Whatever Comes Through the Gates (Part 2 of Regenerative Intelligence)

Staying Human When Everything is in Motion

Photo by Tomas Trajan on Unsplash

I found myself thinking about a scene from the movie Gladiator.

Maximus is standing with a group of gladiators in the middle of the Colosseum, waiting to fight for their lives. The gates are about to open. No one knows what’s coming, but it doesn’t look good. Maximus turns to the group and says:

"Whatever comes out of these gates, we’ve got a better chance of survival if we work together.
Do you understand?
If we stay together, we survive.”

It’s a line that’s easily forgettable, but it’s stayed with me. Maybe because it speaks to a deeper truth, one that goes beyond the battle playing out on the screen.

It speaks to now.

Because if we’re honest, many of us are standing in our own kind of arena. We don’t know exactly what’s coming through the gates. AI, climate instability, systems collapsing…the future is uncertain. But I do know this: if we stay in relationship, we have a better chance of surviving it. Not just surviving, but remembering, rebuilding, and reclaiming what it means to be human.

On some level, most people can feel a rising tension, along with the pressure to respond. Maybe to prepare and protect.

But the old survival strategies of hyper-independence, emotional isolation, and individual optimization are no longer enough. They’re not designed for the terrain we’re in. And more importantly, they were never truly sustainable to begin with.

In Part 1, I wrote that we weren’t meant to do this alone.
This moment feels like the next layer of that truth.

We’re not just meant to be with each other when it’s easy. We’re meant to stand shoulder to shoulder when the gates open and the future is uncertain.

But what does that look like?

Staying together doesn’t mean we all agree. It doesn’t mean we all move through the world the same way or speak the same language. It means we don’t scatter when things get hard. It means we resist the urge to disappear or disengage the moment things feel uncomfortable. It means checking in on each other, holding space, sharing what we have: listening, resources, presence.

Remaining connected may look like reaching out before someone breaks, allowing ourselves to be seen when we’d rather stay hidden, or sitting beside someone in silence without needing to fix anything. It can also mean learning to ask for help when we need support ourselves.

This kind of connection is a regenerative force. It helps soften fear’s grip and rebuild trust in the nervous system. It invites us to live in greater alignment with what we already sense to be true: that we heal and endure through relationship, not alone. And that we are part of something larger, something worth holding onto.

This is relational intelligence. A way of being. A practice of turning toward ourselves, each other, and the unknown, instead of away. A remembering that even when the systems feel like they’re collapsing, we are not powerless. We are not alone. We can choose how we meet this moment, and we can choose to meet it with each other.

Whatever comes through those gates, we have a better chance if we stay together.

And somewhere in us, we already know how.

---

This is Part 2 of my Regenerative Intelligence series. You can read Part 1 here: We Were Never Meant to Do This Alone.

---

If you enjoyed this piece, you can support my work by becoming a free or paid subscriber, or by buying me a cup of tea. 🍵🙏🏼