Becoming Agents of Newness

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The term “Agent of Newness” is our contemporary expression roughly translated as “spiritual warrior”, someone driven by the desire for freedom and the selfless wish to ease the suffering of all beings.

Agents of Newness are individuals from different spiritual and religious backgrounds who have truly embodied love and compassion, serving as inspiration for many others. While this may seem like an abstract and lofty pursuit, the current era demands Agents of Newness who are rooted in the present, speaking the language of today, and embracing both social and ultimate liberation. These Agents possess the skill to navigate between the realms of the Divine, while also confronting systems of violence. We believe that we all can and must become Agents of Newness for ourselves and our communities.

The ultimate goal of an Agent of Newness is the liberation of all beings and phenomena. Everything must be liberated. By cultivating clarity, love, compassion, and joy, Agents of Newness can move closer to freedom.

When we use the word “freedom,” we are referring to our ability to choose responsiveness instead of reactivity. By attuning ourselves to our thoughts and physical sensations, we can decrease impulsive reactions and enter a state of flow. This flow allows us to care more deeply, resulting in a decrease in violence towards ourselves and others. Freedom gives us the power to decide how we want to exist in relation to ourselves and the world.

On a communal level, outer freedom means that a community has the agency to determine its own needs and has access to the resources required to meet those needs. Individuals within the community are supported, loved, and given the space to fulfil their own needs, both independently and with the help of the community. It means living in harmony with other communities, devoid of any sense of dominance or the need to dominate. Cooperation and understanding are fostered.

In the end, it is crucial to understand that our feelings regarding freedom are unrelated to freedom itself. Freedom is not a feeling; it is a state of existence and perception, much like happiness. To be liberated is to remember that I have always possessed freedom. The true effort of emancipation lies in acknowledging that there is always a choice, even though I must strive to regain that choice.

We derive the most from life, not by removing ourselves out of the way, but by appreciating how life is moving through us.

Agents of newness

Everybody knows there is an abundance of heartbreak and misery on earth. But there is a difference between enduring the distress of everything crumbling or disintegrating, and the intense agony that comes from measuring ourselves against an ideal of how we picture ourselves to be.

Through our broken hearts, the wonder and mysteries of life can enter us and help us acknowledge our sorrow as a beginning point to all that is transformative and lasting.

What does it mean to be an agent of newness? Real agents of newness and transformation are the people who are courageous enough to face themselves daily as they are and unravel the conflicts in themselves. They are the saviours of the world.

We derive the most from life, not by removing ourselves out of the way, but by appreciating how life is moving through us.

I still keep in my dearest memories the time when I met my soulmate. The long evenings by the fireplace, opening our hearts and getting to know each other. We divulged our most private testimonies of surviving an accident, marriages that were stifling, separation from children, handling family mental health matters, and confronting the unpredictability of a new life together. Dissolving the burden from our previous grief, we felt exhilarated and powerful by being authentic.

Every day, we are criticized and overlooked for accomplishments that only we can recognize.

Ultimately, life is too precious and difficult for us to surrender our position on the voyage as agents of newness.

By Frantisek Strouhal and Chantal Robert,

Prose from Inspirations:Art Embracing Awareness2

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Cover Photo ©Wendy Wei