There are two energies at the core of the human experience: love and fear. Love spirals upward while fear spirals down.
Love is curious and breaks the bonds of ignorance. For example, whenever I make assumptions, I rob myself of understanding the truth. If I choose to be curious and ask questions before jumping to conclusions, pause, and remember to look at a situation from another’s perspective, my fear/anger dissolves and I can be more compassionate. Love is the freedom to speak any word, to share any thought, to support any system, to worship any God . . . to live our truth. Love will persevere if we connect with one another and open our minds and heart to seek to understand ourselves and each other.
Recently, I had to stop reading world and national news because it just makes me cry. The freedoms that are being challenged in our nation and abroad have a spiritual component that is far more significant than the obvious social, economic, religious, and political freedoms. We can collectively become strong or collectively become frightened. There is no Us and Them. We are in this life together in a world that includes pain and malice along with magnificent abundance.
World peace will happen when we acknowledge fear and respond with curiosity and compassion. If I can respond to my OWN thoughts, behaviors, and beliefs with curiosity and compassion then I can extend it to others. I don’t have the power to eradicate hatred from the earth, and I won’t change overnight, but I can certainly start with practicing better choices for my mind, body, and spirit. I’m discovering that as I practice this, I feel lighter and it feels good.
If you think your vote, your voice, your idea isn’t important, let me remind you that the strength is in connection—loving yourself, your people, community, the world and what you do to communicate that. Let’s do what we can. Less fighting, more volunteering, less worrying and anxiety, more reading and sharing journalism, not social media. Less clicking “buy now” on Amazon, more supporting your local businesses and their wares. We may be small, but we are powerful. Please own your power, feel it, and share it with those who need help. My life and yours is truly about creating the life we want.
I choose love over fear, I hope you do, too. And if you don’t, I still love YOU! ALOHA!
P.S. As I’m typing this now, the song, “What the World Needs Now” is playing – no kidding! Hmmmm, a message?
*Here are some books that I enjoy that inspire and make me think:
James Clear’s 3-2-1 newsletter on the web www.JamesClear.com
(He also has a great book called “Atomic Habits”)
The Marginalian newsletter by Maria Popova www.themarginalian.org
“Living with Joy” by Sanaya Roman
“The Four Agreements” by Miguel Ruiz
“Gifts of Imperfection” and “Atlas of the Heart” by Brene Brown
“Tao Te Ching” Lao-tzu is the author and I read the English version translated by Stephen Mitchell
“Island Wisdom” by Kainoa Daines & Annie Daly