My loves,
When was the last time you had space to dream? to envision the future? to imagine the world you want?
We are living through a cascade of crises that keep us in a state of constant siege, endlessly reacting to assaults on our bodies and psyches. We need to resist in order to survive. But resistance alone keeps us locked in a power struggle that doesn’t create the world we long for. We need to do more than resist. We need to reimagine.
In this installment of our summer series, we offer a practice to help us make space to rest and REIMAGINE.
Let’s start with a definition. To reimagine is to explore a vision of a world where we all flourish. It focuses us not just on what we are fighting against, but what we are fighting for. When we take time to imagine, in detail, we can begin to feel the world we want in our bodies. It becomes like a memory that we carry. It can prime us to begin to see the spaces in our own lives where we can live into the beloved community, right here and now.
Scroll down for your imagination toolkit. Try this with your people. We can only live into what we dare to dream. Let’s imagine together.
Yours,
Valarie
Can you think of a time when you felt like you were in beloved community? When you felt at home in your body and at home in the world? And others were at home in their bodies and at home in the world? It could be a season in your life or an afternoon or just a few seconds.
Explore that memory for a moment. What do you see and hear? Where are you? Are you inside or outside? Are you with a lot of people or are you with a small group of people? Is there singing, music, laughter, talk, food? What are you all doing together? And if it’s hard to find a moment, choose just a sliver of time when it felt good and right. Notice what it feels like in your body.
What made it feel like a beloved community? What are the elements that made it possible for you and others to feel at home? What container were you in? What was the institution that held you? A home, a house of worship, a group, an organization? And what was it about that container that made it possible for everyone to feel that way?
Imagine that sense of beloved community growing and spreading all directions. Imagine people feeling safe and free to flourish in all the spaces we move through, in all arenas of our shared life. Let the images come to you.
What is one step toward that vision that is actionable now, in the spaces you belong to? It can begin small with a conversation or proposal or gathering. Share this idea with someone you trust.
Ready for more? Go deeper into the guided inquiry here.
This week, set aside a moment to get quiet and think and dream. Hide away the phone. Step into a space of nature, if you are able. Journal into these questions:
- What is your vision of the world you want? Go into detail. Let your imagination run wild. Don’t worry about what is realistic. Focus on your heart’s deepest longing. See every corner. Let it expand. Write it all out.
- What would you do differently if you were already living in that world?
Read an Excerpt
“The greatest social reformers in history did not only resist oppression—they held up a vision of what the world ought to be. Nanak sang it. Muhammad led it. Jesus taught it. Buddha envisioned it. King dreamt it. Dorothy Day labored for it. Mandela lived it. Gandhi died for it. Grace Lee Boggs fought for it for seven decades. They called for us not only to unseat bad actors but to reimagine the institutions of power that order the world. Any social harm can be traced to institutions that produce it, authorize it, or otherwise profit from it. To undo the injustice, we have to imagine new institutions— and step in to lead them.” —excerpt from See No Stranger, Chapter 6
Start here with our introduction to the compass. I teach ten core practices of revolutionary love, backed by research and infused with ancestral wisdom. Imagine these practices as points on a compass. Point the compass toward whomever you want to practice loving— another, an opponent, or yourself. Decide what practice you need. You can use this compass as a tool in all arenas in your life.
Take the Revolutionary Love Training Course. Just pop in your earbuds and go on a journey with me. Intimate, inspirational, and practical, this course is a deep immersion in the practices of revolutionary love: How do we love when it’s hard? How do we tend the wounds in ourselves, and others? How do we stay awake to the world and still find breath, pleasure, and joy in our bodies? If you are hungry for transformation that bridges the political and personal, spirituality and social justice, this is for you.