Solstice joy to you all! 🌞

We’ve been seeing a lot of people reflecting on how we are living in a time of portals, often articulated as a new phenomena — have you noticed that too? It makes one wonder why noticing portals and talking about them is proliferating these days? Is it due to the sheer force in which empire is attacking on all fronts— the ongoing genocide in Gaza? The continuous rise of the far right and fascism around the world? Climate collapse everywhere? And, the unravelling of oppression everywhere all with an outcome of an increase of collective fear during times of increased terror? Or, maybe it’s connected to how our experience of time has become warped since the pandemic? Probably in some ways it’s all of that. Portals are about openings and transformation, so maybe it has a lot more to do with the beautiful eruptions of resistance and resilience popping up all over the world alongside the horrors, or it’s a direct outcome of being part of mutuality and reciprocity in our every day lives — solidarity in our communities in every neighbourhood is constantly growing, seeding a profound sense of belonging and thriving in the now… Of course, we can’t be certain what the cause is, but we know fear is less likely to bring about an awareness of portals. Whatever it is, we feel it too.

Cracks in the structures that harm us are the necessary and generative openings we need in these extraordinarily challenging times, and it’s us (and nature) who provide those cracks! (also, cracks in empire’s foundations are not unique to these times because the horrors are not new; brutality, terror, and violence towards so many bodies, including lands and waters by systems of dominance has been ongoing for millennia, and have always been resisted and fought against too). Whatever has sparked more of us noticing and talking about portals (aka cracks/openings) during the recent influx of disasters and crises, when so many lands and lives are being seized and captured by empire, makes us feel like there’s something here to celebrate!

Because, what if noticing these openings and transformative moments more often is about truly paying attention to how change is actually happening every single nano second? After all, as Heraclitus said: “change is the only constant.” So, maybe then, when more of us tune into feeling these microscopic changes happening within ourselves and all around us, we begin to notice some of the slightly hidden pathways that could lead us towards a plethora of (new) possibilities, where our collective powers can emerge tenfold, propelling us to show up and do more in this devastated world.  

As we feel the desire to celebrate portals, we also acknowledge that paying attention to (rapid) change can sometimes feel scary and devastatingly hard. even disorientating too (for the good and hard of that feeling). In these moments of growing awareness our perspectives can make us feel, well, kinda like we’ve gone through a portal! It can make us vulnerable, and  it takes courage to walk through thresholds of change, but the root of the word courage is cor – which is the Latin word for heart! We all must be feeling our emergency hearts beating hard right now! Or, what if a commitment to nurturing collective love might be the recipe we all need to embrace more courageous deeds — because tuning into the now can also be the most powerful when we do it together. Noticing and paying attention to the unravelling of empire and its interlocking systems of destruction will bring us to the fore of being faced with all that is holding us so we can witness our worlds as they unfurl and bloom.

This is how we begin to see each other more clearly, to remove the veils of empire, to listen and respond, to love.

What if being together with change is a way to become (more) free? Or at the very least, helps us to show up in more fierce and solid ways for each other and the many worlds.

What if these portals that have been noticed by many of us are invitations to walk through new doorways that can take us closer to collective freedom, or towards something we have never fully known before, or maybe forgotten? What if we say yes to the (cosmic) invitation?

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Our little collaborative tries to pay attention to one another’s subtle needs and wants, and to the many rhythms flowing in ourselves and our people’s lives, and beyond.

The key here is we try. This trying is easier to do by deepening into our ongoing creative practice of outcomes not required, which helps us listen more. And listening more to each other sometimes means doing less. Therefore, we did not do all the things we said we’d do … But that’s cool, at least we feel care was centered and that’s important, too.

With the return of the light this winter solstice, we desire to bring y’all some more offerings in the new year, which might include: episodes of the GFS, Time Talks History segments, some in-person offerings… and more.  

Keep in touch!

Love and sol,

jams, Uli and carla joy

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Solidarity and mutuality shares:

XAXE TENEW sacred land society! ✨

Check out carla and friends new worker-run anarchist journal of art and culture: CAW https://www.cawshinythings.com/  They are fundraising to fully launch in Feb: support the fundraiser here. 🐦‍⬛💫

Plus check out this very cool musical/video creation! 🎶