Create Safe Space

I have always been one who swims deep. I am not a surface surfer - never have been. Deep thinking is embedded in my soul and I have sought out “Mentors” -
Those I have sat with like Parker J. Palmer, Sally Z. Hare, Jim Rogers,
Dave Ellis, sistah Patt Gunn, and Julius Lester…

And those who I adopted as virtual mentors like Maya Angelou, Bill Moyers, Harper Lee, and Wendell Berry.

How fortunate I feel to be traveling to Kentucky on November 8th to stand in the presence of Wendell Berry to listen to him read a few
of his beloved poems at The Berry Foundation’s Kentucky Arts and Letters Day.

Wendell Berry is 91 years old and to me he is a guiding light - speaking to the value of land, place, stories, and communities - family - caring for each other and the future we leave for our children and grands. He is a wise elder whose voice and writing have always touched my heart and expanded my mind.

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Wendell Berry Reads A Poem on Hope Wendell Berry, one of America's most influential writers, reads one of his most revered poems "A Poem on Hope" for Moyers & Company.This week on Moyers & Com...

Writing for an upcoming book on this stormy Sunday morning…

Witnessing History: A Foundation for Benevolent Community

The work of building a Benevolent Community is fundamentally about forging trustworthy relationships, creating safe spaces through accessible and human-centered boundaries, and fostering deep, honest engagement. At its core, this process requires witnessing history—both personal and collective—as an integral step in a community’s coming of age.

To witness history is to engage with the past not as a distant series of events, but as a living record of human experience—one that continues to shape our present and inform our future. A mature community does not turn away from its history but instead leans into it, examining how past events have influenced individuals, families, and social structures. It seeks clearness—a clarity that comes from shared reflection, courageous truth-telling, and the willingness to acknowledge both wounds and wisdom.

In this way, building a Benevolent Community is an active practice. It invites us to ask essential, open, and honest questions—ones that reveal the soul of both individuals and the collective. It encourages us to pay attention to how we respond, choosing understanding over reactivity, reflection over defensiveness. This work is about more than dialogue; it is about developing the emotional, intellectual, and ethical maturity necessary for a community to truly “come of age.”

Unearthing Wisdom: History as a Guide

If we think of history as an archaeological dig, then each layer we uncover offers us deeper insight—not only into past events but into the human responses to those events. It is not history’s chronology that matters most, but rather the impact those moments had on people’s lives and the lessons they offer for today.

To do this work well, we must turn to the truth-tellers—the elders, the historians, the witnesses who carry the weight of lived experience. These are the individuals who have cultivated a deep connection with their own inner teacher while also holding space for the broader historical narrative. Their stories, reflections, and insights are not just personal recollections; they are guideposts for collective learning, offering the wisdom necessary to nurture a better future—one that upholds the virtues of justice, compassion, and shared humanity.

The Interconnectedness of Our Humanity

A Benevolent Community does not exist in isolation; it is deeply aware of the interconnectedness of all human life. It recognizes that belonging is not about erasing individuality but about honoring it within the greater whole. Such a community understands that each of us bears responsibility—not only for preserving history but for shaping the trajectory of our shared future.

At this critical intersection of community and humanity, we stand together, aware that the choices we make—whether to rise in collective wisdom or to falter in division—will define the path ahead. We are part of a spiral of history, one that can ascend toward healing and understanding or descend into fragmentation and neglect.

Reframing Our Understanding of History

History is often taught as a series of events, but at its heart, history is the study of change over time—a record of human responses to life’s challenges and opportunities. It is political, social, economic, cultural, and intellectual; it is deeply personal and profoundly communal.

Too often, we examine isolated moments in history without considering the broader trajectory—how each event shapes what comes next, how ideas evolve, and how societies develop intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. By shifting our perspective, we move beyond seeing history as a fixed record and instead engage with it as a living conversation—one that invites us to be both learners and participants in shaping what comes next.

Conclusion: Holding History, Building the Future

A Benevolent Community is, at its essence, a clear-eyed witness to history—a repository of collective wisdom that is invaluable to any society seeking to build a more just and compassionate future. To witness history is to take responsibility for it, to learn from it, and to use its lessons to forge new paths forward.

In doing so, we affirm our shared humanity and embrace the responsibility of shaping a world worthy of future generations.

Join me on a Journey to Hope and Healing by engaging in an experience that will bring together the value and interconnection of history, witnessing, and truth-telling - an experience that will open a portal to individual and collective inspiration, vision,
and transformation.

Searching for Truth Tellers in Sacred and Storied Places | Center for Courage & Renewal "Healing begins where the wound was made." - Alice Walker, The Way Forward Is with a Broken Heart, 2000 What can we learn from the past? Ask a Truth-Teller, a role held by one who speaks courageously, is thought to be wise, often acting as a moral or spiritual guide within the community. We invite y...