Turning Point

At the turning points (maximum displacement) of a pendulum, the kinetic energy is zero because the velocity is zero...The pendulum briefly stops before changing direction, converting all kinetic energy from the equilibrium position back into potential energy.

Gemini AI, 1/23/26

“I am optimistic in the long run. A great man once said that the true symbol of the United States is not the bald eagle. It is the pendulum. And when the pendulum swings too far in one direction it will go back.”

Ruth Bader Ginsberg

I delight in nature’s rhythms.

We had a three day power outage over Solstice, and I found the darkest of the dark nights to be truly sublime in its power to reset. There was great comfort in finding the furthest edge of one cycle, with the energy of the next palpable and clear. It’s the power of the pendulum, where, even at its most extreme, the end of one cycle is actually filled with the energy of the next.

There are countless ways to describe our current national and global circumstances. Much of the current conversation seems to be focusing on what’s apocalyptically wrong. According to so many, we are spinning out of control into who knows what: horror, brutality, corruption, the inevitability of irreparable destruction.

As a big fan of the unarguable, I’m not interested in contesting the validity any of those stories. Where I am drawn is to tuning into the widest possible context of life. From the subatomic to the cosmic, my fascination is in discerning patterns of energy.

From that perspective, I feel a new form emerging. It’s how pendulums work, applying their momentum to moving in one direction, until that energy is exhausted. Even before the pendulum runs out of fuel from fully expending itself in one way, it is gathering strength to zip off into the other. (Imagine being on a swing, going as high as you can until you slow and finally stop at the zenith, then swooping backwards.)

The moment when a pendulum hits its extreme and starts heading back in the other direction has an official name: the “turning point.” And I believe we’ve finally hit it. The current zeitgeist of cruelty, contempt, inhumanity, “might makes right,” and hatred has spent itself, exposing its true nature: the abject absence of life. No vitality, no regrowth, no soul-nourishment.

As we’ve collectively stared into our human darkness, we’ve seen what we need to. It’s enough. We know—again!—that we humans are capable of egregious harm, murder, brutality. The endpoint of staying locked in battle with each other is obvious, how much energy we expend going nowhere. Being “right,” “winning,” have lost their luster.

With pendulums, each polarity is ever-present. The question is simply which one is most visible. While we’ve been nose-to-nose with our human proclivity to overpower and harm, if we step back, the best of human nature comes into view, in fact, has been quietly taking hold. From bounding around in T-Rex and frog costumes, to bravely facing into menacing, masked, heavily armed agents, to people dropping off food to their neighbors-in-hiding, the most expanded possibilities of human agency are on increasing display.

The turning point is here. It’s finally time to head back towards spotlighting the other polarity of who we are as humans. Let’s let go of the thrall of fear’s many faces—domination, contempt, collapse, fleeing, despair, self- and other hatred—and feel the renewal of our natural state of open-heartedness, connection, compassion, love and joy. Reactive Brain is a tyrant. But escaping its chains requires only that we take that good, long breath, open our gaze to the horizon, tune into our beating, loving hearts.

I feel the light returning, surfacing what my body and soul are hungry for. Having overindulged in our worst nature, I invite you to recommit to who we can be, to taking the specific actions that will bring us back to being our best selves.

Here are my recommitments. Want to join me?

I commit to:

· Living Above the Line, in Creative Brain. When I’m in Reactive Brain, I stop listening to what the stories my mind is making up (“There’s an enemy.” “Those ICE agents/politicians/[fill in the blank] aren’t human.” “This is the worst time, EVER.” “There’s nothing I can do about this.” “We’re all going to hell.” “I’m/you/they’re bad.”

What I do instead is shift my physiology, then believe my Creative Brain. (“We’re all one.” “We’re doing the best we can.” “Together, we can solve anything.” “I’m here, now, and can connect with myself, find my truth, discover what I really want—and take those actions.”

· Loving and connecting to all of humanity, and beyond, to the whole web of life. While I have enjoyed the energy buzz from the adrenaline of being right and making others wrong, I’m done. Disparaging whole demographics and projecting my antipathy on folks I’ve never met isn’t doing anything for me anymore. How about you?

· Cultivating my experience of living in a “friendly universe.” When I remember to refocus on this commitment, if I’m standing in a crowd of fellow humans, my body relaxes. This is my species. We’re doing the best we can. And we all have the same heart.

This is a crazy, complicated, miraculous existence. Polarities and contrast give it even more texture. Let’s celebrate the power of the pendulum, and light a candle for this turning point.