Within the field of care.
“The goal of the community is to make sure that each member of the community is heard and is properly giving the gifts [they have] brought to this world. Without this giving, the community dies. And without the community, the individual is left without a place where [they] can contribute.”
Sobonfu Somé, The Spirit of Intimacy: Ancient African Teachings in the Ways of Relationships
Within the field of care, all beings are entirely resourced. I am creating from this space as I work to unlearn the influence of a capitalist economy that renders care transactional. In its place, I am practicing the gift economy, transformative community care, and a return to my Liberian ancestral roots of village caretaking.
To keep my consulting, coaching, and community birth work accessible to those who need it most, I invite those who have the means to practice this gift economy with me. Your support ensures my basic needs are met so that I can continue offering my labor at low-to-no cost.
I remain in ongoing dialogue with the Spirit Way to deepen this practice. If you find value in these reflections (shared below) or my newsletters, please consider a contribution to help sustain this work.
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Care is a relational experience of the Spirit Way. Care is nameless, yet grateful to be named. Just call it. We get to know it by many names. By many sensations. Just allow yourself to know it. Care wants us as much as we want them.
All is not lost. We are all. We are not lost. We can find our way back to open-hearted care. We are finding our way back to each other. We are not stuck where we are. We can, and will, figure this out. Figure this in.
Can we be willing to trust in the benevolence, abundance, and vision of the Spirit Way? The Spirit Way believes in us, hurts with us, wants for us, and needs us. We are the overflow, the bounty, and the beauty needed for whole living. We are capable of giving and receiving care unceasingly, lovingly, and deeply.
Wanting to be cared for is not wrong. Having needs is the most natural experience of being. We want and need. We are wanted and needed. A hand that is out is a holy act.
There is a quality of heartache that forever exists in the experience of care. A broken heart is a full heart. A broken heart is an illumined heart. A broken heart is a strong heart. Let us practice not shutting down in the face of broken hearts.
We can rest our heads on the lap of care. We are warmed by the fire of care as we are called home and whole.
We are created to care for each other. We are created to care with each other. The care we are called for goes beyond our understanding. It is OK to practice this. Over and over, let us return to this practice.
It can be scary to care fully and be cared for fully. If asking binds the throat, what can we begin to listen to?
Our relationship with all beings (human and more-than-human) will be transformed through the work of care. We can witness this in our lifetime. Let the work be done through us all to its completion.
There is enough for all of us. Care comes to us all in aligned ways. All needs, for all beings, can be met.
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To begin your unlearning around the influences of capitalism, I suggest tapping into:
Kazu Haga, Jen Lemen, Toi Smith, Worts and Cunning, and The Spirit of Intimacy.
I’ll add more resources as my unlearning continues.
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