"Collectively we are reaching a tipping point of desire and vision to transform what has been serviceable but no longer serves fully, into something that more closely reflects the beauty AND serviceability we believe possible in contemporary society."
The excitement I had for landing a spot in Mrs. Minty’s sixth-grade class was all about the fact that her class made May Day Baskets every year for elderly people in the community. Being an egocentric child, my excitement was focused entirely on the art project aspect. I was all about transforming boring yogurt containers into something beautiful. My version of heaven was cutting miles of pink, yellow, and white crepe paper rolls into fringe and laboriously gluing it around and around for days on end. What wasn't on my childish priority list was the idea of connecting with elderly people I didn’t know, perhaps bringing a spot of welcomed stimulus and new connection. But like I said, taking an empty yogurt container and making it beautiful – that captured my attention fully.
Mrs. Minty’s elderly Mother-in-law lived just up the street from me, so I was encouraged to deliver my best May Basket to her. My connection with her expanded into a weekly visit where I ostensible vacuumed and cleaned her home. In return she paid me and cooked a lunch which we then ate together. My memory of her is foggy but reveals a short, kind woman, intent on having the cleaning done properly. What I loved best was how she cooked frozen peas and vegetarian Linketts to perfection. Her tiny space, the way she listened as I chattered away, were all gifts she gave freely at a critical moment in time when I felt alienated from all that supported my success. I am aware now my time with her grounded me in ways I didn't even know to appreciate back then.
I am happy to report the maturation process undergone since
sixth grade has me grasping a larger picture.
Mrs. Minty’s class project gave me an inspired opportunity to experience
transforming the previously serviceable into something different, even beautifully
serviceable. And more than that, thanks
to a sixth-grade teacher’s guiding presence, I had the experience of leveraging
my inspired effort’s result (the beautiful pink and white May Basket) into new connection
outside my standard circle. This connection broadened into a relationship that provided a much needed safe space during my adolescence.
Fast forward to 2012.
May Day events are happening all over the world highlighting the passion
humans carry for various causes and the values that drive them. Whether here in the U.S. where immigration
rights, as well as the desire to end corporate greed are the focus, or the
international focus on rejecting austerity measures, a
galvanization of passionate, creative energy at the collective level reveals hundreds of thousands of individuals visibly expressing
the desire for change. Collectively we are reaching a tipping point of desire and vision to transform what has been
serviceable but no longer serves fully, into something that more closely
reflects the beauty AND serviceability we believe possible in contemporary
society. Today, on May Day 2012, I invite you to celebrate a renewed commitment to whatever change for the better looks like for you. I invite you to revel in the excitement you FEEL for the envisioned change's result. And with deep trust, I invite you to be on the lookout for where today’s new connections provide a powerful current of surprising and supportive energy - for your personal expansion as well as humanity’s collective positive evolution.