Many people are getting into action. For a lot of us, it’s new. Well, not completely new. Life is full of action – working, being creative, playing, being in relationship, and so much more. But now we are adding civil action to the mix, or adding in more than we used to do.
Years ago, I learned about niching your business, and that generally, you could group businesses into one of three areas: work/business/ money, relationships, and health. Now we all know there is fourth and very important – and underappreciated – area: our civic lives.
Do you remember learning about civics in school? I learned about the three branches of government and the system of checks and balances; I learned about my responsibilities as a voting citizen; I learned about how people in history had contributed to “that more perfect union” by protesting, organizing, and public service.
But I also remember how abstract it seemed. I grew up in that era in the 70s when maybe everyone was a bit tired. How can we be a good citizen? What special contribution might we make? How could strengthening our neighborhood and community connections make a difference for all of us? It all felt kind of overwhelming and mysterious.
And so, civil action was relegated to people who felt called to be “activists.” Some of you are probably reading this article, and I want to say “thank you” for having made it a vocation throughout your life. You have so much to teach us all right now.
We are learning that action is not for “the activists” alone. Civil action is for all of us, part of being alive. The word “politics” comes from the Greek word “polis” meaning “city” or “body of citizens.” It’s not about a specialized area of life; it is about our entire common life.
Which means, it includes the ancestors, if we could only remember. Constellation work reminds us that our communities are all rooted in our shared and diverse lineages, the ones who came before, and they remain with us. Their endurance, their failures, their losses, their wealth – all of it is our inheritance, is the source of the life that runs through all of us onto the next generation.
Ancestor-centered action isn’t something “special.” It’s all action. Indigenous peoples tend to remember this in a way that modern culture has lost touch with, and so it feels like we have to add the ancestors in. We may have to make a special effort to bring them to our consciousness, but we don’t need a special effort to bring them present. They have always been here, and they are intensely present in all the action we are seeing in the US these days.
When I participated in the Women’s March last month, I felt all of the women who had preceded us keenly. Sojourner Truth – “Ain’t I a woman?” The women at Seneca Falls. The women whose names aren’t remembered in the history books but who are our fore-mothers. The women currently alive around the world who don’t begin to share in the privileges we experience here, and who suffer immensely. I felt them all there. We aren’t alone.
Our current political moment didn’t pop out of thin air. It is the consequence of everything that has come before. So those past failures, endurances, losses and riches are what is propelling everything forward. Slavery, genocide, immigration, war – these are very much at the heart of what’s unfolding.
In whatever way you are feeling called forward into action – whether marches, phone calls, organizing meetings – constellations invites you to connect with the ancestral inheritance before acting, to find that rootedness and ancient consciousness as a guide and support for you end up doing.
Next month, in Mt. Shasta, we will be diving deeply into our shared ancestral trauma and healing, and everyone who comes will find inspiration for their paths in the coming days. Super early bird for that ends tomorrow, so check it out to see if it matches what you need for yourself right now.
Next week, we start our first Advanced Constellation Training. Among many other things, students in this course will become increasingly skilled at seeing the bigger picture in all aspects of their lives, and become leaders in helping others to heal the wounds of history in order to more fully engage the present moment. Might this be a good fit for what’s next for you. You can can that out here.
Can you feel the ancestors in whatever action you’ve been taking? Do you have a story about what that’s like? I’d like to hear your experiences!
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