What a roller coaster ride it has been these past few months. Whilst I try to rebalance myself in my own little world, the world itself has broken into a divisive and painful space. It puts things into perspective really quickly. It’s sad that privilege has cost us our resilience and our appreciation for the blessings.
It’s hard to make sense of the world right now, it’s too painful and it’s far easier to avoid the reality that is unfolding. But it’s also wrong to turn our backs onto millions who are suffering through hell. What has the world come to? Seeing the dark side of humanity is particularly upsetting as it’s hard not to think about all the good that we are capable of as a species. Where did we go wrong? Where did it all go wrong?
I don’t know how to reconcile it all. I try to imagine a world where there is no such thing as war, terror, hatred, blame, us vs them, mine not yours, anger, distrust, disconnection, violence, aggression etc. What would that world look like? What could be possible in such a world where there is real unity, real peace, real love? It feels unattainable, impossible. What a sad end to a story of a species that could have manifested beauty instead of loss.
No country is free of the politics of greed and power; no government is leading with conscious; no civilisation has managed to wipe out the evil and maintain the good. Every one is suffering in their own way, whether it be through war or through the pressures of day to day life such as the cost of living, the health implications of covid, the broken social infrastructures, the inequalities, discriminations etc. Everyone is suffering and so many are losing their lives as a result of the wars.
Grim. Painful. A hard pill to swallow. Unfair, unjust, inhumane. Pure evil.
When I allow these thoughts to expand I can sense the darkness filling me up more and more. I can see myself stepping into a vibration that is numb, depressive and debilitating. What good will that do? Will my personal guilt, depression and anger change anything? Of course not. Will it save lives? No! Will it improve the livelihoods of those that I can help? No! So then what? Who wins?
Hate breeds hate, violence breeds violence and anger breeds anger. Yes we need to be angry about the injustice, yes we need to take a stance against it, yes we need to speak up for those who can’t and yes we need to hold those in positions of power accountable. But, we also need to ensure that we don’t fall into the darkness in the name of good. That we don’t create more and more divide by stepping away from those who we don’t understand or agree with. That we don’t allow ourselves to create more and more ‘us vs them’.
What’s more, we need to maintain our own individual vibrations and energy that counteracts the pain as part of our collective consciousness. For me that takes the form of examining my relationship with guilt and empathy. On the one hand I feel that guilt is the ‘badge of unity’ that one can wear, so by reducing the good in my life I stand united with those that are suffering. On the other hand, this is my ego seeking suffering in order to enslave me to numbness, hopelessness, helplessness and depression. In this space, I am of no good to myself or to the collective consciousness. In that state, I’m adding more darkness into the collective consciousness that needs light and love.
Experience has taught me that in order to do good in the world, one must be good. One must constantly cleanse themselves from suffering and pain, in order to remain in a space of love and compassion. I recognise now that when I let my vibrations drop, when I become numbed and depressed by the pain I am surrendering my power to those who are robbing the world of good. It’s like a tug-a-war, if less and less of us are energised and ready to bring in all our strength, then it’s clear which side will win. I suppose this is why Gandhi was saying be the good you want to see in the world.
If we want to breed joy, we need to allow joy to foster. If we want to I love and compassion, we need to extend love and compassion to ourselves. If we want to cultivate good, we need to spread good. In a world that has gone mad, there is no value in becoming insane. The fight for good takes place in every moment, the more the ripples of every day life are skewed towards good, the more powerful the waves will be in wiping out the bad.
I want to be clear, that what I’m referring to is not inaction or ignorance of the problems in the world. It’s not turning our backs and avoiding the suffering of others. It’s not about continuing on with our lives with a ‘YOLO’ attitude and one that is self-centred. It’s recognising that in this collective suffering, we have a responsibility to inject peace and love. It’s about taking conscious action, that are intended from a place of love and unity and not blame and anger. It’s about recognising that nothing in this world is disconnected and in order for us to fight for the cause of good, we need to do good in our own little moments too.
Humanity deserves healing. Humanity needs us to resist hatred so that we can cultivate love. There is no good that will come out of anger, if that anger is intended at harming others. There is only peace when there is no divide. There is only compassion, when love is the ultimate goal. There is only unity, when there is no you and I, rather only us.
Imagine a world where we could have it all: equality, compassion, peace, love, acceptance, safety, security, joy, appreciation. Imagine a world where the good in humanity prevailed the evil. Imagine that.
Love Always,
M
Souloom™ 