The World Needs Healing. You Can Be a Part of This.
As wars intensify on the global stage, an internal war rages on within ourselves.
The atrocities being inflicted by those in powers on innocent victims is unspeakably heinous. This goes beyond politics, territories, identities, religion. This is a matter of a very powerful darkness that spreads throughout the collective psyche.
For centuries, we’ve questioned the nature of God and our place in the universe. The verdict, thanks to science, seems to speak to a reality of which we are separate and distinct from one another. You are you, I am me, the plant is a plant and the animal, just an animal. Only do you become a part of me when I develop empathy and care towards you, by considering you family, friend, lover.
Never had this been a greater lie. We are not separate from each other. We are very connected. In some quantum reality of which science is just beginning to skim the surface, our thoughts and actions affect others, even if it is not physically and tangibly felt. Furthermore, our interconnectedness ensures that any harm I inflict on you also inflicts me. We influence one another in a reciprocal dynamism, whether for good or for bad.
Genocide happening thousands of miles away is felt within you and me, whether we’re aware of it or not. Physically we are separate, but on a plane of existence that we cannot see lies an interplay and unification of thought, emotion, and experience. And beyond the horrendous wars happening in other parts of the world, there’s discord right next to me. Between neighbors, friends, strangers. Living in New York City, I encounter daily the hate and the love that we share as humanity. But more often these days, it is hate and conflict. It is thick in the air, whether manifest the belligerent acts of two drivers on the road, between store clerk and patron, hate-mongering protests, or social media wars.
Humanity, for the most part, refuses to see our innate interconnectedness. Instead, we fuel the division by identifying every living being as “other”. We believe our gain is another’s loss. But it is not only their loss — it is ours as well.
And for those of us who care, who acknowledge the unseen interlacing web of our universe, we feel pain. We feel the anguish, the tragedy, the trauma, and the fear that others are experiencing. We might recognize that we are a part of it in some way, whether through prayer and healing thoughts, or through our own individual actions. It’s easy to feel powerless, to throw our hands up and say we’re doomed. Many of us fall into the trap of cynicism, into a futile state of passivity and inaction. This is natural — I’ve been in this situation too.
But it’s important to recognize that we are absolutely not powerless. I cannot stress this enough. At the risk of sounding trite, we are much more powerful than our society will have us believe. Nobody needs to move mountains or part the seas to make a momentous shift. This can be done through healing and resolving negative patterns within oneself. Through improving one’s relationships with others and perceiving the human community as a part of our own community. That all life — their pain, happiness, sorrow, and elation — is also our own. All this said, we live in a society of narcissism. And these tendencies feed into everyday events, on a macro- and microcosmic scale. It has ballooned into something that threatens our societies, our livelihoods, and the planet itself.
In the name of our humanity and generations of the future, we must stop warring with each other. We must look inward, heal the wounds within ourselves, and create the world we want to see by living in accordance with these values. If you want peace, live your life by vouching for peace and creating scenarios that cultivate peace. Live with such awareness and by putting in conscious effort into your thoughts, behaviors, and actions that, while at times, may feel exhausting. But what’s rewarding is knowing that you are in fact making a difference.
Know that you are a part of this larger human story, that your part to play will go down in the history books centuries from now. That your actions will be remembered, even if they are not directly acknowledged at this time. It is a simple solution to an increasingly complex issue. The complexity underscores our fear to loosen our grip over ego and take accountability for the fact that we as individuals affect our surroundings. It is a frightening thought. Self-preservation tends to feel like the best option in a world that feels so threatening. Self-preservation is also a coping response to pain, an effort to protect ourselves.
Know that this world is a reflection of yourself. Think about how you can pour light onto your shadows and resolve them. How becoming conscious of your negative patterns can trickle into the fabric of collective society to alter larger negative patterns. Circulating at this time is the cliche platitude, “be the light you want to see in the world”. In my view, this has never been truer than now.
I beg each and every person to consider such simple phrases. I beg you to incorporate these philosophies into your life and use them to make deep changes. Don’t underestimate the power of the self and our individual will and consciousness. We have far more power than we’ve ever been led to believe.
