As you observe events unfolding around the world, you might experience a range of emotions, many of which could be challenging to process. You might wonder how to find your way out of the dark and back into the light.
If you are feeling sadness, despair, hopelessness, or heartbreak, it’s completely normal. Sadly, some of you may be witnessing tragedy in your own community.
You may feel a loss of safety. You may experience fear surrounding what the future holds. Perhaps you are afraid for your loved ones and friends. Perhaps the uncertainty of things you cannot control brings up a great deal of anxiety. You are not alone, my friend.
Often, our fears and emotions remind us of past experiences. Unfortunately, anything that remains unhealed from our past tends to resurface later in life.
If you experienced moments in your childhood when your safety wasn’t assured, you might find yourself falling back into some of the old thought patterns and coping mechanisms you used to survive.
I encourage you to reflect on what is coming up for you right now. Know that your feelings are normal and natural. Allow them to have a place and to be heard. Surround yourself with those who can listen and support you without judgment.
In times like these, I remind myself that when I cannot control what’s going on around me, I can choose to look at what’s going on inside of me. Here are some questions you might consider asking yourself:
- What feelings are coming up for me right now?
- When is the first time in my life I remember feeling this way?
- Are there wounds inside me that need healing so I can better process my current experience?
When you’re able to be emotionally honest with yourself about what’s bubbling up inside and face it with courage, your healing journey begins.
Many individuals believe that the outside world needs to change, and while there may be some truth to those beliefs, healing always starts with each of us as individuals. To bring light to the darkness, it needs to start with me.
So, how can I bring more light to the world?
- Make a conscious choice to heal my own wounds because anything unhealed within me ripples out into my interactions with loved ones and others I meet on my journey through life.
- Choose to listen when others share their thoughts, beliefs, and feelings rather than criticizing, judging, or offering advice. It’s vital that each of us feels heard versus feeling minimized.
- Be curious. You don’t need to agree with others, but you can be curious and choose to elicit more information instead of arguing and causing friction.
- Like my mom always told me growing up, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” In other words, choose kindness. And if you’re struggling to say something with compassion, take a pause until you’re able to be kind.
- Choose to be the change. How you choose to show up in the world matters. Bring calm, peace, kindness, compassion, healing, and love into your interactions.
- What would love do? Choose to be love. Remember that love starts with you. If you forget to give love to yourself and fill up your tank first, it’s impossible to give love to the world around you.
As you navigate through the challenging and uncertain times of life, remember that you have the ability to make a positive difference in the world. Every choice you make ripples out into the world around you.
Be the change that brings greater light to not only your life but to the lives of those you love.
You, my friend, are the light.
