What Next?

The cool air feels welcoming and the sky is already showing that sunshine will break through. The temperature is 55 degrees fahrenheit. Today is Tuesday.

The invitation has arrived. This one is like so many others, yet different. And it requires a kind of self-reflection that bridges to the rest of the world. There are so many invitations coming through these days - they are invitations to contribute to a worthy cause or candidate, invitations for personal growth and self-care, there are invitations for community engagement, and always - invitations to be in service to people and causes beyond what one can imagine.

All of the invitations are a sort of test - to see where and whether your beliefs and commitments may manifest. In this life, the invitation has been accepted to be in relationship to a lifelong endeavor to become the best human being possible, through some of the most challenging times humanity faces.

Whether it is the change in climate, the question of supporting a new leader for a nation, or defeating poverty - the fact of complexity, intensity, and chaos are present at every turn. Personal lives and complexity are of course, always a part of the picture. How does a person confront and work with all of it?

The desire to do what is right and most useful to the well-being of our collective existence, manifests in more ways than the number of beings on this planet. In very small and very large ways, everyone makes an impact. Making sure that someone has food may mean a life saved that has the potential for saving all of humanity in the future - we just don't know in the moment. Or, testing the water we drink may save an entire community from demise in a slow and steady process that would otherwise go undetected. We can all think of ways in which the work unfolds. What keeps us going is not just the need for a way to survive in the material world, but also it is the need or instinct to take care of one another.

For some reason, elephants entered thoughts this morning. Why? It's not altogether clear but what we know is that elephants are enormous beings that take up enormous amounts of water to survive - like 50 gallons a day. Water is an issue for all life on this planet and is a resource that is growing scarce. Elephants also need a lot of food – hundreds of pounds of vegetation - about 200 or so pounds. Where are they to find their sustenance? They are compassionate beings, they take care of their sick and infirm, they are a diverse species, and in some strange way, it seems they may be our teachers. About four years ago, herds of Asian elephants began moving across the continent and no one knew why. The elephants didn't talk. But they clearly had a survival instinct.

The biggest problem: us. Humans who also need water, who also need land, and who also need space - were the inevitable other beings of "intelligence" that would meet the migration. How did humans respond to sharing space with another species so like themselves, but much bigger and less capable of indiscriminate violence?

These are just thoughts for the morning on this day, when it seems elephants are important to remember.