On Wednesday, January 6, 2021, I spent much of the afternoon with tears welling up in my eyes while I watched in horror as the U.S. Capitol was “breached.” I saw reports about our elected representatives hunkering down under their Chamber desks, donning gas masks, and “sheltering in place” as protestors rioters “desecrated and vandalized” the seat of democracy—the best governing hope for Humanity.
In the aftermath, if reports are true, it turns out it was even worse and more dangerous than we originally thought. Much worse.
But ultimately the electoral vote was counted and a winner declared. Rioters are being identified and taken into custody. Officials who helped foment the riot are facing blowback. And the Capitol building has been cleaned and is being repaired. Democracy prevailed. But make no mistake, it’s still very much in peril—for example, there’s a strong possibility of more violent, hate-based events occurring in D.C. and elsewhere, like on Inauguration Day.
Possibilities notwithstanding, we must at this very moment in time, shake ourselves out of any lingering complacency and declare this horrific happening to be a turning point. And we must act on it . . .
In my blog post published just a few days ago, I noted that I was getting “guidance” that there would be a shift coming. That we should concentrate on the breathing in activities of self-reflection and self-healing because a shift was coming toward more breathing out and healing of society.
Well, ready or not, I think that shift is here.
If this democracy, country, planet, and even Humanity is going to survive and thrive, we must take action. As I’ve said many times:
- The days of just voting or merely writing a charitable donation check—and then dusting our hands off of any further action—are over. (Although these are still worthy actions, so don’t stop doing them!)
- No one person, political party, institution, group, or even any “Starman” extraterrestrial is going to “fix” all of this for us.
It’s up to all of us to answer the questions I’ve posed repeatedly:
- Who do we want to be as a country?
- Who do we want to be as Humanity?
It’s time now to answer these questions, and to begin to implement our answers. So what should you do? How should you approach this monumental and critical task?
Honestly, I have absolutely no idea what you should do. That’s up to you to figure out.
But I will pose some possibilities:
(Yes, I know, much of this is repetitive and has already been said in previous blog posts here. Maybe that’s an indication of how important it is. Maybe it’s because the Path described here is the better path vs. “fighting fire with fire”—heaping hatred on top of hatred.)
- Maintain an “observer” stance. As I always say, stay informed about current events but don’t get sucked in. Whatever’s happening on the national and global stage does not represent or presage the “end of the world” or the end of democracy. Rather, view it as something being revealed that needs to be healed or fixed—by us.
- “Pick a Domain, Any Domain.” I’ve been waiting for my inner knowing to help me identify which one issue I’m most “passionate” about so I can turn the full power of my attention and energy to it. And then I realized last week that maybe it doesn’t have to be just one all-out effort. Instead, in these urgent times, maybe it can just be “what’s up for me to do right now?”
Just as I get a “message from the Universe” (from my Muse, inner-knowing, whatever, whoever) identifying which blog post topic to write about each time, maybe I can use that listening to identify which issue I can contribute time, effort, and/or money to today, this week, or this month. And then after that, which issue tomorrow, next week, or next month. Maybe at some point, one issue will spark passion and a longer-term commitment. But as I’ve said here before, “Do something, anything. Start somewhere, anywhere.” - BE Light. BE compassion and forgiveness. BE peace. BE kindness. Surround Humanity with Light, or say prayers—especially regarding those people and groups whose actions are hate-based and destructive, and those who perpetrate war, suffering, and death anywhere around the world. Forego sending out negative energetic “arrows” to them or anybody. Instead encourage kindness by way of your example.
NOTE: Frankly, looking through the lens of compassion, I wonder: what is the apparently enormous fear that undergirds the rioters’ extreme anger and hatred? How can it be identified and addressed? But despite my questions and my calls for compassion and forgiveness, I also believe in appropriate accountability for anybody who causes harm, suffering, or destruction. However, that accountability should come from a place of justice, and not from more hatred or revenge.
So in summary, I suggest you do any or all of the following:
Maintain an “observer” stance. Stay informed but don’t get sucked in by current events. Acknowledge what’s happening, but rise above the hatred and chaos and view these events as something coming up to be healed or fixed—by us, by you.
“Pick a Domain, Any Domain.” Whether it’s a one-time or short-term action, or a longer-term commitment, TAKE ACTION in that domain. “Just do it!”
BE Light. BE compassion and forgiveness. BE peace. BE kindness. Surround the entire planet and Humanity (or particular people, places, governments, institutions, groups, etc.) with Light, or pray for them—not just one time, but repeatedly and consistently. And by your own actions and example, add positive energy to the mix.
Sure, there’s a part of me that wants to scream the now proverbial, angry “Lock them up!” But that would be sinking to a level that I REALLY don’t want to go to. Instead, I urge all of us to transform our sadness, outrage, and fear into focused, ongoing, constructive action.
Maybe the best reaction to what happened on Wednesday is to rise up and create such an overwhelming tsunami of Light (positive energy and actions), that all those involved in what happened on Wednesday simply sink into ignominy and are consigned to the dustbin of history. And for us to truly use this time as a turning point that shifts the path of Humanity for the better—even if it takes some time and effort on our parts.
As always, I urge you to tap into your inner-knowing. Listen to what it says, and ACT.
P.S. About listening to your inner-knowing. For the second time in writing these blogs, when I veered into a political rant, it mysteriously “disappeared” in the Save process. I have no idea how. But I know why. As I was writing, I had a niggling feeling it wasn’t appropriate here. But I was so attached to the rant, I refused to listen to that niggling. So, somehow the text disappeared. I found a viable, albeit time-consuming, way to recover the text, but finally I listened to the niggling and just let the rant go—even though it was really hard to do.
Interestingly, when I let it go, I felt a shift inside to feeling balanced and calmer vs. angry and strident. My point to you: don’t ignore that niggling feeling! That’s often how our inner-knowing speaks to us. And if you don’t listen, it will probably keep prodding you. And if you still don’t listen, the Universe may step in (and make a political rant disappear!).
BTW1—Profiles in service and courage. There aren’t just hate-filled rioters out there; there are A LOT of good people who see a need, and respond to it:
- After a long and frightening day, a congressman (Andy Kim, D-NJ) spent an hour and a half helping to clean up the Capitol rotunda and adjacent rooms of the empty water bottles, broken furniture, Trump flags, and pieces of body armor and clothing left behind by the rioters. Then he returned to the House floor for the resumption of the objections debate and vote count that lasted until 3 a.m. Thursday morning. By Thursday evening, he’d been awake for over 36 hours.1
- A quick-thinking Black U.S. Capitol police officer (Eugene Goodman) diverted rioters away from Senate chambers (with the Senate still in session), putting his own life at risk.2 (I saw this video on TV and wondered what the heck he was doing. Now I know.)
BTW2—Glaring inequities. Contrast how peaceful anti-racism protestors were brutally treated last year vs. how the aggressive Capitol rioters were basically treated with kid gloves on Wednesday. And think about the photo and video of the Black janitorial staff cleaning up the mess left behind at the Capitol by the mostly White rioters.3
Footnotes:
1 Behind the viral photo of Rep. Andy Kim cleaning up at midnight after riots
2 A Black Police Officer saved America on Wednesday. Say His Name. and Capitol police officer hailed a ‘hero’ for diverting mob from Senate chambers (I suggest you don’t watch the big video at the top of the page; it may be triggering.)
3 Video of Black Capitol Workers Cleaning Up After Mob Mayhem Goes Viral (Scroll down to the small video in the tweet. If you do watch the first big video at the top of the page, note that it may be triggering.)
Your Path to Oneness 