The year is turning, in more ways than one. Despite the unseasonal warmth, the mass gatherings of geese and the golden locust leaves have made it clear that Autumn is approaching. The familiar, new smell in the air reminds me, too, that this time of year has been honored across time and space as a “thin place” of liminality, transformation, and deepening.
Life Together is in a bit of a strange season as well, both in the short and long term. Our cohort has started to settle in, and over the course of the last few months I have been deeply grateful to witness the cascade of small moments that have led to us becoming a community. The bursts of laughter or singing I hear from across the house have become part of my daily routine, and have brought me such joy. I also am aware of the ways in which this year is positioned in the life of Life Together, as we prepare for the upcoming Sabbath. We can expect that a time of reflecting, processing, and intention is ahead, yet there are so many unknowns underlying it all. Looking even more broadly, as we as Humans contend with various crises on both sociopolitical and environmental scales, all of us seem to be inhabiting a place of uncertainty and transition. In recognizing the convergence of all these places of liminality, I feel a calling to reflect more deeply on what it might mean for me to be a part of this Season. And that has led me to wonder also what God might be revealing about my/our role within the times we are in more broadly, in Life Together and in the world. What a holy opportunity, to be rooted in legacy, embedded in the networks that have been built, while also living into the joyful, challenging questions of new relationships, of new possibility, of radical change.
Although there is great meaning to be found in these times, I do not want to discount the grief, rage, and lament of all that is not right. Contending with the vast amount of change and disconnection can often be exhausting and discouraging. A quote that I came across in February, which is now posted at the top of the stairs in the Sacred Grove, has been particularly grounding for me as I have navigated the compounding layers of liminality:
“To live a lifetime of audacity, dwelling in the place where joy meets justice, year after year, can only be sustained by being so in love with a vision of what’s possible that we no longer flirt with despair”
– Aurora Levins Morales
In the past I have most definitely tended towards despair when I imagined what my/our future might hold, and that is one part of what led me to decide to join Life Together– I felt unequipped to face the impending crisis I was anticipating and wanted to quickly deepen my relational and community organizing skills. In a twist of irony, I have discovered, throughout my time here, a way of living that truly does give me hope that we as a species can transform towards something more life-giving for all of us. In other words, when I gather in community and see the ways we strive to show up in the world, I am sustained by that loving possibility of joy and justice. Life Together for me is a place where I/we can practice living into those ways of being and visions of liberation now, not just theoretically but in our actions. In these ways, I can see this Season as a bountiful space to imagine, discern, practice, and create a new way of life, together.