a reflection on the need for a shared belonging of humanity from Kate Appleton, LPC, SEP, Somatic psychotherapist, family consultant, relational coach, and educator

Our current culture is marked by fear and grief, wearing the signs of an anxious generation. Some are marked by apathy, purposeless and often lacking an identified self. There is also the extreme opposite rushing toward the greed and seductive lure of consumerism and material wealth. Frances Weller speaks of the loss of connection: to each other, to the earth, and to the rhythms that once gave us belonging. In response to these challenges, our over-culture offers speed, consumption, and control. These strategies only feed fear and division. We see it most clearly in the rise of “othering,” where fear of loss and annihilation drives people to attack what they do not understand.

Grace offers another path. Carolyn Myss reminds us that living a life of grace is essential for true healing. Grace, as she defines it, is a mystical force, a spiritual current that transcends the limitations of the mind and ego. Grace is ever-present, a higher level of consciousness available to us always, capable of transforming even the smallest moments for the better.

To cultivate grace, Myss points us toward gratitude and self-compassion. She emphasizes reverence for the sacred woven through everyday life. Grace ignites our soul’s restlessness, urging us to grow, to question, and to embody our cosmic nature. It becomes the force that steadies us through chaos. It guides us through the “dark nights.” It fuels the inner power needed to fulfill a greater purpose. In this way, Eldership is an apprenticeship to grace, an agreement to let this divine force move through us, shaping our healing, our service, and our capacity to lead from soul consciousness.

This is where the call to citizenship as an active verb becomes essential. Jon Alexander has given us this phrase to describe a shift away from being passive consumers. We become active participants in the story of humanity. Citizenship, in this sense, is a daily practice of belonging to the whole. To live it is to embody authenticity with purpose, and to teach these values to our children and grandchildren. We cannot lead them without slowing down, listening to the inner connections to spirit, to the earth elements, to each other and to our lived sensory experience of being human.

Thinkers such as Marianne Williamson, Ann Baring, Jessica Benjamin, Frances Weller, and Carolyn Myss remind us that this shift is necessary for survival and transformation. We are being asked to imagine a citizen-based future where power moves horizontally. Relationships are co-created rather than controlled. Every being is honored as part of the larger whole.

This collective action is about building what heals us. As an elder, I invite us to model communities that value simplicity over excess. We must choose creativity over consumption. We must practice sustainability rather than exploitation. The call to live as a global citizen starts at the local level and asks us to support local economies, to nurture relational networks, and to remember our original bond with the Earth. These are acts of reclamation that carry the seeds of a more humane and sacred future.

Our youth need to see what it looks like to live a life driven by connection rather than consumption. Too many have turned away from nature and the elements. They’ve lost the grounding relationships that remind us of what it means to be human. Instead, they seek identity in data and the material world of objects. All too often they become caught up in the oppositional realms of “othering” conflict. I call forth the Elders among us to guide them back to belonging and purpose, to a citizenship of the soul.

Our ancestors knew the wonderment of slowing down, noticing a sunset, appreciating the morning birdsong. We are missing the call to remember ritual, to remember the mystery of spirit without the rule-based controversy of doctrines. We belong to a common collective who need the spark of compassion and grace. Ritual takes the ordinary and transforms it into extraordinary experiences. It brings the child into sacred space when we light a candle and create the hush of silence. It welcomes in the grief, allowing space for emotions to be felt. Elders are our hope for the future generation to return to the sacredness of being human.

This work asks us to confront our own shadows, to step away from power-over dynamics, and to risk love and vulnerability in a culture that celebrates domination. But the promise is profound: the renewal of soul consciousness, relational attunement, and global citizenship rooted in compassion. This is the path of Eldership. It is a calling available to each of us who are willing to listen, embody, and act on behalf of the greater whole.