Rivers of Connection - April Community Call Notes & Recording

"We will not go back to normal. Normal never was. Our pre-corona existence was not normal other than we normalized greed, inequality, exclusion, depletion, extraction, disconnection, confusion, rage, hoarding, hate and lack. We should not long to return, my friends. We are being given the opportunity to stitch a new garment. One that fits all of humanity and nature. "

-Sonya Renee Taylor 


Once again our hearts overflowed with love and appreciation for our dear community. The gift of presence you brought to our call deeply moved us. We know that we are stitching a new garment together!

We bow in thanks to Heather Barron for her Soul-inspired gift of poetic groundedness - a priceless gift to open and close our time together. There was a palpable feeling of sitting at the river's edge together, releasing fear and doubt to make room for the currents of love and inspiration. We truly felt at home in that moment exactly as we were, where we were...and we all have moved forward knowing that "we belong here, we are ready and we are not alone." You'll find Heather's original poem in the call notes. 

We then took time for the practice of appreciative inquiry in breakout rooms, exploring our strengths, resilience, and gifts to others in this time. As we shared back we learned that most of us are finding deeper anchoring in prayer and stillness while witnessing this paradox of peace and suffering. This pandemic is reminding us of our one connected humanity. Collectively, we spoke to seeing this as an opportunity for healing across continents! One of you shared that prior to the pandemic, you would encourage lingering hugs, saying, “my heart is not finished with your heart!” We can do this now mentally! It’s an opportunity to realize we are all one people, all brothers and sisters, embraced in universal Oneness.  

All groups echoed the need for self-care and finding the strength to "be who you need to be in this moment to do what you need to do." Many of you spoke to offering ripples of kindness throughout your communities - posting notes of encouragement, creating art, writing poetry in native tongue, etc. We sank into the idea that there are 8 billion people having these small moments of care, service, kindness – and this is circling the entire globe! We agreed that if we can bring peace and love and joy to all of our connections, the ripples will encompass the whole world.

As the sharing portion of the call came to a close, we were all touched by the heart-felt love and prayers offered by Victor and Nicholas from their hometown in Liberia. Living with empty pockets and food insecurities of their own, Victor and Nicholas' prayerful embrace of America is a reverent, awe-inspiring example of love that knows no boundaries, speaks to every heart, and inspires humanity to choose peace.

Closing with Maya Angelou's reminder to continue to astonish the world with our ripples of kindness and "to dare to love deeply and risk everything for the good thing." My friends, we are grateful that each of you took the time to pause beside the river's edge with us and we know youre astonishing experience and expression of goodness continues!

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**Marilyn and Victor shared the very present needs of communities in Liberia and Uganda. Although the incidence of the virus in both countries is low, the respective governments have issued such severe lockdown measures that most people are unable to work, thus unable to earn money to support themselves and their families. Many of you have asked for ways to help. Below, you can find the link to Marylin's 501(c)(3), One Future at a Time. If you have specific questions about how to help, we are happy to directly connect you with Marilyn.**
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Hollister