Carried by the Wind: Art as Global Connector (Offering 12.3)
Speaking to the world—and being changed by it.
The last chapter of this phase. A virtual stage, a tapestry of monarchs, and a room full of artists and activists from across the globe. I guided them through a chrysalis. They guided me to the floor—where I felt, for the first time in my bones, that we already are the change we've been waiting for.
(If you’re new to Eclosion: An Artist’s Path to Power and Peace, start at the beginning. Or visit my Memoir Hub for a full table of contents with links.)
Art as a Global Connector
Not long after we learned Shon was in remission, I set up my virtual stage—a tapestry of monarchs painted on black behind me, computer and lights in front. I’d been chosen to keynote and close out the Eco-Librium International Conference. This virtual conference brought together artists, educators, activists, and scientists from across the globe to not only talk about the role of art in creating a Climate Just future, but to activate cross-cultural collaborations. In both sessions I guided participants through a meditative journey inside of a chrysalis, where a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly.
In my closing session, I asked participants to close their eyes. “Feel your feet flat on the floor,” I said. “Your connection to the earth, to others on this call—even those on the other side of the planet. Now, imagine yourself, our entire society, inside of a chrysalis. Your tissues melt into a virtually undifferentiated, primordial goo. Within that goo are something scientists call imaginal cells—seeds of future potential, holding the blueprint of what’s next to come.”
I walked them through the process. How imaginal cells are first attacked as threats. How they persist, multiply, connect. How they begin resonating at the same frequency, passing information back and forth until they hit a tipping point—and a butterfly is born.
“We are in the chrysalis of humanity, right now,” I told them. “We are the Imaginal Cells, holding the vision for a future where we not only survive, but thrive.”
“What does this new world look like?” I asked. “How does it feel to be part of it? What will you do to make this vision a reality?”
I invited them to think back on the letters they wrote to themselves during my keynote—about what held them back and what they were committing to, to move through their blocks. I asked them to drop their commitments into the chat in a waterfall of words. As the words poured in, I asked them to unmute, turn on cameras. “Who feels inspired?” Faces filled the screen. “Motivated?” More nods. “Scared?” Nearly everyone.
“Of course we’re scared,” I said. “The entire world is scared. We’re constantly bombarded with melting ice caps, disappearing species, poverty, wars, fires. We shut down. We run. Or we say, ‘I’m just one person. The problems are too big.’”
I leaned toward the camera. “Here’s the real problem: We’re essentially asking people to transform their entire way of relating to the earth, and we haven’t given them a vision of a future that’s more attractive than the one they currently have.”
My voice rose. “It is our job to turn the dominant narrative from scarcity to abundance. From ‘have to’ to ‘get to.’ We GET TO do this work. We have the power to shape the world. We ARE the Imaginal Cells.”
Voices rose in response: “Yes!” “We ARE!” “Let’s do this!”
After the conference, my whole body was zinging with energy. I went for a run, then tried to get back to work. But I was so exhausted I sank down and lay on the floor. As I lay there, my body pressed into the carpet, I felt myself as an Imaginal Cell; felt myself connected with others who were working towards a better world. Some were halfway across the globe. Some were right in my own community. Distance didn’t matter. We were connected like the intricate network of mycorrhizal fungi linking trees in an old-growth forest. And I knew. I knew throughout my entire being that we are the Imaginal Cells—we are creating a world in which we not only survive, but thrive.
As I lay on my office floor, I considered my own shift. I had believed in the possibility of creating a better world for quite some time, in an abstract way. In that moment I knew it in the core of my being: This reality is not just a possibility; it is already happening. Artists are weaving creativity into the foundation of change, much like the mycorrhizal networks that connect and sustain life, ensuring that the vision of a better world is not only seen, but felt by all.
I took in the moment, letting the connection settle deep inside, banking it like a hot coal for the next bleak day. Then I took a deep breath, pushed myself off the floor, and went back to work.
When have you felt truly connected to something larger than yourself—and what did that knowing do to you?