What I’ve been learning…
The world is on fire.
The wold will get worse before it gets better.
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There is not much I can do for the people of Ukraine. I can pray, I can send money, I can share links to trusted organizations, and none of that is nothing, it helps, but I can't end this war with a snap of my fingers.
What can I do? I can focus on the things I can change.
I've heard some variation of "If there's not peace within myself, I cannot ask that others create peace in the world for us," several times recently.
We cannot ask of others what we are unwilling to do ourselves, so I've been working on being at peace within myself. Using forgiveness and compassion towards myself and ALL other humans. Even the ones who have seriously harmed me. Still got a ways to go, but peace begins within ourselves. If we're unwilling to meet the world with forgiveness, compassion, and humility, we cannot demand it of others.
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The world is on fire.
We have all contributed to that fire in some tiny or huge way by perpetuating shame, judgement, hostility, etc.
The world will get worse before it gets better.
It will get worse, because we haven't shifted the tide yet. We need more people choosing the Light and creating peace within themselves.
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I shared a meme that read something like, 2022 will have flowers in it because I am planting flowers.
What do you want 2022 to bring by year's end? Put in that energy. Focus on what you want to see. Do you want peace in the world? Create peace within your mind and in your life. Start there. Become the light. Become the lighthouse. Show people the way.
Forgive yourself and every other human being on the planet. Regardless of their actions. Holding onto anger and hatred only harms your own mental health, creates a ripple effect, and is how we end up where we're at in the world today. That pill was hard for me to swallow, but I did it, if we want peace, it's a pill we all need to swallow. It doesn't matter if they deserve hatred, it will not help you by holding on to it.
It's literally damaging your well being.
What is happening in Ukraine is unbearably heartbreaking. What happens to some humans all over the world every day is equally heartbreaking. However, I cannot allow it to control my mental health because doing so serves literally no one. No one, not a single human, is helped when we all descend into darkness and hopelessness. Focus on what you can control, what you can help, what you can improve, and enjoy the gifts in your life.
Do everything you can to seek out and experience, even the simplest sparks of joy every day. Figure out how to share joy with others. When you are feeling hopeless, latch on to gratitude. And not guilt for having gratitude either! Just gratitude. You're not a horrible human for having things others don't. Enough of that nonsense. Gratitude should not foster guilt. Repeat that.
Gratitude encourages peace within and without, it encourages generosity.
As within, so without. If you want a peaceful world, create it within.
It starts within me, it starts within you, it starts within each of us.
