A Decade of Love … And a Bold Invitation for What's Next

July 2 marked my 60th Birthday!

I am having a grand time celebrating this MONTH as is befitting a big birthday 😊. The weekend before my birthday, I had a fun family party on the patio and today with friends visiting from Chicago and…we'll see what the month brings!

This is also a time of reflection as I consider the “joyful assignment” I embraced when I turned 50, advocating for Love.

I’m recalling the momentum building in Gatherings and work in the Governor’s Office, hundreds of talks, workshops, blog posts, and podcast conversations, connections with thousands of people in eleven countries like you, who’ve said “Yes!” to more Love, and meaningful relationships with partners and collaborators around the world who are beloved friends. And part of this decade and momentum was marrying Jim, too - finding such an ideal life partner!

This decade has held so much stress and grief for us all.

Perhaps like me, you’ve struggled with anxiety and have learned to embrace the rhythm of real self-care and others-care, integrating these dual responsibilities in harmony and collaboration with others. That’s sustainable Loving Leadership. Not heroic, but human. Not alone, but in community.

David Whyte's words this morning ring true. He says that “human beings have always lived in anxious times” but that “the invitation of this time is to learn what particular forms of anxiety are the hallmark of our present and then learn to counter and live beyond these narrow anxieties by enlarging the context and the courage of our own lives." 

The events of our time can be disorienting and numbing, immobilizing and frustrating. But I want to enlarge the context and the courage of my life. I want to be clear and awake because now, more than ever, Love matters. The Love that diffuses fears. The Love that cares for neighbors. The Love that offers a different way to work and lead. The Love that heals.

I made a lifelong commitment to Love at 50.

Today, as I turn 60, I’m renewing my vows to Love. 

And I’m declaring this to you all, my community, as witnesses. Here is the goal I renew my vow to pursue:

To Tip the Planet from Fear to Love by 2035.

When I turn 70, on July 2, 2035, I will write to you to celebrate this shift. It may seem hard or unlikely now in these dark times. But this is when Love and our courageous determination are needed most. Now is when Love matters because our lives, our neighbors, our children’s and grandchildren’s futures, and this planet depend on it.

Will you join me in this goal of bringing More Love and Less Fear to shift the world in your unique way in your life? Reply and let me know with “I'm in!” ❤

Tipping the planet from fear to love will take all of us bringing our tenderness and fierce determination, our hope in the face of future heartbreaks that will come, our unique gifts and resources, and our everyday actions. 

It starts with simple daily intentions. It grows with our voices and advocacy. It is realized with new habits that normalize Love. It endures with each of us choosing Love, again and again. More on the requirements and the path in future messages. 

For today, on this milestone birthday, I’m asking for the gift of your partnership! Your bold imagination for a new future and your decision to Love!

Let’s make this next decade one of profound transformation. A decade where Love is not a sentiment or slogan, but the animating force in how we live and lead.

Here’s to tipping the planet toward Love together!