The Field of Belonging, by Molly Remer

May we be resilient
in the face of conflict and change.
May we lean in,
reach out,
root down,
and deepen into
the practices that nurture us
and sustain us.
May we cultivate wise discernment.
May we persist in reclaiming our power
and our attention.
May we embody our prayers.
May we dance bravely
on the bones of the coercive systems
that try to drag us down.
May we lift our heads
to meet the eyes of life.
May we persist in seeing,
in being,
in lifting our resilient and stubborn joys
up to soar.

I know we are weary, overwhelmed by how much damage can be done by sweeps of pen and distant deciding, callous disregard seeming to seep into all the edges and change how the world feels to live in. We may feel frozen with indecision, unsure of what to do or how to help or what to say. So much asks for our attention and our time, asks us to look and to not turn away. We wonder what there is to celebrate in the face of so much anger and so much need. It is hard to feel so small and human, hard to keep hoping, to trust in our own inherent magic and that goodness and beauty are still at work amid the pain. 

The truth, however, is the same as it has always been. We can start where our feet are. We can refuse to surrender what we know to be true, just, and generous. 

We can reach out. 

We can hold on. 

We can keep gathering bits of beauty and scraps of magic and offering them to one another. 

We can keep weaving a web of magic with all that refuses to drop their strands. 

We are here. 

This is courage and celebration enough for this day. We are brave to keep reaching out our hands.

Something that keeps me going despite collective fear and tension, outrage and disbelief, is my own unyielding belief that we are all a part of what I call the “field of belonging.” My own work, path, feminist thealogy, and world view are all rooted in the fundamental truth of interconnection, of our own belonging. We are whirled into being in the body of another and emerge into life connected, sharing cells and sustenance. Connection is essential for our survival. We carry a chain of endless ancestors within us, the stuff of life in a line unbroken from the very first life. Not only that, our very bodies are formed from scraps of matter present at the birth of time herself. We are shaped from the very stuff of the infinite, scooped out of a great pool of undeniable belonging. This field of sacred belonging is not something we have to try to feel, or find, or manufacture. It is just there. We are embedded within it. We can lean into it, touch it, inhabit it, rely on it. We are never alone. We are carried by a great creative river of becoming and belonging.

Despite all that tugs at us for time, all that swirls and whirls and howls, all that casts a shadow and causes subtle wearing in the fabric of our days. Despite all we do not do and all we feel consumed by, despite all the tasks and lists, ideas and plans and possibilities, we are here. To name and claim this, to offer and share this, is a potent act of revolution and of love. 

I am here is a practice, a promise, a prayer. I am here is an affirmation, an offering, a truth. 

I am here is a spell, a commitment, a vow. I am here is a declaration and a reclamation. 

I am here. This is what we have to offer and what we have to give, what we have to rely on, and what we have to treasure. To be here is our magic, our power, our gift. 

Let’s not drop our threads. Let’s keep weaving a web of magic no matter how many forces conspire to crush and control. This is a web of resistance and it creates change too.

Extra Ideas:

To deepen your connection to the sacred current and field of belonging that surrounds us, here are some suggestions:

• Tune into your landscape and environment. Notice the details, sights, sounds, and sensations around you. This can help you feel more grounded and connected to the natural world and remember that you belong to this land you walk on.
• Practice mindfulness and presence. Take time to simply be, without agenda or distraction. Allow yourself to fully inhabit the moment and sense the energy of connection flowing through you and around you.
• Engage in ritual and ceremony. Light candles, make offerings, offer prayers of hope, or perform simple acts that help you feel a part of the greater web of life. This can attune you to life’s sacred rhythms and larger patterns.
• Cultivate a sense of gratitude. Appreciate the miracles of existence, from the DNA that connects you to all life, to the infinite cosmos. Let this sense of wonder and belonging deepen and inspire you as well as aid you in empathizing with others.
• Reach out and connect with other people. Tend to your thread in the web by sharing, listening, and supporting your community. This reinforces the field of belonging and reduces isolation.
• Follow your inspiration and creative impulses. The spark of the infinite within you is part of the sacred current of life. Honoring this can strengthen your felt sense of connection. I continue to affirm to myself that I refuse to surrender my creativity or my joy. This is how I continue to lift my own small fist of resistance to all that conspires to crush and control.
• Contribute to wider causes, whether financially or with your time. Personally, I choose to take action to contribute to the wider web by offering financial support when I can. I offer this support locally, nationally, and globally, as an intentional part of how I tend to the web. For example, I make a recurrent monthly donation to the local LGTBQ+ organization in my rural Missouri community. I make a recurrent monthly donation to a national political action organization. And, I have made regular donations to a global women’s health organization for the last fifteen years. I know that financial contributions are not always a feasible option for people, but I encourage you to consider how you might contribute in some way at each of these three levels: local, national, and global. Doing so is a powerful means of counteracting narratives of powerlessness and hopelessness and helps us resist being caught up in an ongoing cycle of intentional chaos and collective anxiety.

My new book The Sacred Flame was published on February 1 of this year and is available on Amazon, Kindle, and Etsy.