Choose the Middle Ground

There are a lot of “two camp” issues right now, for example, pro-maskers vs. anti-maskers, and soon probably more pro-vaxxers vs. anti-vaxxers. Likewise, in the “spiritual” websites I sometimes read, there seem to be two camps: the “doomsayers-but-someday” crowd vs. the “we’ve-turned-the-corner” adherents. I think there’s a middle ground we can take to help us work our way through all of this . . .

The “doomsayers” claim we’re heading into a VERY rough time when it will feel like up is down, and down is up. When what we hold as true is revealed to be false, and vice versa. When trusted, respected leaders are revealed to be villains, and those we view as despicable emerge as Humanity’s saviors. And that today’s angst is NOTHING compared to what we’ll experience over the next few months (or years?). It will upswing eventually but not without a lot of upset.

Considering the current trajectory of the pandemic, the ongoing political drama, the simmering social unrest that often erupts to boiling, and the economic upheaval, I think some of that’s quite possible for a time.

But personally, I believe we’re approaching the “we’ve-turned-the-corner” point on Humanity’s Path. Not next week, or even next month. But it’s coming. And I think in the meantime, we have some work to do.

Let’s set the scene with a baseball analogy. (I am NOT a sports aficiondo! So bear with me here.) Imagine it’s a battle between two clashing teams:

• Our “Humanity’s Team” is the spunky underdog; a newly-formed team of talented rookies. Each team member contributes unique skills: some are fast runners, some great catchers, or strong pitchers, basemen, batters, or outfielders.
• The opposing team is the “O.P.s”—the Old Paradigm forces with their greed, corruption, war, abuse, etc. They have power, money, and a slew of advantages at their disposal. But they’ve been around a long time and have lost some of their edge.

It’s been a ferocious game with nail-biting suspense, some spirit-crushing plays, some injuries, and several surprises on both sides. Now the scoreboard says we’re losing. We’re in the do-or-die bottom of the ninth inning, and we’re up at bat. The bases are loaded with a whole bunch of us at varying degrees of readiness. It will take all of us now to bring this game home.

The O.P. pitcher throws their most devious, hard-to-hit fast ball speeding towards our batter who, with a mighty crack of their bat on the ball, hits it out of the park!! Each one of us then steadily, yard by yard, makes our way around the bases. The path is dusty and challenging, and looks like it stretches out forever in front of us. But it really doesn’t. There is an end in sight: Home Base, a Home Run. Many Home Runs. And we do it. We win!!!

So how do we do this in our current, real-life situation?

Going back to my baseball analogy, we’re actually not yet in the ninth inning. We have a couple of innings left to do what needs to be done to win the game. But WE need to make it happen. And the “middle ground” I suggest to get through it is “Observe, act, and prepare”:

OBSERVE:
Be of this world but not in it.
Don’t get too ecstatic over the highs OR despondent over the lows. Instead, maintain a neutral, observer stance. For example, yes, stay informed about the news, but don’t get sucked in and overwhelmed by it.

ACT:
Take advantage of this extended stay-at-home “Pause.“
Set aside time for introspection/exploration (maybe writing in your journal?).
* What are my wounds that need healing?
* What do I need to forgive myself for?
* Who do I need to forgive?
* What are my hopes/dreams—for myself, Humanity, and the planet?
* Who do I want us to be as a nation, as Humanity?
Counteract the chaos.
* Do acts of kindness vs. shooting out negative “energetic arrows.”
* Connect with family and friends, or reach out to new people.
* Practice compassion, forgiveness, trust, authenticity, and tolerance.

PREPARE:
Galvanize your contribution to the upcoming longer term.
Identify your skills and experience.
* What are the talents, gifts, skills, and experience that I can contribute? (Maybe some kept hidden or put on a back burner over the years?)
* What brings me joy to do?
(Re-read Oneness=“Unity”?)
Identify your “domain of interest.”
* What issues or actions am I passionate about?
(Re-read Pick a Domain, Any Domain)

I’ve urged you to do this “homework” before. But another COVID “lockdown” over winter months presents us with a huge opportunity to do it without the usual life distractions. Further, given the massive, committed election turnout and literally dancing in the streets afterward—we have a huge surge of positive energy propelling us forward. So rather than spending the next few months resigned, grumpy, drifting, or fearful, instead choose to use this time constructively.

There’s work to be done if we truly want to co-create a better Path for ourselves and for “Humanity’s Team.” As Pope Francis said last week in a New York Times Op Ed:

This is a moment to dream big, to rethink our priorities — what we value, what we want, what we seek — and to commit to act in our daily life on what we have dreamed of. . . . God asks us to dare to create something new. We cannot return to the false securities of the political and economic systems we had before the [pandemic] crisis. . . . We need to slow down, take stock and design better ways of living together on this earth.¹

So don’t stop now. Don’t let anything in the news get you down. Get out your journal or a notepad, and get to work!

And don’t forget to take care of yourself. Go outside and sit in the sun, take a walk in a park, or play some music and dance.

And to remind us about why we would bother doing any of this, revisit What This Is All About, and Forging a Path to Oneness: Learning the Soul You Are. Consider also looking through the list of previous posts on the Home page, and re-read whatever “calls” to you.

BTW—When the U.S. election was called, I was saddened to see some of my political tribe’s online bloggers spewing really venomous hatred at the other tribe and its leaders—like “No, we will NEVER forgive you for what you’ve done, for what you allowed to happen!” I really hope the majority of us don’t take that route. In a real sports game, the political views of the players don’t matter; team members work together toward a common goal: winning. So consider bringing onboard new team members, including reaching across the “divide” to some of the willing O.P. players, to work together on shared issues and concerns. For example, is children’s food security really a partisan issue?

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Footnote:

¹ “Pope Francis: A Crisis Reveals What Is in Our Hearts,” Op Ed New York Times, Nov. 26, 2020