On my well keeping day yesterday, I went to see a man who is in charge of the Contemplative Society who was, it turned out, a spokesperson for their spiritual community. He is an Anglican priest. He asked me what my interests were, and I said, "Supporting our young people in finding solid ground from which to live and serve in this time of planetary crisis." He replied that their board had just had a meeting last night to consider one of the goals in their mission statement, which was to support a new generation of young men and women who want to ground in spiritual practice." He reported to me that they dropped the goal because they found that the young people were not interested.

All my gentle, loving kindness reformed up into a direct and clear confrontation with him, asking him to look at what they were offering, and not write off these people due to "indifference." What came out of me was the distinction between belief in and experience of the sacred. Between a church and universal alivenes accessed through silence. He kept asking, "What are you teaching them?" I kept saying, I am listening to them. With them. He asked," What to you want from your connection with us?" and I said nothing except the amplification of the wise and present energetic field just behind this material world.

I am writing this because I feel like standing in the stream of water issuing from the well, it was exactly right that I meet him, and that the substance of the living presence that we focus was vividly availble to address something terribly misguided.

This is a sampling of what happened, but I felt to say somethng here, and to put my interest in our young people to the fore. I passed the mantle on to Jaya in Guatemala with one sentence about this encounter and he sent me back this poem that he wrote. Thank you Jaya. I do not underestimate what we are coming to know and our collective potency.

Not Yet

Do not lose faith in humanity.

Not yet.

Not while there is still music  

and lips to sing it.

Not while there are still hands  

that craft instruments  

and fingers that play  

in a type of prayer,  

pleading with me:

Do not lose faith in humanity.

Not yet.

Not while there are still lovers  

who love each other  

with arms that embrace  

one another.

Not while there are eyes to see  

that there are beating hearts  

pounding at the door  

of the profound,  

praying with me:

Do not lose faith in humanity.

Not yet.

Not while there are still children who dance,  

who play and teach us  

the unspeakable joys  

of laughter.

Not while the wisdom of innocence is born  

through some mysterious window from the beyond  

bringing glimpses of a great light  

into this world,  

Illuminating;

Do not lose faith in humanity.

Not yet.

Not while the earth offers us the ground  

for our feet to learn how to walk  

and to remember  

how to dance.  

Not while the seasons change with us  

and the Sun, Moon and Stars hold a great hope for us  

to not lose faith in our humanity.

Not yet.

Not while the nature of our human-being exists  

suspended by the supports of life  

as all that is alive  

is now calling to us:

Please,  

do not lose faith 

in humanity.

Not yet.