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When a country obtains great power, it becomes like the sea:
All streams run downward into it.
The more powerful it grows, the greater the need for humility.
Humility means trusting the Tao, thus never needing to be defensive.
A great nation is like a great man:
When he makes a mistake, he realizes it.
Having realized it, he admits it.
Having admitted to it, he corrects it.
He considers those who point out his faults as his most benevolent teachers.
He thinks of his enemy as the shadow that he himself casts.
If a nation is centered in the Tao, if it nourishes its own people
And doesn’t meddle in the affairs of others,
It will be a light to all nations in the world. – Tao Te Ching
In small American towns, the pictures of every high school graduate are posted to buildings and poles lining the Main Street. People are celebrated for belonging to the community. When someone shops for groceries, they know everyone in the store.
Consensus is necessary to enact change and solve challenges.
Pragmatists thrive in small towns. The builders are the coaches, are the poets, are the musicians. When people are needed, they can shine.
We move to smaller communities to belong.
This sense of belonging has slipped. Feelings of helplessness, vulnerability, rootlessness, frustration, fear of the unknown grow in the dark void where one feels unable to share one’s gifts with the world. The social fabric of the world-the fascia that binds us together-is unraveling, exposing a skeleton tenuously balancing on exposed limbs.
Societies appear to be in a state of unravelling in a way we haven’t seen before. Communities unravel; the government is mistrusted; banking institutions unravel; religious institutions unravel; marriages unravel; educational institutions unravel.
And when the fabric unravels, we have an opportunity to see the flaws and rebuild a stronger fabric.
Must we undo everything to start fresh?
Start re-building from a community perspective, create new tribes, community-based solutions.
It takes a village to come together, and when our cities are too big, people get lost in their anonymity. Drugs, mental illness, homelessness converge when we lose our sense of purpose and place in the world.
We cannot forget that we belong, that we are here for a reason, that our presence or absence alters the course of the universe, that we are all so divinely critical and powerful.
On a recent rafting trip (in the middle of nowhere but the center of the universe), I was the least “raft worthy”, not having grown up on rivers, in the rugged Western terrain. Even pitching my tent, my cot, packing a multiday trip dry back, was foreign to me.
But sitting around the fire circle at night, I felt a powerful sense of belonging to a tribe-the secure feeling felt in small groups with competent leadership.
When a kayaker overturned in white water and was swept downriver, a guide took immediate action and saved kayaker, boat and paddle in a heroic rescue. When several of us bushwhacked up a dangerous and slippery slope, our leader took the weakest link (me) by the hand and slowly guided us down the safest path. We were all meant to be in the group helping one another on our path.
While we sat in a circle discussing community issues, I had a vision of tribal elders passing on wisdom.
Just then, a flock of white pelicans flew down the river, stopping our conversation as we marvelled at their beauty.
The lead bird circled back and took up the tail, urging the flock forward.
They were a beautiful, synchronized group with a singular focus and direction.
Each bird belonged.
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