This Time Next Year
How to start now to build something worth celebrating—and find the people you're meant to build it with
Four nights ago, I stood with a group of friends along the rocky shores of Georgian Bay, the crystal-clear water stretched out for miles until it merged with the deep grey-blue of the horizon at dusk as we waited for the show—a brief spectacle of beauty that lasts only about sixteen minutes once every year—to fill the night sky with stars and thunder that’s nothing short of glorious to behold.
The celebration of a nation.
Between here on Canada Day July 1st and just south of our borders for the Fourth of July in the US, the last four days have seen this entire continent full of fireworks, barbecues, and national flags waving in the early-summer breezes. Although most of the lakes and rivers up this far in the northern hemisphere are still as cold as the chilled drinks that fill our coolers, people everywhere gather with friends, family and neighbours to celebrate our respective ‘birthdays’ of sorts...to celebrate independence, sovereignty, and the hope for a better future.
Or at least that’s what the celebrations originally stood for.
What the H-E-double-hockey-sticks?
While I want to start by affirming that there are still a LOT of wonderful, amazing, incredible things about living in this part of the world, especially compared to so many other places—and not to throw a wet blanket on the festivities, nor to get political, because I seriously don’t want to do either of those things—but even though it didn’t get talked about much at my particular gathering, there was an elephant in the room at most backyard parties this year that is worth talking about.
For a lot of people—on both sides of the border—the celebrations this year carried a bit of a complicated undercurrent, thanks to the mismatch between let’s celebrate how great this country is! and all the conversations of recent months and years about how in the H-E-double-hockey-sticks did we get HERE? Many of us are feeling the gap between what both these nations have traditionally stood for (both individually and as a pair), and what’s currently playing out in our governments, our schools, our media, our economies, and our communities.
The result? More than a few (giant) question marks hovering over the core principles and beliefs that these festivities have historically been founded on.
Even though we’ve all heard the cautionary adage ‘the grass is always greener on the other side’, I personally know both Americans who have moved to Canada in recent years to escape the circus that’s been made of their nation, and Canadians who have moved to the States, also disgruntled (though for different reasons) with where our leadership has gotten—and continues to take—us to.
So what exactly is it that we’re celebrating this year?
Or perhaps the better question is: what do we actually want to be celebrating?
What would we need to build, together, to make next year’s Canada Day and the Fourth of July feel like occasions we’d gladly raise our glasses to, in genuine celebration? What would need to happen for us to lift our eager eyes to those starry, thunderous celebrations in the skies without one ounce of reservation...or resignation?
Even though getting a nice break from the workweek to hang out with friends and family for a cookout and a few games of cornhole is fun and all...what would make the occasion worthy of an actual complete, conscious, wholehearted celebration?
Let’s talk about what we actually want
I’m not here to hash out all the mistakes that have been made politically or societally or economically, nor everything we’re afraid of losing or all the things we’re angry about. And while it’s healthy and normal to grieve the things that hurt and mourn the losses you’ve felt, the bottom line is that it does none of us any good to stay in that place of negativity.
In the same way that therapy tends to be more rear-view-looking—as in, why-is-this-happening-and-how-did-I-get-here? (and I do see some value in learning from the past)—it’s always seemed to me that more of a coaching approach—one of, ok-that-happened...so-now-what? and how do we move forward from here?—is the more constructive and adaptive way to direct our focus and attention.
Because no matter how we got here, any time we deem where we are as ‘unsatisfactory’ then we need to figure out how to rebuild to satisfactory—or better. And not necessarily to ‘go back to’ satisfactory; better to move forward. To move onward...and upward.
So what do we actually want?
Not what are we supposed to want; not what have we historically wanted; but what do we want now? What are we capable of now?
After everything we’ve collectively and individually been through, both in recent years and historically to-date, what have we learned from all of it? More importantly, how do we want the world to be, going forward? Not just for ourselves today, but also for the generations that come next: for our children, our grandchildren...and their children and grandchildren?
What kind of world are we finally ready to create?
Because whatever happens next, it starts with us.
The alternative to what’s wrong
The thing is, we’ve gotten really, really, good at talking about what’s wrong—just look at everything you see in most media, especially of the legacy variety—but somewhere along the way, we seem to have forgotten how to imagine and dream about what right could look like.
Besides being a horrible time-eater, the doom-scroll that too many of us fall victim to—way too often—is also an incredibly effective imagination-killer. You can spend literal hours reading, watching, or otherwise consuming content that fills your awareness with nothing except everything that’s broken—and never once will you be asked to picture what better might feel like.
How about we start to imagine what would be better?
Better-yet, how about we start to dream again, and reimagine what kind of world would be not just better, but actually wonderful to live in?
Imagine a world where the things that matter most are actually the things that are being tended to. Where the decisions being made are guided not by short-term gain and the consolidation of power, but by long-term vision and the cultivation of peace. Where people are genuinely taking care of each other, taking care of the planet, and taking care now of the generations that haven’t even arrived yet.
What does a morning sunrise feel like in that world? What do you do to fill your days? What does your community look like? How do people treat each other?
To make it a little less abstract, imagine specifically where you are when you wake up in the morning in that ideal world. Who is with you, if anyone? When you look around you, and look out your window, what do you see? What scents are in the air that bring a smile to your face? What sounds do you hear? What clothes do you put on, and how do they feel against your skin?
What does the world you actually want to live in feel like? Not just physically, but also emotionally?
An important distinction
Notice I didn’t ask ‘what would a morning sunrise feel like?’ or ‘what would you do to fill your days?’ I asked what does it feel like, and what do you do—in the present tense, as though that future is now—because that’s also a key to bringing the future we imagine into present reality. Speaking of it and feeling as though it’s already here now.
Pause for a moment, close your eyes if it’s comfortable, and just for a minute or two let yourself imagine what your perfect world would look like and feel like, and let yourself feel those feelings right now. Pretend, if you have to. Go ahead, I’ll wait while you do it...seriously—this works much better if you actually do it.
I’m not asking you to do this just because it’s a pleasant exercise (although it is that too). I’m asking you to do it now—and it’s a central part of my Dream Life Guidebook program for the exact same reason—because modern psychology and neuroscience reveal that imagination and creation are deeply intertwined. Which means that one of the single most simple—yet profoundly impactful—practices available to you, any time, at no cost whatsoever, is to get very clear and very specific about what kind of world and what kind of circumstances would feel very good to you. The kind of world you’d actually want to build toward.
That’s the world that’s up to us to build next. You and me. Each of us. All of us, together.
Here’s what I imagine
My glimpse of that world looks something like this:
I imagine a world where we all have more time: to be present with each other, to create things that matter and that help all, not harm any. That we all have time to tend to our inner lives, our relationships, our communities, our planet. A world where the economic pressures that have governed modern life for centuries have eased enough that we can all finally ask—and answer—the deeper, more important questions about what it means to be alive. Where work is something we all do because it feels meaningful and aligned and arises out of a willing, eager, and generous desire to be of service—not because we feel pressured (or even terrified) about what would happen if our paycheques stopped.
A world where the conversation about what it means to be human has gotten richer, and deeper. Where the things that make humans human—things AI can’t do, like cultivate heartfelt connection, share stories about embodied and lived wisdom, express compassion, nurture creativity, and foster stewardship—are recognized and valued and given room to flourish.
A world where we remember that we are all connected—to each other, to this planet, to this solar system, to something greater that lies beyond our current collective understanding—and that taking care of all of it and of each other isn’t being idealistic, it’s actually what we’ve been meant to be doing here all along.
That would really be something to celebrate this time next year.
How we build it
In my very first post here I wrote about how inside an actual chrysalis, even once the caterpillar fully dissolves and loses all semblance of being a caterpillar before it begins to turn into a butterfly, one remarkable piece of biology remains: a tiny group of cells called imaginal buds that carry the genetic code and the blueprint for what’s about to become. The imaginal buds contain the essence of what eventually becomes the butterfly.
Then last week I shared that I’ve been dreaming of creating some sort of circle: a space where all the questions that keep you awake in the middle of the night are welcome, and where the work of imagining a truly better, more authentic, and more fulfilling life is something we help each other do together, rather than doing it all alone. A gathering place like a ‘coffee house’ for those of us who are gently becoming (or even, sometimes, not-so-gently).
Becoming what?
Becoming more yourself. Becoming more purposeful. Becoming more conscious and deliberate about the life you’re creating. And about who you are.
Because as I said earlier: whatever happens next, it starts with us.
So here’s where those two posts come together.
That space—that circle of gently becoming—is going to be right here inside The Chrysalis Community. It’s a space for people who are ready to ask themselves the hard questions and who are committed to building something more aligned and joyful for themselves—even if that means getting uncomfortable at first, similar to how the caterpillar first dissolves before becoming a butterfly.
It’s for the people who are forward-thinking enough to see and acknowledge the disruption that’s fast-approaching from the horizon as AI comes onto the scene, and who are focused on the positives that this kind of disruption can facilitate. It’s for the people who remember that every winter provides the necessary rest to fuel the spring that always follows; who know that every forest fire—devastating though they can be—also clears the dead underbrush that was suffocating new growth, returns trapped nutrients to the soil in the form of ash to nourish that growth, and opens the canopy so that the new life can receive more sunlight.
It’s for the people with the courage to let themselves imagine without limits, and who’ll believe enough in their dreams that they’re actually willing to let go of some of their old attachments and step into the acts of conscious creation it’ll take in order to make those dreams come true.
Those are the people I want to surround myself with. Those are the people you’ll find in The Chrysalis Community.
If that sounds like the kind of person you are—or the kind of person you’d like to grow into—I’d love for you to join me.
During our discussions I’ll be openly sharing how I’m personally navigating change during this next season of my life too, amid my own personal and professional transformation as we all watch the world change right before our eyes—probably faster than we’ve ever experienced before.
I’ll be gently becoming (or perhaps, sometimes, not-so-gently) right along with you.
We start next week
The Chrysalis Community will open for registration next Sunday, July 12th (which is when all the details will be released), and our first gathering will be online on Tuesday, July 14th at 7pm ET. Mark it in your calendar—and come back to this space next Sunday to save your seat.
Because this time next year, I want to be celebrating with you. Not just for the sake of fireworks and friends and cold drinks and cornhole—fun though all of that will still be—but for celebrating everything we’ve built together in the weeks and months that come between now and then.
The world we actually want to live in doesn’t ‘come to be’ by accident. It gets built by people who are willing to imagine it first, and then to do the work—together—of bringing it into being.
That’s us. That’s what we’ll be doing here together in The Chrysalis Community.
If you know someone else who wants to build a better future too—for themselves or for future generations—and who knows that we’re the ones responsible for shaping it no matter what comes our way, share this post with them today. All changemakers are welcome.
Let’s gently become together. 💛
Kelly
P.S. Registration opens here on Substack for The Chrysalis Community on July 12th, so mark your calendar and pop back in for all the details. First gathering is July 14th at 7pm ET. Subscribe below so you don’t miss a thing.