The Unraveling is Unavoidable: So Now What?

Over the last few years, we have written about the ways that we as individuals and a collective at the Interaction Institute for Social Change have been navigating the rapid changes and challenges that have been relentlessly coming our way (see Seven Habits for Collaborative Leaders to Make It Through These Times and Network Weaving as “Light” Work).

As we came into 2026, all indications were that there would be no slowing down of what I have been calling The Great Unraveling. Indeed, things feel like they are only accelerating and that virtually no one is being spared the pain and discomfort of mounting pressures.

I personally have been experiencing this quite deeply for the past year, and most prominently in many of my most intimate social and professional circles. I had spent the better part of several years before that doing my own individual healing work, some of which I have written about here. And of course, given that we are interconnected with everyone and everything else, at least at a certain level, there is no healing that spares one from other people’s suffering. In fact, if one is truly healed, then part of “the arrangement” seems to be that you are more open to vulnerability in the world. Nothing in so-called “mainstream culture” suggests that this is something we should chase after.

And yet, what I have learned is that something much larger has the ultimate say in this. How ever you might characterize the forces that are pushing dominant systems to the brink, one thing seems clear – resistance is futile. This does not mean that we should stop standing up for justice and care. Quite the opposite. But it does mean to be open to the bigger energies of change, beyond sick power-hungry people, that are intent on cleaning house and making space for something else. Some discernment is crucial in picking one’s battles. And that is one of the big lessons I have learned. Along with a few others …

•  The unraveling is unavoidable. I repeat, the unraveling is unavoidable. It has been very important for me to adopt this mantra. What we have had as dominant systems for such a long time (at least in the United States) are death traps. The bigger forces of Life are letting us know this LOUDLY. It is time for a new way of doing and being.

•  A corollary to the reminder above is the teaching from energy systems science that things have to come apart in order to come together better. This has been the case even in relationships that to some extent might have seemed to be “okay” on the outside. If Love is what is taking hold right now (and I believe it is, despite some outward appearances), then that means there is a lot of reckoning to be done, and deep cleansing of connections forged in tainted times has been necessary.

• Having all of the feelings that flow from what is happening has also been very important. And it has also been important to make sure that my feelings are not running the show. Keeping things bottled up is just not healthy – the pressure gets too great. Allowing for them is a key part of the necessary release. That said, if the emotional flows are not released, getting stuck in them is a risk.
  

• Maintaining connections with those who can meet me, feed me and be fed by me has been essential. And this has meant that my world has gotten smaller at times.

• As the unraveling accelerates, I sense how helpful it is to allow change to happen while also grounding in the energies of the Earth that are here to support us.

Some other guiding principles and practices have included:

• keeping the faith and being resolute that a better world is possible and
  actually wants to be born;
• remembering my gratitudes; and
• practicing fierce love.

How about you? How are you navigating the unavoidable unraveling without losing hold of what matters most?