Hi everyone, and welcome to August! This month, we continue the Intentional Alternatives series with a new theme: turning points.
Okay, moment of truth—raise your hand if you feel lost right now. If we were all gathered in a giant auditorium, I imagine a sea of arms shooting to the sky. I’m convinced that being American in this moment in history means waking up each day thinking, “WTF. How the hell did we get here, and where are we going?” Am I right?
The first time I remember feeling lost was when I was about three years old. I was shopping with my mom at JCPenney. At that age, one of my favorite mall activities was sneaking inside the clothing racks. The big circular racks made a great fort. All I had to do was duck between the hanging neon shirts and whitewashed jeans (it was the 80s, after all), and it became a magical playhouse. I’d find all sorts of treasures in there, from buttons to broken pieces of hangers, even loose change sometimes!
On this particular day, I had crawled into one of the racks, gotten distracted by something shiny, and lost my sense of direction. I heard my mom calling my name, so I stepped out, but on the wrong side. There were wool skirts and silk blouses, but no Mom. Suddenly, I got really, really scared. I was lost. I started crying.
At this point in the story, most mothers would have swooped around the rack, picked up their crying child, and comforted her with hugs and kisses. Alas, not my mother.
While I couldn’t see her, she could see me. So she stayed still and said, “You’re not lost. I’m right here.” Then she instructed, “Just keep walking. Go around the rack.”
I was a pretty stubborn child, so my first reaction was to ignore her and sit on the ground, crying even louder. I thought this would send the message that I was incapable and she should just rescue me. She did not oblige. Instead, she calmly repeated, “Just keep walking.”
Eventually, I did. After some initial resistance, I got up and made my way around the rack. There she was, waiting with open arms, ready to comfort me with hugs and kisses. All was well. I was not lost.
As a mother myself now, I look back on that small occasion with tremendous awe and gratitude. Even at age three, it was a tiny turning point, carrying a big lesson.
In that moment of stress and confusion, I wanted a hero. I wanted her to swoop in and make everything better. I cried out for it. But she knew better. I didn’t need saving. I just needed to get up and walk. The solution was inside me.
That was a profound lesson to learn so young. And today, it feels more relevant than ever. The world preys on our desire to be saved. When things are bad, there’s no shortage of companies, gurus, and politicians eager to sell us the fix. People in power profit from the cultural belief that we are not capable of solving our problems. It’s one of the biggest lies that has led us to the current state of America.
There’s a growing number of scholars who believe we are at an epic turning point in history. Author Joanna Macy calls this shift The Great Turning—a transition from an industrial growth society to a life-sustaining civilization. It’s considered the third great revolution in human history, following the agricultural and industrial revolutions. This change asks us to fundamentally reimagine our values, our perceptions, and our relationship with the Earth. It moves us away from endless growth toward sustainability and collective well-being.
If that’s true, then my mother’s lesson may be revolutionarily important. In uncertain times, we have to believe we are capable of saving ourselves. We can no longer wait for an external hero. We must stand up and walk.
I want to take a moment to thank everyone who is a paid subscriber to this blog. In 2025, all content will be accessible to all subscriber types. That makes paid contributions even more special. It means that you see and value my work, even when you get nothing exclusive in return. Thank you. That is a living and breathing example of an Intentional Alternative.
Good points - thanks Susan!