Sometimes I feel as if everything is closing in on me. I avoid the news because I no longer know what is true and what is not. But some things just work their way through anyway. Coronavirus of course, and for a while now I’ve had climate change on my mind, and recently the most dreadful story of George Floyd, a black man apparently murdered in full sight by a white police officer.
The woes of the world are overwhelming. Child poverty, starvation and trafficking. Modern slavery. Institutional racism. Environmental pollution and destruction of our air, seas, land, food and water. And that’s just scratching the surface…
I feel myself getting angry and tight inside – it’s a mixture of rage, grief and desperation. If I’m not careful I lapse into judgement, particularly when it seems other people are unaware. For example, headlines that scream something along the lines of, “I’m really going to hate myself when the Botox wears off.” What?! Talk about focusing on something utterly trivial whilst ignoring the huge elephant in the room. Stop – that’s a judgement on so many levels…how can I possibly know the whole story?
But I’m learning…
Saving the world is not my job. I’m not Queen of the Universe. The only person I have any “control” over is Me. As a recent meme I came across says, “I’ll do Me, and You do You…” So I continue to live as gently as I can on the planet, I continue my yoga and meditation practice, I continue to tune in to my own intuition, I continue to respect other people’s views, I continue to be active against climate change, and because I’m human, I shall no doubt continue to be deeply disturbed by tragedies such as George Floyd’s violent death. I will continue to send out love to the world.
As Miten said in a meditation I listened to today, “We’re born into a world of polarity, and into a world of day and night, right and wrong, black and white, this and that. It’s just the nature of things. Our journey is not to look for peace outside. If peace comes we thank God, but we’re concerned with our inner peace. We can discover our own inner sanctum in a world of peace and harmony and loving ourselves as we are.” (You can access Deva Premal and Miten’s free 21-day Mantra Meditation Journey on YouTube by clicking here.) I don’t think he’s saying nobody else matters, I think he’s saying peace starts within, and we can only be responsible for ourselves. We can each, in our own way and our own corner, “be the light” that shines, illuminating a path to others who may be searching.
Love is really all there is… I’ll do Me and You do You.
Om Shanti ♡