THE GUIDE

When an organism or living system is destabilized by an internal force or external energy that is beyond its current capacity to process, it can remain the same and die, or it can grow and adapt in order to survive.

If it chooses to change, the system may temporarily ‘collapse’ in order to reorganize itself and build a stronger foundation that is capable of supporting a new self-structure.

A living system undergoing this transitional phase of disintegration may seem chaotic and out of control, but like a butterfly pupa in its chrysalis, or a snake shedding its skin, the dissolution process serves to clear the way for new growth and order ~ for a more complex form that’s better equipped to deal with the changes it faces.

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When we are faced with the need to grow and change in our own lives, letting go of the old structures of our identities, institutions, and cultures can seem daunting, painful, even terrifying and threatening.

Dismantling such deeply entrenched paradigms can feel like dying, especially when alternative frameworks are not readily available. But it's the challenge of having to create new working models of being and living which helps us expand beyond the confines of ourselves.

The process of growing into a new self can feel very uncomfortable, irritating, even confining ~ especially if we still find ourselves encased in an old structure. The more we want to move forward and stretch out, the tighter the walls of the past seem to become, pulling us in. But as we continue to transform and grow in strength, we move beyond the limits imposed on us (be it from inside or outside of ourselves).

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We live in a time of great personal, social and environmental change ~ a bifurcation point in history, culture and consciousness ~ and we have a choice. We can choose to remain the same, or we can respond to the changes we face, rebuild ourselves, and move beyond the old system.