It’s NOT “Business as Usual”

I know, I know. I sound like a broken record:

• These are challenging times like never before in the history of Humanity. Our long-festering wounds are coming up to be cleansed and healed.
• It’s hard to know what’s really true. News sources (corporate-owned and profit-driven) slant and sensationalize the news to align with their audience’s beliefs.
• We can’t depend on anybody else to “fix” all of this for us—not our existing governments or political parties, not any one institution or organization, not some nebulous “they,” and not even “Starman” movie extraterrestrials. Instead . . .
• It’s up to all of us to counteract the negative energy, rise above the chaos and drama, and co-create a better Path for Humanity.

My blog posts have all been related to these themes one way or another. I’ve also said that I feel like the situation is urgent. There’s rampant, significant instability in so many domains, resulting in a lot of suffering, and a teeth-grinding level of uncertainty. It’s by no means easy to be living in this reality right now.

At the same time, as I said in my previous post: I think this is a time of breathtaking possibility. The chaos is revealing exactly what’s broken, what isn’t working for Humanity, and what needs to change. So we have an opportunity like never before to fix what’s broken, and design a new, better Path. And it’s for precisely this reason that I say:

We can’t just go about our lives right now like it’s “business as usual.” 

It’s not just a matter of voting, writing a donation check to a cause or charity from the comfort of your kitchen table, or dabbling in your “domain of interest.” It’s not about doing a little bit more than we have up ‘til now. It’s about doing A LOT more. Then more after that. And even more after that. Whether it’s short term over the next few months, or longer term. Or, hopefully, both.

It’s especially about identifying how each of us can contribute our particular skills and experience to the nth degree. There’s a saying that I think exemplifies these times. I googled it for attribution—and found it’s even richer than I thought:

“Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. We saw a need that needed to be filled, and we stepped in to help.” (attributed to Benet Wilson)

I’m going to paraphrase that:

“Extraordinary times call for extraordinary leaders. I saw a need, and I stepped up to help.”

That “I” is us, you and me.

It’s possible that one or more national or global leaders will emerge that we can rally around. Throughout history there have been paradigm-changing leaders in all domains: political, religious, social, the sciences, etc. Like Martin Luther King, Albert Einstein, and the U.S. “founding fathers” (and mothers).

But it’s probable that there’s no one leader, no one answer. It may be that each of us needs to step up and lead simply by making our unique contribution in our domain of interest. It has happened many times before. “Ordinary people” have initiated or contributed to many impactful movements in their domain of interest, for example:

• Candy Lightner was just an “ordinary person” until her daughter was killed by a drunk driver; Candy went on to form Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)—a movement reported to have cut drunk driving deaths in half, saved approximately 350,000 lives, and helped around 850,000 victims.
• A bunch of ordinary teenagers after the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Florida started a movement that triggered the decline of one of the most powerful U.S. lobbying groups—previously impervious to any other pressures.

Just one individual or a small group of individuals working together CAN make a huge difference. YOU can make a huge difference. And that doesn’t mean you have to start a national movement or form a global coalition (although you can if that’s your calling!). Rather, any of your proactive actions can be the proverbial butterfly whose wing fluttering starts a ripple effect that spreads around the globe. Wow. How astounding is that?

OK, so let’s say you’re willing to really step up. What, exactly, should you do? What’s the action (or the next action) you can take that could contribute to re-shaping Humanity’s future, short term and/or long term?

Honestly, I have no idea. But you do. Somewhere in your Being, in your inner knowing, you know why you’re here, and what you can contribute in this reality/paradigm changing time. It’s up to you to uncover what that contribution is . . .

Access your inner knowing (intuition, Higher Self, Light/Source/God, whatever or whomever you choose to call it).

Listen to what it says.

Do. Maybe identify the “who, what, when, where” of the suggested action(s) thus narrowing it down into baby steps you can take vs. taking on the entire task all at once.

How you do all of this is up to you. Maybe one or more of the following:

• Listen carefully for “messages from the Universe” (AKA whisperings in your ear by the Holy Spirit) as I’ve described before: It could be in a conversation you have, on a TV show (even a commercial) you watch, in a radio program or podcast you listen to, or in a song you hear. It could be one word or phrase you read, maybe in a book you’re suddenly drawn to. It could be a card you pull from your Tarot deck, or on a billboard on the highway. It may be a thought that’s been niggling at you, or a dream from last night.
• Write in your notebook using a technique like automatic writing or “writing on the Muse stream” described by author Mark David Gerson.¹
• Do three things: evaluate your skills and experience; determine your “domain of interest”; and research needs in that domain. And then find the sweet spot in the Venn diagram of their overlap.

Whatever your contribution is, you’ll know it when the time is appropriate. And it may surprise you—your contribution may be very much outside the box of your current thinking. But trust your inner knowing.

In the meantime, you can create a ripple of change in this reality with every “random act of kindness and beauty” you do, by not getting sucked in by all the “bad” news, by not sending “energetic arrows” at the “other tribe” and its political leaders, and by saying prayers or sending Light out to whomever, whenever. And then go further: listen to your inner knowing about your overarching unique contribution, and maybe begin to do it.

But be careful of expectations: we may not immediately see much positive effect from our actions. Maybe in order for our Phoenix to be able to rise up out of the metaphorical flames and ashes, a “breaking point” must occur, the “old” must crumble before we can truly build the new. That may take some time yet, and it may get even more intense as the “old” pushes back against its demise. We may have to be willing to be in it for the long haul.

Likewise, I suggest that you be mindful of the energy that surrounds your proactive actions. Rather than coming from fear and desperation, instead perform your actions out of your love for Humanity and this stunning planet that sustains us. Come from a place of Oneness, of service.

So I urge us all to step up and step out of our comfort zone. It’s up to all of us. Each and every one of us.

P.S. If you’re already stepping up and taking some actions, kudos to you! Now ask yourself: What more can I do?

P.P.S. If you’re stuck trying to identify your domain of interest or actions you can take, I may be able to help. Contact me for a complimentary coaching session.

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Footnote:

¹ Mark David Gerson, author and coach. See The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write.