What is happening ...

This was originally published via LinkedIn; though I felt compelled to share it here again; and send it as well ... more later this week. Peace and power to all.

Is horrific, but not unprecedented; while it impedes the continuity and fluidity of business, which diminishes our capacity for innovation and growth.

Which I guess is LinkedIn speak for why we should care.

It's all bad, and it just gets worse the more that you learn and know.

So what are we to do about it?

Remember that we are wonderful beautiful human beings capable of amazing and miraculous things.

And with that strength and that positivity, look at negative objects and experiences.

Do so with compassion, awareness and humility; that last part is key, because that is what allows us to learn ... which only happens when we dare to be mistaken.

But harboring pride when we make mistakes, and trying to feign our intentions; nothing is learned from this ... humility is the antidote.

Because everything we've been told is inaccurate and skewed; I don't say this to be mean, or to be condescending ... in order to be smarter I had to admit how dumb I was capable of being, and I had to stick to that awareness to prevent me from doing dumb things.

It is a wash, rinse, repeat cycle; but it's how the learning happens.

The way that race and gender play into our individual and collective behaviors is fascinating and when we are unconscious of it, easily manipulated.

Because we don't have the tools to think critically about these topics from a place of safety.

And this is arguably by intention; we need to be able to recognize that, not as a conspiracy, but as the natural behavior of a predatory entity.

And then we ask ourselves ... do we want to be predators?

To which some will say ... I don't want to be prey ... fair.

But does one need to enact the behavior of a predator in order to not be prey.

And this is why communities were built, because it is easier to protect ourselves in groups.

The globalization of the world has expanded our awareness of ourselves and others; magnifying the importance of finding, seeing and comprehending ourselves, in order to act more advantageously within the collective.

Calling in to question what it means to act "advantageously" ... for which I suppose I have some difficult anecdotes; as do we all.

And it is up to each of us to decide what it means individually.

Some people are painted as criminals by others; what is the advantage?

When we realize that all bad behavior is a product of poverty ... what becomes of hoarding wealth?

All of these conversations are getting flipped around and turned inside out ... what is to be done about it ?

We return to finding ourselves, knowing how we came to be, why we are, and who we are dreaming to be - then following path of how.

A topic that we've been dancing around is that of transparency; radical transparency.

It is curious, while I've not participated in AA; I have known people in the program, and one individual talked about the need to confess all you did, to someone, as a step in the program.

As well, in indigenous cultures, I've heard tell of a similar practice ... required to shed the past, and let it go ... by first acknowledging what was.

And in this way, once this is accomplished, we can see more clearly all of the steps that led to that which we wish to be no more; and so better enable our ability to grow.

I was talkin' to someone I met on LinkedIn today, and they said that they felt in exile, but couldn't say from what; and had the thought, "we're all in exile from what we expected this world to be."

We know that a better world is possible ... we know that ... and I believe that we have the tools to build that better world.

Right now, it's building peace amidst the chaos; looking at ourselves and our communities, how we're all complicit in what is happening to our children's world.

And again, armed with this humility, begin the beautiful, wonderful and glorious work of building better.

In conclusion ... that is what is happening ...

"Why do we fall Bruce?"

"So we can learn how to pick ourselves back up."

But this time, we need to learn how to not fall again, as well.

That's the difficult, but necessary work.

A quick thought before I go; many people have heard of Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States; I would also recommend Dr Ronald Takaki's A Different Mirror: A Multicultural History of the United States.

Because what is happening is not at all unprecedented; in many ways, it is how the country, and contemporary civilization, was built.

But it is not the way that we need to keep building.

And so, on that note.

Thank you for reading.

Peaces, c.