hope in a dying world

Finding Patience in the Waiting

/ Lauri Ann Lumby / 4 Comments

Humanity currently finds itself at the crossroads created by the consequences of their own actions (and inactions). Here, totalitarianism and fascism intersect with the opportunity for benevolence and the common good. The outcome wholly depends on humanity’s actions. Will we continue to allow the totalitarianism designed by the billionaire class and the puppets they have employed to determine the fate of our planet and the fate of humanity, or will we take responsibility for the ways in which we have allowed ourselves to be duped by the promises of capitalism and the “American Dream.”

We have no one to blame but ourselves for where we find ourselves today. Lured by promises of abundance, liberty, and freedom, we have allowed ourselves to become divided. Believing the lies that hard work leads to wealth, and that all are given the same opportunities for advancement, we have turned our faces in judgment from the truth that under capitalism, there are no equal opportunities. This judgment has then caused us to divide humanity into classifications – rich and poor, hard-working and lazy, intelligent and ignorant, good and bad, further dividing those classifications based on gender, race, nationality, orientation, religion, citizenship, etc.  In all of this, we have succumbed to the manipulations of the ruling classes who continue to build monuments to themselves, gaining wealth and prestige while the rest of the world suffers.

As we stand at this crossroads, we watch in horror as fascism and totalitarianism reveals the depths of its true nature. Weak, fearful men, grasping after wealth, power, and control. Every day, the actions of their so-called leaders become increasingly desperate and ridiculous. (In what world is it appropriate for the President of the United States to host a cage-match on the front lawn of “the people’s house” or personally profit from the policies he puts in place?)

The revelations of the ruling class’s evil, which began as a trickle, has now become a tsunami. No longer can we look away, denying what is happening right before our eyes. And yet, some are working very hard to ignore the realities of corruption, and how their own lives are being made more difficult by the current system. Burying their heads in the sand will only work for so long. Eventually, the corruption will reach so deeply into their own pockets that they will have to wake up – or die trying to remain asleep.

Remaining asleep no longer serves. As the actions of the ruling class become more desperate, more and more are waking up – even those we thought would never be able to see. In this, the foundations of the current system are beginning to collapse upon themselves as the oppressed patiently (or not so patiently) wait to step in and take their place.

“Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation,
and every city or house divided against itself will not stand” – Jesus

This is the moment for which we are waiting. The moment when the dying system heaves its final breath and we can utter a sigh of relief that all the horror has finally come to an end. In this, we must not lose hope. Whereas all might look hopeless, everywhere there are signs of the good trying to make its way known. From MTG suddenly breaking ranks to Peter Thiel’s flight to Argentina, to Pope Leo’s most recent encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, there are examples of people waking up, showing their true nature, or providing comfort and inspiration for a better humanity.

Magnifica Humanitas, in particular, presents the support we need to make the best choice at this crossroads moment, along with the foundations that will be required if we wish to build a new world. The choice, as Pope Leo XIV so eloquently states is between individualism and the common good. Will we continue along the trajectory of “every man for himself” or come together in collaboration and cooperation for the sake of the common good. As he wisely observes, it is only in choosing the latter that humanity can ever hope to survive. Further, it is the example set forth by Jesus and to what he has called us.

Cooperation and collaboration in support of the common good, however, cannot happen without dramatic inner transformation.  This is the kind of transformation about which I have been speaking, writing, and teaching. Before humanity can achieve unity, we have to find that unity within ourselves. In transcending and healing the wound of division, compassion becomes our driving force and we are compelled, not longer by our own selfishness, but by the desire that all of humanity may be free. Freedom here, is not political, instead, it is the embodiment of our true nature where we know peace, fulfillment, and contentment in simply being and where we are all contributing (in our own unique way) to the common good.

This is the vision to which I cling, giving me hope in a seemingly hopeless world, and patience in the face of a dying system that on some days I think cannot die soon enough. This vision also provides me with inspiration I need to continue to do this work of inner transformation for myself, while supporting those who feel similarly called.

How are you finding patience and/or comfort at this crossroads time?

Foundational Resources for Inner Transformation:

Comfort for a Friend

/ Lauri Ann Lumby / 6 Comments

The following is a copy of a letter I sent to one of my dearest friends who has been rightfully angry and frustrated with the state of our world and the actions of a certain administration. I trust these words will be a comfort to others.

Dear Friend(s):

For awhile now I’ve been wanting to offer some words of comfort as we are moving through this massive upheaval of what we once believed in as a political system. There can be no mistaking, the Republic is in the midst of its own collapse, in this case, by its own hand.

I know this causes you much fear and concern – rightly so. I know it also ignites anger and rage – again, rightly so. Today I heard someone call this “a war on women.”  Indeed, that often appears to be the case. Equally, it appears as a war against everything that we all hold dear as it relates to universal civil rights and the promises of liberty – for all.

Unfortunately, the system was never made to support anyone other than white, wealthy, men – regardless of what we’ve been told. In the simplest of words, a system that was never meant to support us is showing itself for what it truly is and in its revelation, it will ultimately destroy itself. As scripture says:

“a house divided against itself cannot stand. (Matthew 12:25)”

Knowledge, of this destruction, however, is not necessarily a source of comfort. To offer that, I will have to go back fifty-five years.

Somewhere around the age of five, while vacationing with my family at Lake Lumby, under the light of a bright orange harvest moon, I was given a dream. In the dream the end of the world was about to happen, and I pleaded  “how can we stop this and save humanity?”  The answer – cryptic as dreams often are was, “Gather your friends and dig up Lincoln’s real bones and restore them to their rightful place.” I was five – but even at that young age, I had a sense of the dream’s meaning. It meant that what Abraham Lincoln represents to many of us (honesty, integrity, equal rights, etc.) needed to be restored to our world.  I knew this dream to be true and a prophecy of what was to come.

Fast forward to the early 2000’s and I start to see the proof of this dream playing itself out. In prayer, through dreams, and in connection with others receiving similar messages, there seemed to be a great unfolding taking place. The great unfolding is and has been an ongoing revelation of the division and fear that have shaped western culture (especially) and the United States specifically. We might call the cause of this division patriarchy but it is much more than that. It is every single system that has its roots in fear, and which seeks to manipulate others by this fear so as to serve the self-appointed ruling class. (The movie/documentary Origin explores this in depth.) 

The good news is that a system built on fear is unsustainable. The challenging news is that we are witnessing proof of this as we are living through one of the many times that a system such as this has collapsed under the weight of its own arrogance and greed  – ie: The Fall of Rome. (I have often wondered if Rome knew it was falling and what the impact was on those NOT of the ruling class.)

Since 2016, and even more so since 2020, the pace at which the empire is falling has quickened. We have seen it most obviously on the political stage, but it is indeed impacting every single institution that is rooted in fear, power, and control. The experiment of capitalism has worn itself out and is proving itself to be unsustainable – at least in the way it has been lived out in our lifetimes. Unbridled capitalism has no destination except failure – especially since much of what we understand as wealth today is purely imaginary! It’s a folly. It’s a ruse. It’s a straight up lie.

The house of cards is falling about itself, and those who have benefitted from the lie are clinging and grasping after power and control in their attempts to save the system that has given them perceived power.

They cannot, however, save a dying system. They will, however, become louder and more desperate as it all slips through their fingers.

It all must die. It is not going to be pretty. Death never is. In the face of this dying, we will witness and likely experience fear, anger, depression, and helplessness. We may disassociate, bargain with ourselves, and spend moments in denial. So too will the dying system. Apply what you know about the faces of death (E. Kubler Ross), and this is what we can expect – in fact, we’re already seeing it in droves.

Kamala was not going to save the dying system. Trump may strangely be the hammer that brings the system to its knees. He sure is working hard to destroy it from within and in doing so, showing us the vulnerabilities of the system. UGH!

What I was shown in my dream, was not the salvation of the current system, but the creation of something new. Something built on integrity, honesty, collaborative effort, and true liberty for all. In this, I find the following words of Abraham Lincoln a balm for our times:

“The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.” – Second Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862

We cannot remain in the dream of a once virtuous United States. We must look at the failings that have been present since its inception and then look beyond them. Should the current system collapse (I am certain it will), we must envision something new. The new that we envision is already planted in our hearts and we are reminded of it every single day as our souls rile against injustice, poverty, hunger, homelessness, the destruction of our environment, corporate greed, human trafficking, sexism, racism, genderism, xenophobia, etc. etc. etc. We KNOW the world we want to live in and as much as we had hoped it was or would have been, the world we have lived in IS NOT THIS. Live for what you dream – not what you had hoped it would be.

One final word of comfort, I KNOW a new world is coming into being and I have seen signs of its emergence. It is present in the mass of people who came together in support of one another, for clean-up, and to begin the steps of rebuilding after Hurricane Helene. It is in our children who carry the vision of the new world within them and who are quietly – and perhaps unknowingly – contributing to its birth. It is in all the individuals I know who have seen the dying, along with the vision of something new.

One final reminder that supports my words being true and not just something I cooked up in my head to make myself feel better. I have been through the death and dying of several institutions. It is hell. I also learned through these experiences that we can and do survive and that on the other side of the death is always something better – something new and improved – or even more likely – something entirely new that leads us toward the freedom that our souls long for and know to be true.  Faith in this is what keeps me going.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. – St. Paul

I love you and your magical family, and we are together in this time to bear witness to the death of the empire and to be support for a new world that is in the process of being born. Thank you for being one of those gathered friends my dream so-boldly promised!

Love,

Lauri