Have you ever wondered, “What the _______ is happening in the world right now?”

If all of this, just the way it is unfolding, were written into a draft of a movie script, it would be rejected as being implausible. That could never happen. Yet, here we are, living in the middle of this chaotic movie, wondering who gave the greenlight to this mess?

There are impulses to fight, resist, and push back against the forces of tyranny and the tide of inequity. There are a range of emotions that can leave us feeling distraught or overwhelmed. Sometimes there is even a need to retreat for self-preservation (mentally, emotionally, physically), and step away from the barrage of news and hate. “I just need a break.” It can also leave us searching for ways to cope with the internal stress of it all, both our own personal challenges along with the tidal waves of inequity crashing down on our country and world.

Joanna Macy writes,
This is a dark time, filled with suffering and uncertainty. Like living cells in a larger body, it is natural that we feel the trauma of our world.
So don’t be afraid of the anguish you feel, or the anger or fear, because these responses arise from the depth of your caring and truth of your interconnectedness with all beings.
Compassion is what impels you to act for the sake of the larger whole—or put more accurately, it is the whole acting through you.

Joanna Macy was an eco-philosopher, Buddhist scholar, and activist, who taught that compassion and interconnection are the core elements for surviving and transforming the world's ecological and social crises. Her work emphasizes that suffering in the face of these crises is not a sign of weakness, but a natural, healthy indication of our deep, interconnected relationship with all life.

For Macy, the true nature of compassion is not merely a virtuous feeling, but an expression of our fundamental interconnection with all life. It is a collective feeling, rather than just an individual one, that stems from a concern for the future and the world as a whole. The literal meaning of compassion is “to suffer with.” When we feel pain for the world, it is not a burden to be avoided but proof of our interconnectedness. This pain, such as grief or fear, can be a powerful motivator for action.

Macy's signature workshop methodology, The Work That Reconnects, guides people to move from despair to compassionate action by embracing this connection. The central focus of the work helps participants navigate this journey through a sequence of practices:

1. Coming from gratitude: Anchoring ourselves in what we love about the world.
2. Honoring our pain for the world: Allowing ourselves to feel grief, anger, and fear, recognizing them as healthy responses that confirm our love for life.
3. Seeing with new/ancient eyes: Shifting perspectives to realize we are part of a larger, interconnected web of life.
4. Going forth: Taking creative, collaborative action inspired by this profound connection.

Through this work, Macy's legacy emphasizes that by embracing both compassion and our deep interconnection with the world, we can find the courage to meet the environmental and social challenges we are facing with resilience and creative power.

The power of interconnectedness lies in recognizing the systemic relationships and interdependence of all things—people, communities, economies, and the environment—which creates ripple effects, fosters empathy and cooperation, and leads to collective growth and greater well-being. This fundamental principle, articulated by Joanna Macy and many others, highlights that individual well-being is tied to the well-being of the whole, emphasizing that actions have indirect consequences that affect everyone. Each action, whether positive or negative, creates a chain reaction that extends beyond its immediate context, influencing others and shaping systems.

There is also a magnifying factor in the power of Collective Impact: By working together, sharing ideas, and pooling resources, we can achieve more and create better solutions and outcomes than we could individually. Interconnectivity, is the doorway to great compassion. When we feel the pain of others, a portal opens. And it’s not just their pain we can share in, but their joy and love, too.

However, there is a huge contrast in navigating all this right now. On one end, the world descends further into dehumanization, inequality and extraction, with blatant cruelty, and on the other, quiet voices gather in number to remind us that compassionate love is what we’re made of, and that living from this place is a call to action.

How do we reconcile this contrast? How do we open the portal to access the collective compassion we know lies at the heart of our humanness?

One way we can respond is by co-creating beloved community as a living tapestry of our collective compassion in action. Every act of kindness matters, even if seemingly invisible; so do acts of acts of compassion, acts of justice, and acts of care for the Earth. Small changes can add up to large ones, transforming our relationships and communities and helping us build a more just and joyful world.

How does interconnectedness work?

It depends on each of us, and all of us. We are all in this together. Recognizing and appreciating how Interconnectedness works, may help us navigate these turbulent times. When our choices are guided by the intention to act for the healing of our world, the mess we’re in not only becomes easier to face, but our lives also become more meaningful and satisfying.

May it be so.

Daniel