Shambhala Warriors Unite

If you’re not familiar with Joanna Macy, it’s my privilege to introduce youShe passed July 19th, but left a profoundly rich legacy and body of workShe was a deep ecologist, a student of Buddhism, a translator of poetryAnd one of the most effective environmental and social activists in modern historyThe Work that Reconnects, an anchor of her legacyIs a group process used for decades to meet our heartache and let it change usThis resourced welcoming of grief, listening to it, and moving with it into a shared future…It’s profound and I highly recommend it, again and againBut my personal debt to Joanna MacyIs her sharing of the prophecy she received through her Buddhist lineagePlease pardon my abridged version. You can find her full version here.In the time when fear and greed endanger the future of all life on earthRise the Shambhala Warriors.They have no flag, no countryBut must exist everywhere, in the midst of the chaos to transform itKnowing that both good and evil run through every human heartAnd the dangers threatening life are not created by evil entitiesBut by human choices and relationshipsThey train in two weaponsCompassion and Insight into the Radical Interconnectedness of All ThingsAnd with this expertiseThey dismantle the structures of fearKnowing each loving action impacts all of lifeThe first time I heard this prophecyMy whole energy system relaxedMy loneliness dissipatedMy desire to ‘find my people’ which had always been a struggleGave way to a gladness in knowing my people were out thereShambhala WarriorsPositioned where they needed to be for greatest effectI immediately knew myself as one of themAnd can spot fellow warriors from 1,000 yardsConfirmed usually in just a few sentencesIt gave me a sense of dispersed community on purposeThat soothed meAnd the idea that it’s not an evil entityBut our choices and relationshipsThat we’re up againstWell, that, we can do something about.That, we can addressOne choice, one relationship at a time.I find both purpose and resource in this storyA context that motivates meMakes me feel part of somethingPerhaps unseen, but feltWe’re part of this inspired arisingWe can wield compassion and insightTo reshape our own choices and relationshipsAnd influence the field all around usI never thought I’d respond to a call to armsBut that was before I knew the armsAre Compassion and InsightJoanna Macy invited us into The Great TurningA shift into life-sustaining civilizationShe was an extraordinary guideAnd now, a powerful ancestor This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fallingtenderly.substack.com