I know you might be thinking, why do I have to practice anything in these times of upheaval? Isn’t it the governments’ responsibility to turn things around? After all, they are the ones receiving safe and inflated pay cheques and they appear to have all the power and control.
Well, you know that line of thinking is a sure-fire way to end up feeling like a pile of poo and experience continual anger in your mind and body.
Don’t get me wrong, anger and all the feelings that come up during major world change, are all part of the natural process of transformation and adjustment and these need to be acknowledged and processed. And often when we do this, we find some deeper, long-held core beliefs that were developed from childhood. Maybe it’s beliefs like, “the world is evil”, “I’m unsafe living in this world”, “attack and defend before you get attacked”.
This is where practicing intense self-kindness is a great gift to yourself and the world. It takes courage to look at these beliefs and feelings and shine the light on them without judgement. This in fact is true freedom from despair at your fingertips, and no-one else needs to change first before you undertake this work. You just start to ask yourself some questions and check if those beliefs are real and are working for you. And when you know what those old beliefs or triggers are, you don’t have to act on them. You can also be with the feelings that are connected to them and express them in a sacred space or with a facilitator. That’s when you create inner freedom and that leads to gently rising above the beliefs and feelings.
You may still choose to be a revolutionary and stand up and be a voice, although it will be from a different space that is kinder to you and your body. Many of the vocal change agents that haven’t done the inner work are getting very tired and sick right now. But the world needs you, vibrant and well!
So intense kindness is about knowing when to rest, it’s about knowing when to let go and when to act. It’s about listening to the wisdom of your body and letting that guide you and expand your life.
In previous times, kindness was generally devalued and seen as ‘not normal’. It’s time to change this given we are in unprecedented times! And as more people claim this superpower, the gentle power of their kindness to self and others can ripple out into the world. And maybe this can be the change the Earth has been modelling for us all this time.