“If You Want to Awaken All of Humanity, Then Awaken All of Yourself”
The world is changing before our eyes. We have become polarized beyond comprehension in the name of race, religion, country, political affiliation, and even personal sexual preference. Our pointed focus on economic growth and accumulation has been at the expense of species and the exhaustion of the earth’s resources at alarming rates. We are at war on so many levels both personally and collectively. Instead of waking up to see what is truly happening, it seems easier to point fingers or blame someone or something we don’t know or truly understand.
The saints and sages throughout history understood how our outer world is a reflection of our inner world. We all have experiences that cause us to close our hearts, build walls and fences so that we won’t be hurt again. Wounds that keep others out rather than acknowledge the reflection they offer us for growth and healing. Perhaps if we let these old walls down, we would have to reconsider the lines we have drawn and whether they truly reflect our current beliefs and ideals. This can be uncomfortable but it is an essential inquiry in order to see what we as individuals are contributing to our world.
The indigenous people understood that we are all connected. The earth, our mother – a living breathing being; all life on her belly, vastly intertwined. Humans are truly the only species that live out of harmony with nature – our own and that which surrounds us. Between our Judeo-Christian myth of being caste out of the garden and our advances of technology that give the illusion of dominion, we have lost our way.
It is important that we all re-evaluate the lines we have drawn and whether they truly reflect the world we want to leave future generations. This is an essential inquiry for us all to make in order to preserve the quality of life on our planet. We must understand that we are one planet and though we may have differences, there is more that connects us than separates us.
As you gather around the Thanksgiving table with your family and loved ones, take note of the stories that have been passed down through the generations. The stories that have become your own without even realizing or questioning if they still resonate with who you are or the world you want to live in. Give thanks for all those who have come before you and all they have done to bring you to the place where you are today. Love them, honor them and know that their stories no longer need to define you.
It is time to break free from who we have been and instead source from who we want to become. To create a new story. A story that allows each of us to express our truth without fear of persecution or alienation; a story that makes room for all faiths, beliefs and beings to once again live in harmony with the earth and all who live upon it. It is time to give thanks to the earth for sustaining us and recognize that what we chose to consume can make a difference. It is time to remember that we are the stewards of this garden and what we do to ourselves we do to the world.
