We woke this week to news of yet another mass shooting — this time at the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood. Instant and palpable outrage. Quickly followed by a feeling of futility and helplessness in the face of such senseless hate and destruction. Whether it’s religious extremism abroad or homegrown hatred, what can we — what can any of us — possibly do to stem the tide of this craziness??
Whether you call it prayer or the power of intention, the fact is that thoughts are powerful vibrations. What we think about, focus on, obsess over — digs in and deepens its presence in our lives, for good or for ill. So, if we are marinating ourselves and our society in the energy of our thoughts … perhaps it would behoove us to give some thought to what exactly IS our marinade of choice?
Hmm. Flip on any TV, radio, or podcast and what will you hear? A host of pundits, political candidates, and talk show hosts, on all sides of the political spectrum, filling our ears and airwaves with finger-pointing, fear, anger, judgment and ideas of ‘us vs them’ — if not outright hate. Think about that. If thoughts are strong enough vibrations to literally change the shape of water crystals and the form of light — as some scientists now propound — what does that daily barrage do to the world and societies in which we live? And more importantly, what can we do to counter it? ‘Cause, let’s face it — most of us are not Gandhi, Mother Teresa, or Martin Luther King, Jr. We are not likely to lead mass movements that change the course of history.
Or are we?
We seldom give much thought to the impact of a single word, a hug, a listening ear free of judgment — though all of us have been changed by those very things in our own life … or by the lack of them. Truth is, we may wield more power than we know. After all, the ripples that spread all the way across a wide lake begin with a small, single splash.
So here’s a thought. How about we start a counter action, inundating the world with thoughts of peaceful coexistence–where problems engender a search for solutions instead of somebody to blame and differences of opinion lead to thoughtful discussion, rather than senseless death? We’re not talking about some grand gesture — though if you’re called to that, more power to you. The rest of us can start small and at home. Here are just a few ideas:
Sound a little too PollyAnna? (Okay, I just gotta ask — who IS PollyAnna anyway and how did she get this bad rap of being such a clueless sap?? Inquiring minds want to know.) Anyway, here’s the thing:
A number of years ago, I ran into an acquaintance who’d been fired in a restructuring. When I learned what had happened, I kept trying to offer support just as many of us do in that situation — by means of ‘Those !#&*@$ bastards! What could they possibly have been thinking??‘ But instead of joining in the bash-fest, he stopped me, saying that while he’d enjoyed the work, there was this whole other thing he’d always been interested in and now he was getting the chance to explore that and how cool was that? And, ok — I admit it. I thought he was being completely PollyAnna-ish (with apologies to P.A., whereever she may be) about the whole thing. And yet — a decade later, I still remember that conversation. And every time I hear of someone being forced into a job change they hadn’t sought, I wonder if maybe things will turn out for them like they did for Dan — bringing them home to themselves in a way they never would have experienced if the Universe hadn’t taken a hand and dumped them out of their comfort zone. One short conversation, a decade ago that I’m sure he’s never given a second thought to … and yet it still impacts my thoughts today.
Words are indeed powerful. So is taking the time to listen to one another. A lot harder and more time-consuming than judging, condemning, bitching. (Talk about moving out of our comfort zones!) But the stakes are high here, folks. We have a world to turn around.
Maybe it’s time we all got started.