29 Comments
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Rajan's avatar

The first step to solving a problem is to admit that we have one. It's a brutally honest admission that we have many. From this critical mass only a solution would evolve. It is not that such crisis or a meta crisis is unfolding. It has been happening in every era and as Lord Krishna himself has announced in The Geeta, "yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati bharatah, abhyuthanam adharmasya, tadatman srijayaham, paritranaya ch sadhu am, vinashay ch dushkritam, dharm sansthapanay, sambhavami yuge yuge"

Put simply the Lord proclaims that in every age he incarnates to restore the Dharma and end the evil.

When we join hands and minds, we become a master mind and then that master mind becomes the harbinger of change. Your essay is a reaffirmatuon of faith that all is not lost.

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Akhil's avatar

Indeed dad. Here is hoping that the impacts of these changes start being visible soon

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J. Friday's avatar

One of my favourite things I've read in a while. We are coming together like imaginal cells in a caterpillar to form a butterfly. Only most of the world doesn't see it. How pleasantly surprised they're going to be and what a time to be alive indeed!

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Akhil's avatar

Ah, I love the butterfly analogy and imagining people being pleasantly surprised just brought a smile to my face :) Thanks Friday!

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Chad Mix's avatar

Darn it, tomorrow’s the day. Do you have any availability for a short call?

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J. Friday's avatar

Tomorrows what day? I may have some time, late morning or early afternoon BST. DM me?

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Chad Mix's avatar

I’ll check my calendar!

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Content Carrier ('CC')'s avatar

“Once we let go of our need for certainty—once we accept that the old ways are crumbling—we’re free to reimagine everything.”

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T Sebastian's avatar

Finding / building community is the crux. Alone, we have no chance. If you live anywhere in upstate NY, I'd love to befriend & discuss.

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Akhil's avatar

Glad to meet you Sebastian. I am not in NY but am not too far away-Toronto. I want to visit NY but it isn't particularly safe for folks to cross the border into US at the moment as you know. Happy to chat on a call or meet up in person if you can make the trip to this side! :)

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Zach Miltz's avatar

This post made me happy, choked-up, sad, and hopeful. Thank you.

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Akhil's avatar

I am glad it resonated Zach. It is good to meet you :)

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Akhil's avatar

Thank you so much for pointing me to this Heather. Very timely

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Brian M. Pointer's avatar

It all starts within. Congrats on your retreat.

https://brianmpointer.substack.com/p/spiral-within-spiral-beyond?r=3gsnhb

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Akhil's avatar

Thank you Brian- it was a wonderful opportunity to go within as your post indicates. Glad to meet a fellow traveler on the path :)

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Writing the End of the World's avatar

This is perfect, and articulates so much of what I'm sensing and trying to speak. Thank you!

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Akhil's avatar

Glad it resonated Carrie. The response I am seeing to this is just further reaffirming my belief that we have critical mass, we just need critical connection

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Ria Baeck's avatar

I might share your poem - translated to Dutch - which name would I give to the author?

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Akhil's avatar

Hi Ria. Glad it resonated enough for you to share with others. Thank you for translating it. I am the author. My full name is Akhil Puri

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CarpeLibrum CatLover's avatar

I don’t want more connections with other people in this unethical and untrustworthy society. I want fewer of those, and to be as self-sufficient as I can manage to be.

I’ve thought of starting with a basic DIY class, if I can find one, about doing small repair things around the house that I might otherwise call a tradesman for but that don’t necessarily require one.

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CarpeLibrum CatLover's avatar

No not really. I guess I was mainly pondering this question aloud to myself. It’s not the place for it though, sorry. Thanks for the offer though.

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Akhil's avatar

I understand. Hope you find some resolution soon!

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Akhil's avatar

I am sorry to hear that CarpeLibrum. You sound quite hurt and disillusioned. A comment thread is probably ill-suited to talking through what you are feeling. I will shoot you a DM

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Akhil's avatar

Looks like your DMs are closed. Do you want to share more about this distrust you feel?

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The Wandering Fool's avatar

beautifully written. it made me think of an article I wrote about the gathering, a regenerative festival i visited in september. (you might want to add them to you list of initiatives that try to change things from the inside out). especially as their main goal is not to create something new but to connect and offer places of networking to those who do!

my article is lighter than yours and ask the question what makes us human! if you feel like having a look. (you can also find all the contact infos of the gathering at the end of the article).

https://thishumantribe.com/experiences/the-gathering-regenerative-festival/

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Schuyler Laparle's avatar

Thank you for this beautifully written post and the links to resources!

It seems like a lovely coincidence that this was published the same day I published a reflection on a similarly felt heaviness, framed specifically by the concept of "enclosure". The post also introduced an open collaborative art project about imagining alternative ways of being that, I think, aligns well with your ultimate message of hopefulness.

In case you're interested

Post: https://metaphorspeak.substack.com/p/processes-of-enclosure-and-imagining?triedRedirect=true

Project: https://outsidemywindow.org/

Regardless, the serendipity seems to me evidence that we do indeed have the critical mass. And the fact that I found your post, even if a little late, is evidence that we're working towards the critical connections.

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Joe's avatar

“Each person was carrying something—grief, uncertainty, urgency—and still showing up. Still listening. Still choosing to stay awake.” The hardest and most beautiful aspect of humanity; to fight in positive ways—through listening and compassionate connections.

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SUE Speaks's avatar

A breath of fresh air as we move from helplessness to grappling with the whole, where, “We have critical mass, we just lack critical connection”. Please add my Substack, Now What?, to your list of who is speaking from this new territory!

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