On New Years Eve, I had two very intense conversations,
one with a man and later with a woman going through severe mental, emotional
and physical suffering. I realized in
both situations that I was not there to offer
wisdom but to listen attentively with compassion. Both of them spoke about death,
one by choice and one by circumstance.
Both of them stirred within me a deep recommitment to the resilience and
creative power that lies dormant within each of us and also the awareness of devastating
loss when one fails to arouse it.
We stand on a dangerous precipice in our relationship with
technology and artificial intelligence.
While we bask in ever-expanding conveniences, engage in 24/7
binge-worthy entertainment, manage distractions and an onslaught of endless information,
our systems of education, religion, medicine, business and politics are slowly
being dismantled. Lust for power and
profit dominate the mindset of more and more leaders and the “divide, control
and conquor” strategies of past ages seem to be as prevalent as ever. Our social support structures are crumbling
and the family unit is constantly under seige.
What chance is there for the single individual to feel
empowered against such odds?
Ending on a hopeless note, my two New Year’s Eve
conversations left no room for “it’s going to be ok”. It would have dishonored the sacred intimacy
that held the space for their bitter honesty.
I had to feel the heartbreaking truth of their feelings. I had to embrace the failure of our larger
society in order to process and discover the true gift of these two
interactions.
Later that night, there were only questions.
How can we change circumstances if we refuse to change our
habits of dependency on the old systems?
How can we reframe our relationships, learning, belief,
health and leadership?
The adepts of many ancient cultures understood these
dynamics of the individual and society and they created ways to develop
self-leadership and inner mastery. They
understood that the Universal Law is in each of us. When we are again attuned to It, our
awareness completely shifts. We can let
go of the default programs that dominate our behavior. With this knowing, a citizen could once again
recognize the power of the individual who in our modern times holds tremendous consumer
power, voting power, creative power and the greatest of all powers, the
capacity to work through Love. The possibilities
are endless, as limitless as the horizons of our creative tendencies. We are each a drop in a great and infinite Ocean.
Do we have the courage, wisdom and imagination to access
and wield these powers?
The answer lies in the drop itself.
The true revolution of our age is not one of the masses,
but of the individual willing to dive into the inner recesses of their own
Being. We cannot change the world but we
can change ourselves. We can strengthen our
relationships within our society and make better choices when we know how to
navigate our own lives more effectively.
Only then can we nurture stronger families, are wiser consumers, more
discerning citizens and visionary leaders capable of making vital and conscientious
decisions in technology, medicine and education through innovative creative
design. Our activism will have more substance
and vision. We will awaken the arts once
again and let music and dance be a part of our every day life. Living kindly will be as self-evident as taking care of our environment.
There it was. The
gift. The clarity for me and what the opportunities
of the next decade hold. I was reminded
that sometimes we need to listen instead of coming up with the answers right
away. I feel grateful to these two fellow
travellers for the gift they gave me and I send them love.
Here’s to the first day of the new decade, the first day of the first month of the new
year… 2020, here we are… Breathe into it…
“You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one…”
Sing it, dance it, draw it, sew it, create, create,
create... You are one with the Creator and all the power that ever was or will be is here in you right now.
Love always,
Ganga
Donated Image by Evgeny Lazareko of Unsplash
