Made to love.
It continues to amaze me (gives me goosebumps in fact) what can happen within communities during times of need, trauma or crises. People instantly forget the every day pressures of life, the hustle and bustle, the stress and worry, and they immediately set out to create solution, calm, love and support.
Anything and everything can all of a sudden just stop and direction and focus shift. Funerals, natural disasters, illness, accidents and emergencies all summon gathering, networking and demonstrate authentic care + generosity.
I often wonder why we can conjure up the time (that is so often non existent) to be supportive to and offer abundance of love, empathy and encouragement during these tragic situations but we so easily neglect to show up during life’s day to day interaction.
Are we programmed to only know light when we see dark or does it need to take something bad to create something good? I don't believe so, I think we are inherently made to love + to collaborate versus compete. Unfortunately our fear, ego, pride + our bullshit stories can get the better of us if we aren't careful or conscious.
Why do we wait?
We show increasing amounts of compassion when the elderly lady falls as she is crossing the road, yet we choose not to even show her a smile when we pass her on the street each day before work.
We go the extra distance to clear our work and social schedules making time to when a friend or partner is going through a difficult time or falls ill, yet we continue to put off spending time with them throughout our weeks because we choose not to make it a priority, convincing ourselves that there is ‘always next week’ and ‘EVERYONE is just so busy these days, so hard to coordinate’. Then we drift, further and further away. Isolated. Disconnected. Alone.
We speak up when someone is physically injured or killed as a result of an act of racism however, we will refrain from saying anything when racial slurs, comments or jokes are made at a dinner party.
We suddenly become concerned and passionate advocates about our environment when there is an oil spill and we begin to bark at large corporations for their carelessness. All the while, we throw our recyclables in the inappropriate bins without a second thought, litter our beaches and parks, idle our cars, and fill our homes with excessive amounts of ‘stuff’. When the ‘stuff’ gets old we are onto the next best thing and off to landfills it goes. What happens to it there is rarely our concern? Who knows, at least it is out of our garage right?
We rush to the side of the hospital bed, crying and filled with regret when our family members are ill and on their last breath, the word sorry being the only thing that can come out of our mouths; yet for 10 years no words were spoken because sorry was the word we needed out of their mouth.
Is it worth it?
We are human. We can get caught up in our own worlds, in our own opinions, concerned about being right, looking good, making enough money and so on. However, it seems that the reality is, we end up leading very superficially social lives filled with lavish things and souvenirs from far off places. Deep down, life can be lonely and as a collective we are all wanting the same thing -- ‘searching for ourselves’, the ‘meaning of life’ and to be happy + connected. Connection and relatedness are the building blocks to all those things we seek. Two of the most fundamental needs of life are a sense of belonging and love + our deepest desires are often to be of help, to contribute and offer good to the world at large. We CAN accomplish this and FEEL this within our communities EVERYDAY, making it a practice to be open, engage, learn and share with our neighbours, friends and families. Make space, hold space and shift priority.
Choosing Love over Fear.
Giving without receiving or expectation, smiling, acknowledging the good in others and authentically offering your gifts to your community can be quite simple, but create profound impact for you and others. These things can be consciously done BEFORE the breakdowns, the fires, the floods or any other catastrophe. Be real, show people who you are and how you feel. Be grateful to others for their contribution and show love and forgiveness BEFORE the bad, sad and mad get the better of you.
I am so grateful to be a part of so many different communities across the globe. I trust and have faith in others around me, knowing that we need all of the same things, we are in it together. By being connected to all of YOU I continue to tap into who I truly am as a human and gain clearer perspective + understanding about what my life is all about and what I can do for this world.
NAMASTE.
