Working towards a "higher" education that 1) is rooted in wisdom, 2) honors and celebrates life's diversity and interconnections, and 3) prioritizes what's at stake - economic, environmental, and spiritual integrity.

Life calls for a delicate balancing of freedom and responsibility - the me with the we - and we social animals depending on a somewhat-predictable natural environment share some major concerns that demand we maximize our capacity for not only critical thinking, but critical feeling and action as well:

• "Making a living"

  Figuring out a way to exchange with others and the earth in order to keep food in our stomachs and a roof overhead means working to stay alive. "Right livelihood" means work resonating with our very souls - no internal conflict, no external conflict.

  But work in alignment with the greater good is sometimes hard to discern when there is so much focus on "the job market," the tail wagging the dog. Too many of us get lured into "good-paying" jobs before we even know what our personal values are, and after borrowing money to buy things that epitomize so-called success, though our work might not feel quite right, we often feel stuck as our very souls gradually get sucked away day after day.

• Building community

  Choosing a life partner, starting a cooperative venture, forming an ecovillage - they all mean bringing other people into our lives with the assumption we'll be making decisions and sharing some kind of space together. With fresh energy and optimism, we frequently feel like we've fallen in love.

  But honeymoons eventually come to an end leaving real people to often challenge our nerves. We settle from the heady states of newfound love, come to our senses, and sometimes find the work of maintaining community not so attractive. As we get caught up in inevitable interpersonal conflict, the exit door starts to look all too enticing even though throwing in the towel comes with its own set of consequences.

• Securing the future
  
  Satisfying immediate wants without compromising the satisfaction of future needs means caring enough to get serious about achieving environmental and economic sustainability goals. It's all about our ability to plan for a tomorrow that protects and holds dear what we value today.

  But there are no diplomas, certifications, or licensing necessary for most of the really important things we do - jobs like parenting and stewarding our ecologic and economic future. With life seeming mostly unpredictable at times, it feels like we're all just winging it, trying to keep our heads above water as the unintended consequences of modern technology couple with more historic modes of losing our way.

So what are we to do when we also need to elect trusted others to represent us in these concerns?

Consider this: While we might be anguishing over hundreds of different problems in our lives, in our organizations, and in the world, if we would take time to understand our own fundamental motivations with the goal of taming our unconscious reactivity, we might be pleasantly surprised with what more present and self-aware heads, hearts, and bodies can collectively manifest.