When the world feels broken, build something beautiful
Vision gives you solid ground when everything feels unstable
We’re living in a time of tremendous discord. You don’t need me to list the challenges—we all feel them. And when everything seems unstable, it can feel almost frivolous to focus on pursuing our dreams. But history reminds us otherwise.
Some of the most profound innovations and cultural shifts have emerged from moments of crisis. After the bubonic plague devastated Europe, the Renaissance flourished. Wartime innovation gave us GPS and modern computing. And in times of oppression, heroes rise.
What will come of this moment? Perhaps art, poetry, or movements that reshape our world. Or maybe it’s as simple as stronger friendships. The truth is: we don’t need good times to create good things.
Kate Bowler captured this perfectly: “We are being shown what is plastic and what is gold.” In challenging times, the superficial (the plastic) falls away, while what’s truly valuable and enduring (the gold) becomes more evident.
Crucible moments make things clear.
Finding Your "What Is Mine to Do?"
Your vision—for your life and the community you lead—gives you something solid to stand on when everything else feels shaky. Far from being an escape from reality, that internal compass points you forward into meaningful action.
regularly poses a question that helps settle and focus me: “What is mine to do?”This simple question puts things into perspective. We can’t do everything. We can’t solve every problem or meet every need. But we can do something. And that something matters deeply.
Perhaps your "something" is creating a community where people feel seen and supported. Or maybe it’s modeling a different way of working that honors wholeness and well-being. Or creating beautiful art. Whatever it is, claiming it as yours is inspiring.
That’s why I was struck by recent words from my friend
:"In a world grappling with uncertainty and division, the concept of 'islands of coherence' offers a beacon of hope and a pathway towards a more positive future."
The term originated with Nobel Prize-winning chemist Ilya Prigogine, who proposed that "when a complex system is far from equilibrium, small islands of coherence in a sea of chaos have the capacity to shift the entire system to a higher order."
Let that sink in.
When looked at from this perspective, our small, everyday actions take on greater significance. These islands—the spaces we create with intention, care, and shared purpose—don’t just offer refuge to us alone. They show others what’s possible. They become models of the world we want to see.
And taken together they have the capacity to create real change.
If you’re leading a community aligned with your deepest values, you’re building a microcosm of the change you want to see. Your community becomes a demonstration of that vision—where people can experience, even briefly, the world as it could be.
Your community is one such island. And your own life, designed intentionally around what matters most to you, is another.
So how do we create these islands—these spaces of coherence—in our own lives and work?
A Framework for Creating a Life You Love
A vision is the first step, but how do you bring it to life? Here’s what helps me:
🔹 Set Your Vision: Define what matters most to you. What kind of life do you want to create? What impact do you want to make? How does community fit into that? Be thorough about what you want—and what you don’t want.
🔹 Make Decisions: Use your vision as a filter, especially when resources (time, energy, attention) feel scarce. Align your actions with your vision, choosing what serves it and letting go of what doesn’t.
🔹 Persevere: Stay committed, even when challenges arise. Reaching your vision isn’t quick—you create it bit by bit, inch by inch, one step at a time. And that’s perfectly okay!
🔹 Recalibrate: As circumstances change and you gather new information, you may need to adjust your path. Come back to your vision regularly, realign, and move forward again.
Living Your Vision in Real Time
The beauty of the four-part framework is its flexibility. Your vision remains constant, but how you bring it to life shifts with your circumstances, energy, and the unique demands of the season you're in.
Some chapters call for bold expansion, while others require nurturing what you’ve already built. As a community leader, here’s how that may play out:
With a clear vision, you’ll find yourself more easily passing on that exciting collaboration opportunity that brings short-term visibility but pulls you away from your core mission. Instead, you’ll prioritize initiatives that might take longer to develop but align perfectly with where you want your community to go.
Decision-making shifts from endless pros and cons to a single question: “Does this move me toward or away from my vision?” Clarity replaces hesitation.
Perseverance simply means not giving up on your dream. You continue to move it forward, even when growth seems slow. It’s choosing to celebrate deep transformation and show up for your members rather than chasing vanity metrics. It’s creating meaningful content even during quiet periods, trusting that consistent actions compound over time.
And recalibration is part of life. Last fall, when my health, family, and local community needed more of me, I didn’t push through with planned launches and masterclasses. Instead, I chose a gentler approach—focusing solely on my current clients and Hive members. That wasn’t abandoning my vision; it was adapting how I pursued it so I could keep carrying it forward.
Practical Steps Forward
Focusing on what’s genuinely within our sphere of influence when everything around us feels chaotic is not denial or escapism.
It’s actually quite brave to say, “Here’s where I can make a difference, and I’m showing up fully for that.”
This week, I invite you to:
📝 Journal about possibility: In the face of everything happening in the world, what vision continues to call to you despite the noise? What work feels uniquely yours to do?
🏝️ Create one tiny island of coherence: What's one small change that would bring more alignment between your daily life and your larger vision?
📅 Schedule intentional recalibration: Block time to reflect: Does your vision still resonate? Are your current actions aligned, or have you drifted off course? We do this quarterly in The Hive and check in monthly to assess progress, roadblocks, and what needs extra care. (You’re invited to join us, of course.)
I often say that the best gift you can give your community is the healthiest version of you—a leader who is clear about her vision, makes intentional choices, and lets go of what she can’t control.
Your community needs you present, intentional, and rested—not burned out and scattered. That's the kind of leadership that changes lives and builds movements.
What vision are you holding onto even in these uncertain times? What feels uniquely yours to do? I'd love to hear more about it.
To creating islands of possibility in a sea of uncertainty,
P.S. The next cohort of Community Foundations begins April 15th, and I can’t wait to share more—stay tuned!
What vision are you holding onto in these uncertain times? What feels uniquely yours to do?
Really good article on taking positive action. The four steps: 1) envision, 2) decide, 3) keep at it, and 4) recalibrate.
Somehow, when we feel anxious or overwhelmed, those seem like obstacles even more than they seem like a path. In those times, we need to first quiet our limbic survival brain so that the fog clears and the path becomes visible.
I'd love to hear from everyone reading this note. How do you find equanimity, joy, curiousity, or peace when you start out feeling anxious or overwhelmed? What works for you?
"What is mine to do" is a beautiful question. I find it especially important -and challenging - for Moms. Because the answer isn't what we want it to be.
What we want is to make everything smooth for our kids. No pain, no failure, no heartbreak. That isn't ours to do. We can trust - ourselves and them - give age appropriate support (kiss, band-aid, help studying, use of the car) and practice our own steadiness through the turbulence.
It's never easy but can be meaningful and, in the long run (not always evident right away) truly helpful.