How many of us are sitting on latent gifts and abilities that could really light us up and benefit the world? How many of us know exactly what activities flood us with energy and bring out the best in us, but focus instead on the to-do list that sees us ‘get by’ as the perfectly adequate, but rarely incandescent version of ourselves? Hmmm.

In the car crash that introduced TreeSisters, a message cameimmediately after hitting the tree: “Humanity is running out of time, but it’s not over yet. It’s going to take everyone rising to the challenge to get you through. The single biggest threat facing humanity is fear of failure, and the way to get over that is to call everything you do an experiment, because you cannot fail an experiment”. The experiment it turned out was to reforest the tropics within 10 years, followed by instructions for 3 initiatives, the first of which was TreeSisters.

Life seemed to be saying that all these latent gifts, abilities, wisdoms and strengths that so often sit right at the back of our-selves are needed now; to be offered up for a cause greater than our fear of failure, success or being ridiculed for trying. Another way of looking at this is that the climate crunch offers us all an excuse to stop playing small, stop apologizing for ourselves, break out, step up, take risks, shine, encourage and astound ourselves. Fear is strong, but courage can be stronger, especially when we stand together.

This is interesting territory on many levels. Many of us, both men and women fear shiningfor different reasons. Something so much safer about keeping your head down and doing what you know. So many women fear shining or ‘being too much’ in this world that has hammered us in so many ways. Many fear outshining their partners. Add to that the competition between women that can be so cruel, and there is a fairly good case for maintaining the status quo. Except for the fact that our world is falling apart and the future does not look good for our children let alone our grandchildren.

Change is needed. We are needed, all of us, men and women tapping our deeper reserves of creativity and courage to find a way through. For us women, how would it be if we could create a safer sisterhood committed to encouraging each other to bring all that we are to the table, to think big, beautiful and bold, to get creative, proactive and a little more radical? It could be such fun, to drop below our fears and doubts to the deeper places within ourselves that long for the safety of sisterhood and provide a strong river of mutual support for each other.

So here we are walking off an ecological cliff of our own making. It makes no sense, it’snot what we want, but it’s where we’re going unless we make a strong choice together to change direction. Women are strong, capable, creative, intuitive and practical beings who have a wealth of wisdom, compassion and juice for life to offer this world. The question is, how do we access it, focus it and pitch it towards the creation of ideas, solutions and activities that can buy us some time while we wake up to the immensity of our responsibility as either caretakers or destroyers of this planet. Good question!

Well, we’re going to find out, and that is the nature of an experiment. How do we gather the gifts of many women to co-create a campaign that reflects us all and serves us into greater connection with who we really are? Quite a quest, but one that is seriously worth exploring.

One thing seems clear; that togetherness is key. Many of us need encouragement and help to see ourselves, and feel stronger when we stand together. Our aim therefore is to create a platform through the (yet to be built) interactive website and live events, where women can get real about how strong we are, the gifts we have and how we might contribute to the greatest shift of human identity that our race has ever had to make: the step from consumers of a warming planet, to caretakers or stewards of a balanced and sustainable world.

So this is an invitation to you to join us in the questions underpinning this experiment.How would you use your gifts to help with the awakening…or to help us spread the invitation of TreeSisters? What could you do that would make your heart sing, make sense of your personal gifts, life experience and knowledge, serve other women and the world? It doesn’t have to be huge, it could be small and beautiful, the main thing, is that it touches you and brings you more deeply into appreciation of who you really are, and connection with the natural world.

We’ll be starting to reach out to our registered TreeSisters very soon to start creating shared blogs of ideas, thoughts and feelings related to the map of 5 choices, but for now try on these questions and see where they take you.

• What makes you come alive?
• What of TreeSisters do you most resonate with?
• What within it, could you pick up and make your own?
• What are your gifts?
• Where do you have influence?
• What message about our planet sits most deeply within you?
• Where could your actions have greatest effect?
• How could you bring women together?
• If you wanted to tap the sisterhood that lies beyond all our differences, how would you do it?

If you would like to answer any of the above on Facebook, that would be wonderful.  Your interaction is greatly appreciated!

Images (from top to bottom): Smurfey, Danilo Rizzuti, Bjwok, spekulator, hoefi, eclecticlibrarian, vredeseilanden, Gregory Szarkiewicz.