“The world is not a problem to be solved; it is a living being to which we belong.” —Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
Recently, I was in a gathering with Lynne and Bill Twist of the Pachamama Alliance, two people whose lives are devoted to healing this world. As we talked about the condition of our time—political unrest, climate breakdown, economic injustice—Lynne offered a simple but deeply powerful suggestion. She said, “What we need now is a shift in consciousness from you or me… to you and me.”
I’ve been sitting with that ever since.
“You or me” is the way many of us have been taught to survive. It’s a posture shaped by scarcity, fear, and competition. If you win, I must lose. If you’re right, I must be wrong. If you belong, maybe I don’t. It’s how modern life trains us to treat one another, not just in systems and politics, but in our everyday relationships—in how we argue, how we scroll, even how we pray.
It’s exhausting. And it’s lonely.
We’re living in an age when information is flooding in faster than we can absorb it, but genuine connection—trust, presence, care—feels harder to come by. We often don’t know what to believe, or who to trust. When trust evaporates, even truth becomes suspicious: “If I didn’t say it, or if my side didn’t say it, it must be a lie.” Facts don’t land on their own anymore—they arrive riding loyalty, fear, and identity.
In that disorientation, it’s tempting to find refuge in being “right.” To join a team. To name a villain. To cling to certainty because the world feels unsteady beneath our feet. That’s “you or me” at work again, quietly shaping our relationships, our theology, our politics.
But what if there’s another way?
“You and me” isn’t a slogan. It’s a whole different way of being in the world. It begins with the simple recognition that we belong to one another. That what happens to you touches me. That your flourishing and mine are intertwined.
It doesn’t mean we always agree. It doesn’t mean we pretend all perspectives are equally helpful or true. But it does mean we stop pretending we can escape each other’s humanity. We are entangled. Interwoven. Whether we like it or not.
Maybe that’s the beginning of healing.
In this fractured, frantic world, I wonder if we’re being invited back to something ancient and sacred: a deep remembering that love is not just a feeling—it’s a stance, a way of moving through the world, a way of listening, seeing, showing up, a way of saying, again and again: You and me. Still here. Still connected.
That shift—small, steady, spiritual—is where transformation begins.
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
Where in your life have you been living out of a “you or me” mindset?
What does “you and me” look like in your relationships, your community, your spiritual practice?
Where might you practice shifting your posture from separation to connection?
A Prayer for the Day
A Prayer for You and Me
God of connection, In a world that teaches us to fear difference and defend our edges, help us remember our shared belonging. Soften what has hardened in us. Quiet the need to be right. And lead us back to each other— not just as allies or acquaintances, but as fellow travelers on the long road of becoming. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
Practicing the Posture of “You and Me”
Choose one encounter each day to practice a different posture of presence—one grounded not in opposition but in mutuality. Whether it’s a colleague, a neighbor, or a person you find difficult, pause before the interaction. Take a breath. Let your body settle.
Ask yourself, What would it look like to meet this person with curiosity rather than critique? With openness instead of defense?
This practice isn’t about agreement. It’s about deepening our capacity to stay connected, even across difference. Try listening without rehearsing your response. Notice when your body tenses and invite it to soften. You’re not giving up your truth—you’re choosing to hold it with gentleness. You’re making space for another person’s humanity without abandoning your own.
At the end of each day, take a few moments of quiet reflection. What did you notice? Where did “you or me” reflexes show up? Where did you catch a glimpse of “you and me”? This is how we build spiritual muscle—one breath, one moment, one encounter at a time. Not perfectly. But faithfully.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
September 4, 5:30pm ET - I will be collaborating with the Anderson Forum for Progressive Theology to host a conversation with Thomas Jay Oord on Open and Relational theology. It’s a FREE event. Register here.
October 23, 30, November 13, 20 2025, 7pm ET - In Search of a New Story: Reimagining What Comes Next, A 4-Part Online Series with Dr. Matthew Fox, Cameron Trimble, Ilia Delio, Diana Butler Bass, Caroline Myss and Luther Smith. We are living through the unraveling of many old stories—about who we are, why we’re here, and how we are meant to live together on this Earth. As these inherited narratives collapse under the weight of climate crisis, social fragmentation, and spiritual disconnection, the question becomes clear: What story will guide us now? REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!
I drafted a Strategic Framework for Congregations as we move into the coming years of increased authoritarianism around the world. If interested, you can download it here.
If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.
Sounds much like 'ubuntu', "I am because you are."
What strikes me is that these are not new ways of thinking about life. These are ancient understandings. Given the amount of people who understand this reality, how did we get to "here & now?". How did it get so distorted that we people like your friends seem to be the exception & not the rule, that Greta Thurnberg is considered "crazy," that care for creation is looked at as avant garde or woke or some hippie thing?
The only answer to this not rhetorical query is these distortions are as we say in religious language "sin." I cannot otherwise comprehend therss we're in, a mess which is human created & carried out. 🌿🕊️🌿