Out of Many, One

The sticker you see pictured is a rendering of WholeHeart participant voices taken directly from community feedback and surveys. WholeHeart is its community and we thank you for your voice. It buoys the work.


Out of Many, One

by WholeHeart community member, Beth Anne Macdonald

There is a Wholeheart sticker firmly affixed to my laptop, tucked just into the bottom left-hand corner. I look at its shape and the words printed on it daily; my eyes resting on them as I wait for the chips inside my computer to warm up, for email to download; my hands poised over the keyboard, ready to step into a project. 

Explore, connection, transformative and community are the most prominent words. Nestled snugly around these are authenticity, creativity, present, reflective, and thoughtful. Smaller but still mighty are story, friendship, grounding and integrated. There are dozens more. All warm and generative. Words that perhaps you offered as feedback to one of Wholeheart’s program offerings over the last few years. It makes me smile, knowing that even though we might be strangers, we are connected through the words that fill this heart-shaped container with so much love. This one symbol brimming with the voices of many. The statesman and philosopher Cicero is credited with the quote translated as, “When each person loves the other as much as himself, it makes one out of many.” You might be more familiar with E pluribus unum, “Out of many, one”. 

This is true of WholeHeart’s work. This is to be in relationship, with ourselves, with each other and with the places we inhabit. We are many individuals, and we are all one, together. 

WholeHeart’s invitation to us is to envision a world based on love - a big, bold vision grounded in the everyday practice of being present to our lives. Practice, another word you will find on our heart-shaped sticker - right above creativity

This sticker is love made visible, which feels like a much-needed anchor as a new year begins. A year that will surely need all the tender love and care we can offer. 

How marvelous that all these threads come together when I look at my laptop. Our many voices joining in a joyful chorus, humming across many miles and programs. The words becoming a familiar refrain as I go about my day, reminding me that how I show up matters.

Even when I am “only” showing up over a screen. How I use my laptop can be a ripple of the words printed on this sticky seed in the form of a sticker planted right in front of me. This technology is a means of exploration. It provides a digital connection to loved ones, to ideas, to the communities I work with every day. It is a transformative tool. 

I’m wondering where you might be finding symbols of love made visible and what comes to mind as your eyes are drawn to softly rest there? 

And if you are looking for a WholeHeart sticker to remind you of all the voices that stand with you in love, drop us a line and we would be happy to send one to you!


 
 

With a background in Anthropology, Beth Anne has crafted a career in community development rooted in collaborative practices to create place and belonging amongst diverse stakeholders. She currently works with the State of New Jersey as a grant administrator and technical assistant to communities throughout New Jersey through the Neighborhood Preservation Program. While currently calling New Jersey home, Beth Anne is originally from Vermont and grew up in the Adirondacks, giving her a deep connection to the mountains and lakes of the North Country. Beth Anne has participated in several Wholeheart programs including Circle of Trust retreats and Living Courage Calls. She is an avid reader, aspiring writer and mom to Fiona, who is delighted to call UVM home.