Senseless Human Suffering: Being A Part of the Solution

There is so much going on in the world around us, it's so easy to get caught up in it all; to be swept away in the currents of society, and the endless parade of pain and loss and fear which is sweeping across the planet at this time.

I turn on the news and I see what is going on in the Middle East and my heart aches, as I think about the innocent lives being lost, wasted, thrown away, and quickly I feel my energy lower itself, and then I become depressed, and begin to operate from a very dense level of consciousness.

This is natural, and to those of us who are extremely empathic it is simply part of our own personal challenge, to remain neutral, centered, and focused on the positive all around ourselves.

I so easily get caught up in my own anguish over what goes on in the world every day, and when I pin point the tragedies and travesties humanity endures I simply feel so desolate and lost. It is so easy to forget that it is our own free will, collectively and individually, which has brought us to this place we currently hold.

And so I remind myself, and hopefully anyone reading this who feels the way I so often feel, that the best thing any of us can do is to stay grounded, centered, and in the moment. When we get caught up in global storms of ego, power, tyranny and cataclysm it simply drains us of our energy, and leads to illness, and despondency. And brooding over that which happens in the world will certainly not change it, will it...

While we may not be able to change the reality others are living in at this time, and that can lead to a great deal of aggression and unresolved anger within ourselves, it is vital that we all remember that we have within our grasps the ability to channel positive energy and thoughts towards those situations and people.

It is possible to be in the storm - watch it rage all around us, and still remain centered, within the eye of the hurricane, so that we can remain rational, compassionate, observant, and accessible to those around us who need us.

I fall into despondency so easily, as I am so extremely empathetic, and literally feel the pain, sorrow, anguish and loss of others. When I watch the news, or read an article about yet another bombing, or downed airplane, or act of terrorism, my throat chakra locks up and tears well in my eyes and I feel so damned helpless, and that is the hardest thing for me to bear; not being able to do anything to help those people on Earth who so desperately need help!

And yet, if I take a moment to breathe, center, focus, and reach higher within myself to a place of wisdom and Light, I realize that I can help, by simply sending my love, my blessings, my ardent prayers and positive energy. My warring ego spits angry venomous thoughts through my mind, raging at these notions, feeling as though it is not enough! And yet my Higher sense of Self assures me that it is all I can do, all many of us can do, and it is worth more than we may at first think.

While thinking positive thoughts, or praying will not feed a hungry child, or stop a gunman from murdering a helpless victim before him, it is better than feeling like a victim ourselves, or slipping into feelings of rage, revenge, polarized notions of an eye for an eye vengeance. When we get lost in the storm and begin to feel whipped this way and that, and lose sight of our own sense of peace and stability, then we become a part of the problem. And none of us want to be a part of the problem.

So while we can't physically become a solution regarding so many of the big pressing heart wrenching issues on Earth, we can maintain equilibrium at home, in our society and community. We can quietly maintain loving compassionate feelings which we can share with those around us, and as ripples on a pond, watch those energies slowly move around the world.

I became so angry earlier yesterday morning, as I read an article about the ceasefire in Gaza not even lasting a whole day, and I saw a woman comment on the article, saying if everyone prayed on their Rosary beads, the war would end. I literally felt like smashing my laptop to bits on the ground, her comment evoked such a visceral sense of raw fury within me, as I envisioned countless do-gooder people praying together to stop genocide, and it made me feel so useless, meaningless, empty.

Yet later, as I thought on it, and I did, as my thoughts kept circulating around the ire I felt within me at this woman's words, I realized I was being part of the problem in that moment. I was sending so much negative and harmful thought energy towards a notion which made me feel helpless. Here this woman had felt so strongly in her own beliefs as a Catholic that she shared a bit of positivity, and I had responded by feeling angry towards her, and her notion, and indeed her entire religion.

That gave me great pause. She was trying to be a solution, in whatever small degree I deemed it to be, and I was not only judging her, but judging humanity in such a negative light. While I do not think billions of people rubbing rosary beads and praying will bring an end to the aggression in the middle east at this time, I also know that belittling that notion is surely as pointless as engaging in the war itself. I felt ashamed of myself.

So I meditated, and I prayed in my own way, and I came full circle back to the place where I always end up, after feeling anger, aggression, and confusion within myself; I came back to Love.

While I cannot hop on a plane, fly to Israel, and physically save the lives of every Jew and Arab engaged in this conflict, I can pray for them, and I can be hopeful for them, and I can look into ways I can help in my community. I can see if the Red Cross has relief efforts I can in some way assist with. I can see if writing politicians will hold any value. I can make efforts to resist this war in a way which does not resist my sense of Self, and Peace.

So I exhaled, and I calmed the raging mama Bear I am deep inside my ego, and I shrugged off my own immense hubris. I am in the eye of the storm again, and I'm sure the winds will whip up around me again in the future, and I'll find myself raging in the storm, feeling thoughts purely negative, detrimental, and pointless again, and when that happens I will again come full circle. It's what I do. It is what we do, as a species - we fumble towards ecstasy.

While prayer, and positive thinking may seem banal and pointless to many, and I can understand too well that feeling of "what are they thinking?!", I also feel and know deep within me, that it is so much more healing to send feelings of love, light, and prayer to those who are suffering on this planet, than to feel pity, apathy, and desolation.

So perhaps you'll join me, in a few silent moments of prayer at this time. Nothing fancy, nothing predetermined, just take a moment, to close your eyes, focus on humanity, and send love to each man, woman and child on Earth right now. Every single one, regardless of age, race, creed, religion, or background. Send love to the terrorists, and the terror-stricken. Send love to those who abuse their power, and those abused by others in power. Send love, and pray for wisdom, serenity, and release from aggression and hatred.

It surely has to be more productive than raging over the injustices in the world.

In Love,