I've been mostly silent in June. After the horrors of the George Floyd video, I respectfully chose to take a step back, listen, and learn. I also opted to stay mostly silent for my company's blog. On June 11th, however, I chose to share my thoughts, both personally and professionally in a blog for IOM that focuses on what's next .
It was based on Toni Morrison's quote: "This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal."
For almost two decades, I have been hearing the phrase "It's time," in various meditations and meetings with healers and spiritual teachers. In fact, there was one time that vividly stands out above the rest. I had recently been in an audience with with spiritual healer Mother Meera, and I excused myself to use the lavatory.
As I sat on the toilet, still somewhat in a trance from the experience, I heard someone say "It's time." I thought that it must have been the person in the stall next to me. Only, there was nobody in the stall next to me. There were only two stalls, and the room was empty. I took a breath and shook my head as if to clear the cobwebs, but I heard it again. That was the first time.
There have been many times since when those exact words have come streaming into my consciousness. I can't say I heeded them, because more often than not, I heard myself replying "For what?... It's Time for what...?" I never received a reply, so I just kept on moving forward slowly and perhaps a little less deliberately than I should have.
Fast forward to today, and now (alas, almost 20 years later) I understand what it's time for.
It's time to show up.
It's time for change.
It's time to create.
It's time to be present.
It's time to have courage.
It's time to remember.
It's time to shift.
and
It's time to choose.
It's time to choose how we truly want the world to be and change our decisions and behavior in accordance with that decision. It's time to choose the life we were born to create. It's time to choose community over self, and creation over destruction. It's time to choose alignment, service, integrity, and above all else: Hope.
If you want to know how I'm spending my time and choosing hope, visit IOM's site and read about all the amazing work we are creating as well as the extraordinary talent behind the work. I'm investing my time in hope—hope for the future, hope for our communities, and hope for what I know in my heart is possible, if not probable. It's time for Hope.
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