Do you find yourself walking around during the day angry, bitter and confused? Are you trying to move on with your life but feeling out of sorts, unable to distinguish between truth, illusion, reality, ‘alternative facts’, and hype? Are you experiencing disruptions in the world and short tempers at home? Join the crowd.
In addition to the emotional upsets flooding the country over the political situation, the divisiveness after the election and the international responses that have occurred, many areas of the country have been experiencing devastating fires, floods, tornadoes, mudslides and other natural disasters. So, what do you do when these negative feelings eat up your energy, turn your life upside down and continue to wreak turmoil days, weeks and months later?
- Acknowledge and accept what is surrounding you. Why? Because we cannot heal what we don’t know is wounded. We can’t fix what we can’t see is broken. We can’t forgive what we don’t acknowledge is hurting. If we are stuck in blame, making someone wrong or bad, fixing fault with another or being defensive, then we cannot take responsibility for our part in creating our reality.
Chiron, the wounded healer in astrology, teaches us to heal ourselves before we heal others, thus learning what healing needs to take place. If you are upset about what is going on in the world today, take a look at your life. Is it in turmoil? Are you unhappy with the job you chose, the relationship, the career, the place you live, your lifestyle or your friends? Our outer world is a reflection of our inner world which means a whole lot of us have been busy creating a dissonant world that is unhappy with itself because that is what surrounds us.
For example, have you known a person who always complains about the terrible jobs they have? They work at a place for several years, then are fired or quit, complaining all the time about the work, their boss, the wage, the other employees, only to get another job with the same issues. They never look at who is creating the situations at the workplace.
This may also be true of: a) relationship complications, b) financial troubles—bad investments, wasting time or money, c) chronic health issues or d) continuing career challenges. Once we acknowledge there is a problem, then we can address it. As in the greater world, we now see the larger issue looming, so we can address what is causing our distress on a daily basis.
- What is our personal response to living in this chaotic time where balance and center seem to be lost? The disruption we see in the greater world is merely a reflection of the disturbance in our inner life. We must accept personal responsibility for our own lives for what we have formed and forgive ourselves for our mistakes. Then we can move ahead and take action to heal our lives, asking forgiveness for our mistakes from those we have hurt or injured, thereby creating a better outside world.
In the example above, when we accept that we create the dissention at work, the friction with our boss, the unhappiness with our job, then we can correct it. We can either get out of the field we are in by training for another job, or adjust our perspective and expectations of the workplace and decide to appreciate the world around us and what we have made. We could actually end up loving our work and the people surrounding us. If not, we can leave and find the right niche where our talents are loved and appreciated. If you do not love your life, you have the ability to change it.
The governments around the world (including our own) respond to people’s fear, anger and pain at being hurt and victimized (like the loss of jobs, economic downturns, trade imbalances etc.) and react by being protective, defensive and aggressive. Often, they select others to blame and name scapegoats to deflect the anger and responsibility while they attempt to determine solutions. This generally exacerbates the problems in the short term because it avoids taking responsibility for our part in creating the circumstance from which these difficulties arose.
The media, the political dissenters on both sides, and others opposing our belief systems have stirred up an atmosphere of fear for what may happen in the future. By being fearful, we generate fear in the world. We set up a resonance and vibration of fear that attracts the things we fear to us. If we fear violence, economic disruption, job losses, invasion or other terrors, we generate suspicion, hostility, reaction and unreasonable behaviors in others that call for a similar response. The appropriate response is compassion and understanding. This fear creates a disharmony in our personal lives, too, causing stress, anger, dissension, and unhealthy responses in relationships.
I do not listen to the media, either TV, radio or internet news except for summaries so that I know where to direct my attention and be informed. I do not “buy” into the hype and hysteria. When I hear of a disaster, I meditate and send love and compassion to the people involved including politicians, governments, agencies and world institutions as well as victims, rescue workers etc. I accept responsibility for using too much fossil fuel, too much food, too many resources and resolve to reduce my usage and help the world.
How does this make a difference in the chaos of the world? In my work with clients to clear adverse family patterns, when we contact Ancestors, we discover our Ancestors have not deliberately chosen to make their descendants’ lives difficult. They merely made mistakes in their choices that they didn’t know how to correct in their lifetimes. When we give the Ancestors the opportunity to correct the mistake, they are happy to do so, because it makes positive changes in their life path as well as their children’s and descendants’ paths. In the journeys, communities are changed for the better when mistakes are corrected, patterns are shifted, hurts are forgiven and love is offered. A simple choice, like volunteering at a child’s school, can alter another child’s perception of opportunities available, of how adults treat children, of emotional connections made or of intellectual curiosity stimulated.
Taking action where it is needed is always necessary. Mother Theresa, when invited to attend an Anti-War March declined, but told the protestors to inform her if they had a Pro-Peace Rally. I try to oppose nothing but support many things. I support peace, women’s and environmental rights, children’s programs, immigrants’ rights to travel and move to safe countries including our own, equal pay etc. I contribute money to select worthy causes. Choose what is important to you and support it in a positive way. Use positive energy to make a difference in the world. It will enhance and support your energy field and the energy field of those around you.
- Share Positive Thoughts, Words and Actions. It is so easy to jump into the soup of criticism of everyone and everything that is wrong today in politics, education, health care, environment, international relations, world hunger, immigration policy and whatever else is in the news. We actually have a culture of negativity surrounding us. No wonder 16,000,000 people in the US had at least one major depressive episode in 2012 and $80,000,000,000 is the estimated annual cost of depression in the U.S. due to lost productivity and health care. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/20/depression-statistics_n_6480412.html.
We could live positive lives if we could reorient our lives to accept responsibility instead of blaming others, forgive our mistakes and take action to correct them. When we take control of our attitudes, words and behaviors, we attract more positive energy into our lives.
The biggest difference we can make is to forgive ourselves for our own shortcomings. Then we can extend the forgiveness into the greater world. We are not perfect. We are here to learn and grow. Our lesson is to learn to recognize our Divinity and the Divinity of others. In order to do that we need to understand our mistakes in creating our reality and how to shift it. These are our baby steps practicing how to walk.
The greatest gift we can give others in this time of chaos is understanding, forgiveness, kindness, a helping hand, a compliment, support and compassion. Giving these to ourselves is the greatest healing gift of all. The self-love it generates allows us to expand our ability to see the best in others, too, knowing we are all One in this Universe. We are Divine and are always loved. This will create the reality we want.
Blessings for Health, Prosperity, Joy, Laughter and Love,
Ariann
