This is a challenging time for those of us on a search for truth in our lives, and for meaningful support to share with the people, we care about.
The world is growing increasingly complicated, and the ability of organizations around the world to shape our perception of ourselves and society and even reality is growing quickly. As humans, as social creatures, we thrive when we cooperate with others, which includes looking to authorities for perspective and wisdom, so that we can focus on our wedge of life, trusting that the proxies we accept into our mind are somewhat accurate, and represent our interests as we navigate the adventure of life.
But what to do when we no longer trust the institutions and organizations, seeing too many times the dishonesty, corruption, endless bias, and profit/power motivated programs collectively obscuring us from the truth? What to do when every message distracts and discourages, disempowers, and disengages us from a shared experience of truth and connection to each other?
As I observe the rapid acceleration of challenges and confusion and fear among so many individuals, groups, governments, I don’t see the same problems they tell us to pay attention to. Yes, our species is living unhealthfully and so is deeply susceptible to diseases new and old. Yes, our culture primarily lives a story of separation and so we get stuck on race and every other checkbox that affirms our sense of safety when we try to see the ‘us’ being better than ‘them’. Yes, we are almost completely reliant on decaying economic and social systems which will inevitably transform into whatever is next for humanity with indifference for how it affects individuals.
But the responses to each of these situations is very simple when we tune out the biases, propaganda, and agendas of the people and organizations around us who do not serve our best interests. When we can quiet our minds from the story of separation and chaos, it creates room for wisdom, and wisdom reminds us to focus on ourselves, to get ourselves right. Only then is it helpful to take that fuller more healed self out to try and make the world a little bit more beautiful, if we can.
I am amazed by how different I feel inside after a day where I engage with the narratives, compared to how I feel after a day focused on creating optimal health through nutritious food, doing some stretching, exercising, connecting with friends and family, reading philosophy instead of news, contemplating how to create the most thriving life I can imagine for myself and those I care about. Engaging in the manipulative narratives I feel stress, anxiety, fear, restlessness, depression, uncertainty. Exploring for deeper wisdom and optimizing self, I feel peaceful, clear, focused, potent, in love with myself and the world.
As I and we walk these paths, everyday choosing where we put our attention, where we invest our energy, how we spend our time, it can at times be a truly lonely path. The old story told us that loneliness indicates a problem, one we should cover up with substance or process addictions, or distract ourselves with the news. But that’s only half right. The loneliness is a sort of ‘problem’, but when framing it that way, the conditioned self looks for the wrong solutions. So frequently it seeks a path forward of rejection rather than acceptance. The right path is to practice being ok in that loneliness, to practice feeling simultaneously good and bad, acknowledging the pain and discomfort. And then use that awareness as fuel to create deepened peace and to find the motivation to change our experience. To lean into the greater potential of growth for ourselves, and thus increase the chance of the rest of humanity sharing whatever peace we can find inside.
Personally, as I commit and recommit to this work every morning, I am profoundly grateful for the rare sources of clarity and wisdom in my life. Those apparent masters of reality who have clearly experienced many moments of transcendent buddha-like clarity, but have come back to us to share their perspectives, to elucidate high-Quality paths ahead, for those of us who are ready to evolve through intention rather than reaction.
Here I share with you three precious gems of wisdom as we approach uncertain futures; rare humans who yearn to help us evolve, and who we can trust in this time of complete bullshit and ‘spellbinding’ aimed at us from all sides.
If it feels right, please enjoy and share with anyone in your life who is getting lost in the details, who needs a reminder of what an opportunity this life can be.
You will never look at Life the Same – Jordan Peterson
Exiting the Matrix – Charles Eisenstein
Zach Bush (triple MD) and Rich Roll discuss how to truly understand health
With all the clarity I have to share, I remind you, Lean In.
Love Everything.
