I’m not sure how many people still remember the ancient story of Pilgrims Progress. It’s so old it was one of the early books printed on a Gutenberg printing press in the 1670s. It’s one of history’s best-selling books and has never been out of print. It’s been published in more than 200 languages and at least 1,500 editions. It’s an allegory of life that has resonance for our times, even though the language is very different from our modern tongue.
The entire human race is working its way through a pilgrimage from who and what we think we are, to what we might potentially become. Potentials that we can’t see yet, just like Pilgrim of the tale,
However, we do seem to be caught in the part of Pilgrims Progress where the Pilgrim falls into the Slough of Despond and is trapped by the heavy weight of the “sins” he’s accumulated and drags around with him everywhere he goes. For us that might be such sins as wars, violence, slavery, genocide, empire, destabilizing the climate or destroying the Earth, If there’s such a thing as “sin,” those would definitely fit into that category. We have good reason to feel sad and hopeless about ourselves. But the tantalizing possibilities for our species bubble up when we hang out with children or animals. There’s still that divine spark that shows up in new life, saying that human-ness is still alive and well. Hope you’ve had a chance to experience that. So it’s not time to give up on us yet.
The Pilgrim’s journey is long and hard. No sugar-coating it. More difficult than any one generation can accomplish in a lifetime. So it’s very important to do our best to ready new generations of radiant human beings to take up the mantle of service as we (the baby boomer generation) age.
The time is coming to turn over a new leaf. A golden leaf that uncovers the future we actually want to live in. For 25 years, we at Omni have been working pretty hard to create an organized structure for our community to sustain progressive values for peace, justice and the Earth on into the far distant future. With so much at stake, it’s vitally important to lift up those values and share them with a new generation. More important now than at any time in history. Right now, we’re trying to put a transition in place that will make it possible to draw in new leadership ready to step into the fray alongside those who have been in the struggle all these many years. You’ll be hearing more about that as time goes along.
But like Pilgrim of the story, we can’t do it without help. Some amazing friends have stepped up to the plate with expertise that’s helping us clarify and solidify our processes, shift gears to make Omni function more effectively in this crazy new world, and to make room for leaders of a new generation.
It’s more important than ever that new leaders and helpers show up. The fast pace of the world right now and the uncertainty of the direction it’s taking need new thinking AND some better tech expertise.
Here are some of those friends you’ll want to know who are helping us with that:
One friends is Ashley Ross, a nonprofit CFO for Restore America’s Estuaries and someone with a heart of gold. Ashley’s been sharing administrative expertise with us for several years now. Her main passion is the beloved animals that fill her world on her farm in Oklahoma, She also works hard to keep the stream restoration nonprofit she works with flowing like a healthy river. And she steps in for Omni whenever we need help! Thank you Ashley!
Another friend is Dana Krementz. They’re a multi-talented Arky who also has Canadian roots… but they’re actually universal. They’ve been joyfully restructuring a lot of clunky systems into more workable, technologically sophisticated systems that are already improving us. Not only are they really good at administrative systems, but they’re also a great juggler and circus performer. A true Fayetteville-type person. Love you Dana!
Yet another friend is our new Fundraising and Development Coordinator, Abigail Harmon. They only recently came onboard but is an amazingly quick study. They graduated from UA in Philosophy, among other things, and they were a co-founder of the student group Zero Hour, which is still an active campus group tackling huge issues and training young people to take charge of the world they’re taking on. Welcome Abigail, we’re SO GLAD you’re here!
We’ll be doing a real interview with Abigail soon.
You’ll get to hear more about these fine advocates for Omni’s mission in upcoming newsletters. In a rapidly changing world like this, all us nonprofits that hold the world together need the flexibility and resilience to change too. We’re all working on that together.
As we struggle along on this pilgrimage, we’ll keep pulling each other out of the Slough of Despond when necessary. We need to keep our connections strong with other Omni members and friends near and far. Together we can find those inner resources that will keep us learning, growing, healing and never giving up. It’s the only way to survive this storm, and hold on to that deep humanity that will guide us out of the Slough and into the new world we know is possible if we make this pilgrimage together.