Raising Humanity: Why We All Must Remember invites you to reflect on the unique role we each play here on Mother Earth. Every choice we make–whether public or private–contributes to our collective reality. We all face a universe of choices, and each one offers the chance to keep things as they are or to make a change. Collectively fighting to maintain the status quo, though, is much like clinging to the anchor of a sinking ship: Change is inevitable. Failure to adapt as change occurs can lead to the destruction of our planet and all who dwell upon it. What is the alternative? We must learn to make conscious and intentional choices that support productive change and growth. We are all in this together. Our survival and ability to thrive depends on working in concert with our fellow earthly occupants.

We can accept the invitation to choose love, and work together to co-create a collective reality that raises us all up, heals our planet, and builds a legacy for future generations. They are counting on us.

In Raising Humanity, Robin Alexis has curated numerous essays from contributing authors who share what they are seeing, bare their vulnerabilities, and encourage listeners to join forces with them in remembering our humanity. This is the first step toward engaging in productive action to effect positive change. In this latest edition of her anthology, Robin expands her own commentary and models–quietly, but powerfully–what it looks like when we rise to our best humanity. By allowing ourselves to heal and grow, we also help to heal this world from the pain it carries, while simultaneously helping it to fulfill abundant promise.

Robin offers us the opportunity to learn from this life-shattering moment of more guns than people, mass school shootings, and monstrous acts of terrorism to learn about the evolution of our higher consciousness. Will we accept the lessons that lie before us? Now is the time.

If you feel helpless in the face of so much real destruction and fear, catastrophe and dysfunction, remember that this is not the whole story of humanity. There is also abundance, growth, and innovation. Much is going right, but gets lost in the daily onslaught of terror. We live within institutions that don’t make sense anymore and work with paradigms that are broken, yet we still find ways to imagine and walk courageously into our callings. More and more of us are choosing to become healers for ourselves and others, to become a source of community and care.

Perhaps because we don’t hear about the raising of human consciousness enough, it’s easy to overlook the good things. Raising Humanity: Why We All Must Remember tells the other story on the behalf of those of us who can see the carnage and yet still see the hope.

Let’s remember to choose love and take it from there.