizing service to the whole over competition and
self-protectionism (forms of “fight or flight”). We are seeing more and more women as well as
men with a well-developed feminine perspective working along the edges of
movements to make connections, to cross-pollinate ideas and to share leadership. This serves the biggest possible purpose: to accelerate the amalgamation of a new and
better world. The strengths and message
of one movement, when combined with another, become not only twice as resilient
and effective but exponentially so.
But what of the need for people to have a simple,
easily-understood idea to rally around?
I predict that something can and must emerge that is broad and inclusive
enough to unify all heart-felt movements, something that gives a clear and
simple picture of what the New Story is and will be. What are the unifying values of
the New Story? How do our individual heart-callings, dreams and visions fit in?
If there is to be a grand movement, no
one person or organization can claim it or hoard attention, resources or
members. A movement of movements exists
not to promote itself, but to serve and nurture the entire family of movements. it emphasizes the connections, which we all share equally and no one group can claim. It highlights the worthiness, strengths and
uniqueness of each movement and each person.
I believe it should resonate in an almost archetypal way, able to be understood
instantly through the heart, and not require lots of words, structures and
explanations. It must be able to overcome traditional barriers of gender, culture, education, age, religion and politics. What could this simple, unifying message
be?
I would like to make an offering, a single word: “enough.”
“Enough” tends to be perceived as a bit of a cliché, so before you dismiss it as simplistic or rudimentary, I'd like to assure you that it is anything but. See if, like me, your heart
perceives the much bigger pattern or picture that “enough” brings into sharper
focus. It is multi-layered, bridging mind, body, spirit, relationship and culture.
“Enough” calls into focus these unifying and benevolent principles:
We want a world where there is enough
for everyone.
I am and you are enough
to bring this new and better world forward.
Women are just as enough as men.
The original meaning of the word enough was “together we rise.” In this instruction is the key method
for creating and sustaining enough: together.
We cannot do it alone. We truly need
one another. By combining our unique and diverse talents and abilities, we are weaving
together a new reality, a better future that we could never create through
separation and competition.
“Enough is
enough!” is what we often utter when we
are fed up with the status quo. Many
movements have used this phrase to signal they will no longer comply with the “powers
that be.” It signals a readiness to take matters into one’s own hands. No real liberation from our oppressors is possible until this moment arrives.
What you find at the center of the Old Story’s value system
are two abiding beliefs about "not enough":
“There isn’t enough for everyone” which creates
systems that create, manage and perpetuate scarcity
“You can never have enough.” which drives greed, over-consumption, waste,
hoarding and a thirst for power.
I suggest that these core “never enough”
ideas are the glue that have held the Old Story together, manifesting in infinite
ways as the 1%, as violence against women, as discrimination, as rationed healthcare, as warfare,
as globalization, as diminishing worker wages and so on. It is at this root level of creation that the New Story has its greatest opportunity. The glue to cement the New Story together is the exact opposite: enough.
At the center of the women’s empowerment movement has been a
desire on the part of women and girls to be taken seriously, to be valued, to
believe that we are as “enough” as
men – smart enough, capable enough,
wise enough. The unintended fallout of the feminist movement has included the further
devaluation of unpaid (women’s) work, spurring a new font line of feminism:
what has traditionally been women’s work must be revalued by society as good enough. Whether it is child care, elder care or
community-building, there is nothing “lesser than” about women’s work. But because we have been led to believe it is
“lesser than” collectively, women tend to be burdened more than men with an
internal identification of not being good
enough. In my work with women and
girls over the years, I have discovered that the most effective method to achieving
greater empowerment is to confront the “not enough” lies our inner critic tells us about ourselves.
Most surprising about my “deep dive” into the meaning of enough was the discovery that the word is both the map and the destination. Take a moment to let that sink in, because it is a huge claim. The map (how) and the destination (what). In addition, enough directly links our inner work of healing and self-empowerment to our outer work of being of service to the world. How many words do you know of that can traverse such broad territories?
The Map: How do we empower ourselves as agents of a
better world? Enough as a map in brief would look something like this:
1.
We do the inner work to liberate ourselves from
the learned-helplessness of “I am not enough.”
2.
We gather with others in the spirit of
unconditional support and acceptance to heal the wounds the “never enough” culture
has inflicted upon us personally and collectively. We do
this by sharing our stories. These communities of support model “enough” in the
way they share, connect, value, deeply listen and support one another. Therefore, they are classrooms which teach us how to enact and sustain the New Story.
3.
Once healed and adept at co-creating pockets of
the new “enough” culture, we have the skill and confidence to go out into the
outer world to seed change, to speak our truths and to stand up for values that
ensure enough for all.
4.
We become naturally drawn to connect, share and
accelerate the kind of world we want, not to compete, hoard resources or feed
our egos. We embrace collaboration and cross-pollination of ideas, skills,
communities and resources that support the idea of enough for all. We share
leadership. We learn to trust and to be
trustworthy.
The destination: A world where there is enough for
everyone, including for our families, our communties, Earth and future generations. Who could disagree with this?
Imagine such a world, how relaxing, harmonious, secure,
peaceful and nurturing it would feel to you if you knew you would always have enough and
that what you most wanted to contribute to the world is acknowledged and valued
as perfectly enough!
In the very least, what you concentrate on grows, so if you
committed to shift any part of your thinking from “not enough” scarcity, shame and fear
to “enough” abundance, self-love and optimism, you will have accomplished a
great deal not only for yourself but for the world. Inner shifts lead to outer shifts.
Whatever movement or cause feeds your soul, it is my sincere hope
that the “Enough Message” offers nourishment and encouragement for your
important work. I hope it reinforces that we are connected through our
common unmet needs and longings and through our similar heart-led visions, hopes
and dreams. We are connected whether we
can see it or not, and together we are reassembling a world that works for
everyone. We need to listen to acknowledge that we are wise enough to be able to trust our inner
callings and know that we each have a sacred and unique place in midwifing the
emerging whole. Whatever you are doing or
experiencing, whether it is healing yourself or gathering others together, sitting
quietly or speaking loudly, it is all perfectly enough right here and right now.
Truly it is and You. Are. Enough.
I would love to hear your comments and ideas. You can connect with me at info@lauriemccammon.com
