Recently I was asked to speak about the shamanic point of view of team building with an emphasis on creating alliances and community.

From a shamanic point of view it is redundant to think of reaching out to build teams, alliances and communities, as we are already all connected. There is no us and them. There is only us. We — all of us who occupy this planet: organic and inorganic; living and not; past, present, and future — are the world.

We all come from the Earth and return to Her belly. We are all made of the same substance, same as the sea, the soil, the stars. There are, and ever have been, only so many molecules in existence and all the rest — birth, growth, death, development, change, adaptation, transformation, evolution — is really just about recycling.

We breathe the same air as our cave-dwelling ancestors; inhaling and exhaling, exchanging carbon dioxide and oxygen with our plant relatives untold billions of times over the millennia. And the same holds true for water. It rains, it pools, it evaporates, it rains. Again and again in a grand scale cosmic round robin.

All borders and boundaries and separations are pure illusion. Each time we touch someone, we leave some particles of our skin atoms behind and pick up a parcel of new ones. Thus we merge, literally becoming part of each other. I am you and you are me and we are we.

We are all in this together, inextricably bound on our beautiful blue planet. We are one family, one community, one world, one living, breathing entity. And the sooner we realize it, the happier, safer and saner we will be.

These are terrible times of artificial division, manipulated resentment and fear. The real dynamic being played out right now is not about warring religious, economic or nationalistic factions. The struggle is actually between those who believe that the world is defined in terms of opposition — war or peace, right or wrong, rich or poor, with us or against us — and those who are able to see things in a more holistic, congruent manner.

It is imperative for those of us who see the big picture to decide, to commit, to make a concerted effort to reach out in ever-expanding circles of affinity and embrace. Now is the time to create healthy, functioning networks in recognition and in honor of our mutual state of being and our common fate.

Let us come out of the cocoon closets of our isolated, separate selves and come together. To make connections. To make friends. To make magic. To make sense. To make art. To make amends. To make time. To make love. To make change. To make peace in our hearts and on the planet.

Let us put ourselves forth as co-operative partners; as inter-dependent members of our families, communities and species; as consciously co=existent inhabitants of our planet and as conscientious co=creators of our combined future.

* ***
Donna Henes is the author of The Queen of My Self: Stepping into Sovereignty in Midlife. She offers counseling and upbeat, practical and ceremonial guidance for individual women and groups who want to enjoy the fruits of an enriching, influential, purposeful, passionate, and powerful maturity. Consult the MIDLIFE MIDWIFE™

The Queen welcomes questions concerning all issues of interest to women in their mature years. Send your inquiries to thequeenofmyself@aol.com.