by Mel Williams, Peace Hill at Avila Founder and Board Member
How can we navigate the current unraveling, disorder, and disorientation?
We’re living now in a time of enormous losses: the trampling of democracy, decline of institutions, demonization of immigrants, economic insecurity, divisiveness, war, violence, and hatred. The result is widespread anxiety, stress, fear, anger, grief, and exhaustion. As part of our mission, Peace Hill helps provide restorative practices to congregations and organizations—practices that bring aliveness and hope, an alternative to the current chaos.
How can we take care of each other–personally and collectively–as we work through this overwhelming emotional pain? What practices can help harness our energies as we join other activists to work toward a more compassionate and just society? First, it helps to assess our current situation, to understand the moment we face.
I’ve found help from three teachers. Richard Rohr, a mentor for many of us, speaks of three patterns or movements: order—disorder—and reorder. It seems clear that we are now facing “disorder” on the way toward reorder. Walter Brueggemann, biblical scholar, wrote that the book of Psalms moves us through three seasons: orientation—disorientation—reorientation. We are now smack in the middle of “disorientation” with the hope of reorientation. Joanna Macy, in her book Active Hope, offers us another three-step pattern: business as usual, the Great Unraveling, and the Great Turning. It’s apparent that we are currently experiencing the Great Unraveling, with the hope of a future Great Turning.
We need resources, practices, and voices that ground us and anchor our communities in the middle of the current storm that is unraveling, disorienting, and disordering our collective life. As we move through these cycles together, we at Peace Hill strive to provide that grounding for our community. We invite you to get involved if you’d like to be part of this important work.