I was raised in a culture and religion that seemed to understand the dismissal of values IF it served the job we worked, the people we befriended, or the systems we were a part of. While I no longer consider myself Catholic, it struck me how many people around me sought a relationship with their faith that was convenient. When the values of Catholicism called for deep compassion, sacrifice, and love across differences, many of the people I knew didn’t really seem all that Catholic. My Church didn’t pour into communities — it was focused on the people within its walls. Over the years, my spirituality has evolved into something totally different than the religion I was raised in to and it informs both how I move in my personal life and the practical work I do as a Community Mentor at Vibrant Systems.

In this article, I seek to explore the depth of my spirituality — not to convert or convince anyone to embrace my perspective — but to ground my business in that spirituality, because for me, the work I do is synonymous with the spiritual values I live by. Whether you are engaging with my independent learning materials, or you’re part of one of the communities I work with, I invite you to join me in this article.

What Exactly Do I Believe?

I see my spirituality is a compost pile (in the most reverential form of the term).

As an avid reader, driven by curiosity, I have consumed many different books, perspectives, and teachings. There are elements of Catholicism that inform how I show up in the world. As I moved through a more atheistic and material worldview, I was inspired by the wonder and complexity of the natural systems we live in, and the human creations within those systems. I learned about diverse communities in diverse disciplines. Witchcraft and animism felt like a return to me — an homage to my inner child who made potions in the backyard — but this time deepened by the guidance I’d received from the Indigenous Elders I’d been fortunate enough to work with in my career.

I’ve read books about Buddhism, witchcraft, soil health, climate adaptation, emergent systems, strengthening communities, astrology, self-care and self-help, poems and memoirs, social justice, Paulo Coelho, and more. I’ve spent hours watching the earth, the birds, the ants, and the elements interacting with each other in balanced ecosystems. Each time, I’d take a piece of that resonated. That piece became a seed, and the rest that didn’t resonate became the compost beneath my feet.

I cannot point to one specific way of practice, worldview, or prayer that defines my spirituality. But I can point your gaze down to the compost pile of all the material I’ve engaged with throughout my life.

My Spirituality Seeks “Right Relationship” With Change

If I did have to provide you a specific framework for my spirituality, nothing could explain it better than the natural cycles of decomposition, growth, and the emergence of diversity from what many would consider “trash”. I believe in the cycles of the natural world and that those cycles impact humans as deeply as they impact the bear or the goose. I believe our strength, personally and collectively, stems from the diversity within ourselves and our communities. I believe that rigourous scientific exploration is another way of understanding what Indigenous knowledge systems globally have learned and shared for generations. I believe that the deeper we ground ourselves and the deeper we anchor our roots, the higher we can reach.

So you see, my spirituality is impossible to separate from myself, because my spirituality is as real as the soil we walk upon. The values that guide my work: the research, diversity, playfulness, kindness, and authenticity (and more) cannot be discarded like a jacket. They are built into me being, and the very way I move through life.

But I’m Not Spiritual, Can We Still Work Together?

I don’t know, can we?

I’m laughing playfully as I write this. Teasing.

Truly, that depends on you. What do you seek from someone who makes connections and communities their mission?

Vibrant Systems and the transformations it’s undergone are just as spiritual a journey for me as a professional one. That isn’t to say that every meeting and project needs to start with a meditation and reflection circle. However, the work I do — the work I am eager to do — is grounded in a desire to transform the way we connect.

We cannot transform our communities if we are beholden to the systems that created them in the first place. The same system that taught Catholics that it’s okay to not feed and house the poor is not a system I have an interest in replicating.

However, if you desire to start the shift, however small, away from scarcity, fear, and disconnection, I think there is a place for us to start.

I know we are all unique people with unique missions in life. We are all at different places in our journey, and we will all continue to grow in different ways (just as different seeds have taken to sprouting in my compost pile of spirituality). In celebrating the diversity of our systems, I value creating space for different beliefs. Strong systems, environmentally or communally, are built on the relationships and reciprocity that emerge between these differences.

What we can learn from ecosystems, we can bring to our communities.

At the end of the day, my mission at Vibrant Systems is one of connection. I’m not going to turn away someone with different beliefs just because we are different.

But I think it is also important to practice honesty and humility. Are our aims in direct conflict with one another? Are there fundamental differences in values and worldview (and an unwillingness to close the gap) that will get in the way of a productive partnership? These are the questions we owe it to ourselves and each other to ask.

Part of why I write and speak candidly is that it is important to me that my clients get a taste of my authenticity before we sign a binding contract. I am confident that my way of moving through the world is necessary — desired even — and I don’t think those repulsed by honesty are the ones who need my services.

Practical, Spiritual, and Transformative: Braiding Solutions Together

Besides playing an important role in how I express myself, my spirituality lends me a perspective that is broader, kinder, and more honest than I’d have otherwise. Without it, I’d be building this business on technical skills that, while valuable, aren’t necessarily that much more spectacular than anyone else. Communities already have access to diverse consultants — I’m not that.

And, it gives me a superpower that is essential when working in community spaces: Hope.

My compost pile is made of dead and decomposing things, but it’s also made of life. In fact, the garden that’s growing out of the compost is more beautiful than any garden I’ve ever seen. It’s diverse, responsive, abundant, and colourful.

By grounding my spirituality in the cycles and fundamental laws of the earth, I have seen firsthand how regeneration is possible out of the chaos.

That is just as practical as it is spiritual. By braiding the two together, it is also inherently transformative.

Communities Are Already Transformation Hubs

Communities are in constant states of becoming. Most of us just aren’t trained to see the simple interactions that birth the community constantly. Remembering this emergent property of communities is a wealth of opportunity.

When we can practically see how releasing old patterns and beliefs can create a nutrient-rich soil for new systems to emerge, we can begin to loosen our grip on what feels stable (but we actually know it’s falling apart). When there are damaging systems to dismantle, like capitalism, colonialism, and hetero-patriarchy, we need to get comfortable feeding these dying systems to the compost pile. We need to get comfortable exploring new worldviews and seeing the challenges around us. We need to, at least, if creating sustainable, thriving, and vibrant communities is our goal.

This is the space I thrive in, because my spirituality is rooted in Hope that has grown from cycles upon cycles of transformation. And what is death but another transformation?

Humans have always been changing, shifting, adapting, and evolving to new circumstances. The systems we live in today won’t be the systems our great-grandchildren live in. That’s a fact. That’s practical.

But our role, as stewards of this future we can’t even imagine? That’s spiritual.

And that’s where I seek to facilitate — to bring ease — to the transformative processes of death and Hope.

Vibrant Systems Community-Focused Services

Whether you are like me and find an inherent spirituality in cycles of transformation, or you’re someone who is grounded and material in focus, Vibrant Systems offers partnership opportunities to assist you and your communities.

My Facilitated Workshops are designed to prime communities and teams for transformative processes, providing grounding principles to facilitate shifts. Deepen the connections between team members, ground transformation in evaluative principles, or root deeply into shared values in just an afternoon.

If you would like to work together on a deeper level, I also offer my Community Mentorship packages. These packages, which can be tailored to your community’s unique needs and size, are designed to facilitate the transformation process. You can even explore this process yourself with the purchase of my Transforming Communities Guidebook.

Finally, if you just need a helping hand or capacity expansion on a contract basis, my Contract Services can be tailored directly to your needs. I am always happy to help support a community’s growth by taking technical tasks off already overloaded plates.

However you choose to work with Vibrant Systems, I am confident that together, we can make your story a vibrant one.