Compassion fatigue?
How dare I turn away?
This is the twelfth in a series of inspired articles which were channelled in the days following the attack by Hamas on Israel in October and the response by the IDF in the weeks that followed.
I have set up this publication just for the purpose of sharing this perspective. I make no claims as to its Source and I refrain from editing it, over and above making it readable.
I, like the majority of the world, am reliant on news stories for information. In that sense the starting point for this inspiration is what I read and see around me, and that will inevitably shape at least part of the response.
Equally, any reader will be influenced by their life experience and personal beliefs, and that is how it should be. I believe that by sharing our perspectives, hopes, fears, and dreams we will come to know each other better and our humanity will shine through. Surely, this is the road to peace?
‘Let me phrase the dilemma you are bringing here this morning? ‘You feel yourself to have a limited attention, or emotional trauma span when it comes to warfare. As your fearful impassioned dreams fade, so do the news stories, the incessant horror seems to have exhausted the world’s attention, and it becomes easier for people to turn away. Why is that, surely it isn’t right?’
‘Well, beloved one, I can tell you this, the healing Light never falters or turns away. It remains until the last bullet flies and nestles upon the souls of the wounded and the healers, the victims and the perpetrators alike into eternity.
‘The Christos, the Love energy of the Creator, does not flinch in the face of cruelty, inhumanity or anger, it seeks to remind those involved of their humanity and widen their perspective of the source, the real source, of their pain. It seeks to awaken self compassion and a desire for peace.
‘Now, as you know, no person upon this planet is unaffected by these conflicts, but here I am talking about those carrying weapons, cowering in makeshift shelters, or directing activities.
‘There is a time within every conflict, be it a domestic argument, a group of people or an invasion, where the two spirals you might say are locked in perpetual motion. And what locks them? Well, in the case of warfare, it is predominately fear and pride, and both of those emotions play their part at every level within any dispute.
‘There is little anyone can do when the spirals are locked together because there is no entry point. When fear and pride are locked together, rational arguments find no purchase, they spin off into space. The only energies that draw attention are greater threats or the prospect of supremacy.
‘So, naturally within the wider pool of attention, the feelings of helplessness increase as it seems both parties are locked in a fight to the death. And that is how it appears to them, too.
‘The question that cannot be answered until the dust has settled is what was being put to death? What lies buried in the makeshift graves and in the legacy that everyone will carry with them?
‘Of course, neither pride nor fear are the source of the conflict, they are the symptoms, so what gave rise to them? What burdens were on the backs of the soldiers marching to war? What beliefs and stories filled their minds and closed their hearts? What unexamined legacy were they unconsciously fulfilling? Did they feel they had a choice? A real choice?
‘What created the difference between the oppressor and the oppressed? After all, families everywhere breathe the same air, nurture their young and their old and weave constantly between pride and fear, so these emotions are familiar.
‘What does it take to aggregate these emotions into cast iron self belief and aggression? Well, that is always a complex cocktail of commercial self-interest, arrogance, sycophants, and ambition, even misplaced spiritual ambition.
‘One of the consequences of active warfare is that it quickly becomes entirely visceral, even with your long-range weapons. War is earth bound, dense, quite literally as combatants and victims alike emerge converted in dirt and debris. It is as if the earth rises up to bury them even as they live, and that makes it all the more difficult for them to reach up to the Light.
‘They may cry out to the Light, or invoke Its attention as they go into battle, but they hear what they want to hear and not what they need to hear, which is spoken gently to the heart. At that moment, they believe they have to fight to overcome the enemy that stands between them and peace, little knowing that enemy is within themselves and can be defeated instantly without a single shot being fired.
‘Thank you for presenting that dilemma to me and in so doing you demonstrate what it is that everybody can do, they can manage their feelings about any atrocity. They can send their prayers and pray for peace, both inwardly and outwardly. They can seek balance and understanding and continue to add their Light to the chorus for peace that is augmented in Spirit. Peace be with you.’
© ZD Finn 2023
The full set of articles by ZD Finn on ‘Above the Clamour’ are now available as a free download on zdfinn.com.
These inspirations will eventually form part of ‘The Library of Lives,’ a series of inspired journals published by ZD Finn.
More information can be found on zdfinn.com and some of the terms and my use of capitals are explained in the Lexicon created by @zdfinn on Medium.
Finn runs a healing and meditation practice in London, and offers mentoring to those seeking to strengthen their own soul connection.
