I’ve gotten really lost. Lost in the twenty-four hour news cycle. Lost in social media updates and arguments. Lost in utter despair because everyday seems like it is a battle for our very lives and/or the freedoms that we hold dear.
I’ve lost my laughter (that used to come freely but now only in bits and spurts). I’ve lost my optimism that it’ll all work out in the end. I lost my practice… my breath, my mindfulness, my deeper understanding of the universe and that this physical manifestation is just one realm of truth. And even within this very physical world – there is always more to see and understand, more perspectives, more truths. Surely, for every assault to our freedoms there is someone doing something heroic in the world. And if I choose to focus on all the negative in the world (and it is HARD not to) and allow myself to be so traumatized by it, literally stripping away my joie de vivre with every tweet, every FB update, every breaking news banner, then regardless of what the outcomes are… I’ve already lost.
And so today I go back to my breath. I go back to my gratitude and wonder at the miracles of every day life. I go back to love: loving myself (flaws included), loving my friends and family (flaws included), loving our world (flaws included), loving those that feel lost and lonely like I’ve been feeling, and loving & forgiving those who are causing suffering around the world – because hatred and judgment are true poison to ourselves and our well-being. And the more love there is, the more love there is.
And God, I’d love to live in a world with a predominance of Love.
Today I vow to watch my thoughts. And every thought of anger, judgment, and hatred will be lovingly replaced with a thought of forgiveness, love, laughter, and peace. I will forgive myself for getting to this place. I understand why it has happened but it needs to stop… for me, and for many of us who have fallen down this rabbit hole. It feels bad. We can’t heal this world coming from the same place of anger that created it. We need to rise above. And to be our best selves we need to come from love, compassion, empathy and spiritual awareness.And that starts with kindness to ourselves and kindness to our loved ones.
We can create a new world but it the world will always mirror the thoughts in our minds. If we want peace, love and equanimity to manifest in our day-to-day lives and around the globe, we need to curate and create that within our own thoughts. And the upside is being loving feels so much better than being angry. We can begin to heal ourselves and ultimately this world – one loving thought at a time.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
