Intentional Society: Be bold?
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(Meta notice: purely self-serving soul-searching follows, instead of a possible reflection on our recent collective activities. Just so you know what you're getting yourself in to.) The other day I looked at the personal intention I'd listed for myself (in the Season 9 IS Hall of Members directory):
To be courageous and not timid, sincere and not downplaying
This shook me a bit, to have written that almost three months ago and to reawaken to it again. The intent had drifted away from my awareness in-between... but then recently I've been sensing some new personal energy take the shape of a "be bold" directive/direction. Not a decree from the heavens, but a grounded upwelling of yes-ness in multiple circumstances when coming into contact with potential and opportunity.
Yes to leaning towards boldness over meekness, active over passive, proactive over reactive, loud over quiet, even passionate over temperate. To even say "over" triggers some "but that's not me!" reactive parts, such that I want to qualify: "over" is over-the-top, it really means "in the direction" of in the polarity management sense. But then, is that qualification tangled up in some of the very attachment to humility that my system is wanting to steer me out of?
That fusion traces back to... "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." Regardless of the interesting and useful things one can get out of that beatitude, I've got some unconscious baggage from growing up in a culture where performing humility was the required norm (and yet was quite vulnerable to charismatic narcissists).
But "nothing is edgier than earnestness" in our post-ironic metamodern developmental edge world. There's a full-circle/horseshoe/hero's journey/enlightenment thing re the simplicity out past complexity. As Rumi's field out beyond
Stop explaining. Be bold. Own my convictions, my beliefs, my cares, my love, with sincerity and security and simplicity.
I haven't revamped the main website in over a year now. I haven't finished the new manifesto I was writing in January. Those facts feel unaligned and shadowy to me, and also true and welcome-able. The words "be bold" seem to point at the crux. Self-aware sincerity as the non-coercive antidote to marketing. Welcoming and untangling my meek parts to unlock wise boldness in service of us.
May you find your next move as well. Cheers,
James