A vision of Living Wholeness

When I was younger I had a strong vision of a world in which we are all different but equal. In which the vibrancy, spirit and deep wisdom of the South could live alongside, informing and grounding the intellectual and action oriented leadership from the North. I dreamed in particular of helping people re-connect with the gifts of Africa; of shifting from viewing her as our destitute mother, to a full and expansive place to which we all have a deep original connection.

Out of this was born my work with Kufunda.

It is not that I have lost my dream. I am simply finding that, I need to go a little further inward as I reflect on the vision that guides my life today.

I have been on a journey during the past four years that took me increasingly away from my centre. I became a mother; I started a company with friends. I got too busy to listen to my heart. And so recently, I decided to take a year to slow down and listen to my aching heart.

As I am slowly coming home to myself, I am experiencing the intelligence, creativity and flow available to us as we operate from a place of wholeness. I am developing a vision of an integrated life in which my life is no longer compartmentalized, into different segments of work, family, pleasure, service, spirituality. My emerging vision is one of learning to live my wholeness: to live from my loves, to self-express (also the sorrow and the rage), to enjoy my body, and to connect with the land and my community. It means to live as an integrated human being – not a human being trying to earn her place on the planet. From this place I will necessarily bring forth in tune with Life. From this place I am learning that we have what we need.

And so my vision emerges of a world in which we each shift to this way of showing up, authentic and whole. My vision is more of how we are with ourselves and each other, than the specifics of what we create. I trust that which becomes possible as we learn to co-create out of those fine whispers of each of our hearts and souls. The earth speaks to my sister, an impulse for community change to my brother. We honour the wisdom and the impulse that we each bring, African, European, Asian, Indigenous. And we find the beginnings of what will take us out of our current mess. We learn to walk, one step at a time – always simply in search of the ‘next minimal elegant step.’

It is often as we become mothers and providers that we let go of our ideals; that we compromise. Today, I am learning that the greatest gift I can offer my family is to follow the longing of my heart, my body, my soul. This is where the wisdom resides that will take us into a more life-affirming reality. And so becoming a VOF correspondent will help me move more deeply into this choice. It will be an on-going practice of listening to the wisdom that is growing in me, through my experiences, as I take the time to digest, and make meaning thereof. To have a place, during this time, where I can be witnessed, and heard; where I can be challenged and supported is an incredible gift and privilege.

And yet, for this to simply be about my journey would not be enough. I believe that we are on a journey into a different possibility, and that we as women daring to show up, engaging the full (and sometimes terrifying) richness of who we are, are a critical part of birthing the new. And so as I find my clarity, and courage, I revel in the opportunity to share that with others, finding the parallels and the lessons that can be an inspiration way beyond my life and context. And in that journey also finding those who can inspire me.

It is indeed time for us to transform our worlds – as we transform and listen more deeply to our Selves.