Sane Leadership for Rupture

A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble

“The future belongs to those who give the next generation reason for hope.” — Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

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This week, something quite astonishing happened at Davos. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stood in front of the world’s economic and political elites and told the truth.¹

He did not flatter the superpowers. He did not pretend the global order is intact. He did not offer fantasies about stability magically returning. He named what many of us already feel: the old story is breaking, alliances are fracturing, the post-World War II rules-based order is in shambles, and pretending otherwise will only make the collapse more destructive.

And then he did something even rarer. He refused despair.

Carney said plainly, “The world is at a rupture point.” He described a global order that no longer operates by predictable rules, a future in which middle-sized nations cannot survive by appeasing bullies, and a reality in which cooperation is no longer optional. It is necessary.

So let me say this with deep gratitude: thank you, Canada, for gifting the world a sane leader for such a time as this.

In a moment when so many heads of state perform grievance, domination, or denial, Carney modeled something that feels forgotten: leadership rooted in honesty, humility, and shared responsibility. He did not posture as a savior. He did not offer theatrical certainty. He offered what adults offer each other in a crisis: clear-eyed realism and a refusal to abandon one another.

That matters more than most of us realize.

We are living through a season when power fantasies dominate the public stage. Leaders rewrite history, bully allies, hoard resources, and sell isolation as strength. Fear gets marketed as patriotism. Coercion gets framed as protection. Ordinary people are told to accept this as “just how the world works now.”

Carney’s speech cut against that story. He said, in effect: no. The future does not belong to those who go it alone. It belongs to those who tell the truth about danger and still choose collaboration.

He also said something else worth lingering over: “Compliance does not buy safety.” That line applies far beyond geopolitics. It names a spiritual and moral truth about this moment. Appeasement does not create stability. Silence does not prevent harm. Playing small does not protect what matters.

In the Jewish tradition, there is a concept called emet — truth not as mere accuracy, but as moral alignment with reality. To live in emet means refusing illusion, even when illusion feels safer. It means grounding action in what actually is, not in what flatters our ego or shields our fear.

Carney’s leadership, at its best, embodied that kind of truthfulness. He did not “perform” optimism. He did not manufacture enemies. He did not pretend compliance buys peace. He named the conditions of the moment and invited nations to meet them together.

This is the kind of leadership our bodies recognize as trustworthy. And it offers us something radical: permission to believe again in shared effort. We do not have to surrender to the mythology that domination saves us.

Good leadership still exists. Sane leadership still exists. Moral imagination still exists.

That matters, not only as citizens of particular countries, but as human beings deciding what kind of future we are willing to help build.

Carney’s speech reminded me of something simple and urgent: the world does not only move forward through conquest or collapse. It also moves forward through people who refuse to abandon responsibility for one another.

That kind of leadership does not make headlines every day.

But right now, it is a gift.

We are in this together,

Cameron

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Reflection Questions

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1. Where in your own life have you grown accustomed to leadership rooted in fear, spectacle, or domination, and what has that normalization done to your sense of what is possible?

2. When you hear a leader speak with humility, honesty, and shared responsibility, what stirs in you — relief, grief, hope, longing, skepticism? What does that response reveal about what you are carrying right now?

3. What is one small, concrete way you could practice the kind of collaborative, truth-telling leadership you want to see in the world this week, in your relationships, your work, or your community?

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A Prayer for the Day

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A Blessing for Clarity in a Time of Distortion

God of shared life and fragile worlds,
we are tired of leaders who trade truth for spectacle
and power for responsibility.

Today, we thank you for reminders
that honesty still exists in public life,
that courage can still sound like humility,
and that leadership can still serve something larger than ego.

Give us the steadiness to tell the truth about danger
without surrendering to despair.
Give us the wisdom to choose cooperation
when cruelty feels easier.
Give us the patience to build what lasts
instead of chasing what dominates.

Help us become people who refuse the mythology of domination
and practice the harder work of shared responsibility.

May we live as if our care for one another actually matters,
because it does.

Amen.

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Spiritual Practice

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Removing False Signs

Each day this week, choose one area of your life where you have been performing as if something false were true, perhaps pretending you have more control than you do, or numbing yourself to complexity.

1. Name one illusion. Write it down.

2. Sit with it honestly. Notice what emotions arise (fear, relief, resistance).

3. Ask: What truth would replace this illusion? Write one sentence.

4. Act on that truth once today, even in a small way.

This is not about perfection.

It is about practicing courageous honesty, the discipline that builds communities and coalitions not on fear or fantasy, but on shared reality and shared purpose.

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Important Notice: I’ve been made aware that unauthorized copies of one of my books, The Beginner’s Bible Study, are currently being advertised and sold through Facebook and other online ads, often by overseas sellers. These versions are not produced or approved by me, contain numerous typos and inaccuracies, and sometimes require a one-time or recurring subscription fee. Please do not click on or purchase from these ads. The only authentic versions of my work are those sold directly through my official website and trusted publishing partners.

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Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…

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February 5, 2026 - Margaret Wheatley and and I are launching a new online course called “Leading with Spirit,” a six-session journey into soul-grounded leadership designed to deepen your trust in guidance, nurture perseverance, and rekindle imaginal wisdom for our fractured world. Take a look at the course outline. We are really excited and hope you can join! Scholarship are available if needed. Learn more here!

February 11th and 25, 2026 - Join Our “Building a Culture of Leadership Within Congregations” Cohort facilitated by Rabbi Benjamin Ross and me! A two-session course for ministers and faith leaders ready to strengthen how their congregations and ministries identify, develop, and support leaders. Learn more here.

July 19-24, 2026 - Join me on retreat in the back-country of beautiful Wyoming. The Art of Wilding is a 5-Day Expedition for Women Leaders. We will spend the week reconnecting to nature, exploring our inner landscapes for change, and engage the wisdom of spiritual teachings. Click here to learn more.

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.

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Fun Things My Friends Are Up To…

I get to work with such amazing, creative people. This section is my way of celebrating them—no paid promotions, just joy in what they’re creating.

The cool folks over at Spiritual Wanderlust are launching a new program called “Night School.” It’s a twelve-month journey through the Dark, offering the rituals, practices, and companionship humans have long relied on in times of deep transformation. You will be accompanied by elders and teachers who have walked this terrain deeply, including James Finley, Barbara Brown Taylor, and Ronald Rolheiser. I think this looks amazing.

Randy Woodley is offering a 15-part series on his Substack which is teaching me so much about how democracy does and doesn’t work for people. Randy is a Cherokee descendant recognized by the Keetoowah Band, a recovering academic, and a storyteller. You should check out his work.

If you are part of a congregation, you should check out the great resources at Church Anew. They produce ready-made resources and formation materials. Amazing stuff.

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If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.

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