Time to question our values
On Wednesday night, I really wanted to go into the streets and protest. I felt the need to be in the crowds with the rest of the people that feel anger, sadness, loss, embarrassment,, shame, and fear. I felt the need to express myself as a member of this society, and to do my part by showing up and taking a stand against the outcome of this election. But then I went home and felt guilty.
As I sat at home reading different articles and reactions from people around the world, I realized that protesting will not serve to change the outcome of the election. Now is the time to sit and reflect.
Sitting and reflecting, I identified that I felt enraged and scared for one of the many groups of people that will most likely be impacted by the election: illegal immigrants. I cannot help but wonder what these human beings must be feeling. Their whole lives and the lives of those they love back home depend on their income here. Most of these human beings have sacrificed their lives to try to give their loved ones a better future. They are honorable people. As an immigrant myself, and a privileged legal one, I know what it feels like to think you could be kicked out or not make it back in. I can't compare my experience to theirs, but I can feel compassion and understanding. So it angers me that the majority of those who voted would be inclined to proudly support severe action against illegal immigration and other things.
As I sat, I spoke to my boyfriend, who happens to be a very wise, New Age Gandhi, and listened to Deepak's speech. I realized that the rage I felt, the impulse to "fight back," to protest against a fact, would have been doing the same thing I was judging others for—creating deeper separation. So as Deepak suggested, I sat with all these feelings, and I reflected on some of these points.
If you are feeling any of the feelings I described, I encourage you to read through Deepak's words and take a moment to reflect. Ask yourself, what kind of world do we want to live in? What kind of world do we want our children to live in? Our grandchildren? How can we engage in personal and social transformation required to manifest that vision?
Here are Deepak Chopra's thoughts:
7 steps for the elevation of consciousness that is necessary in this dark time:
treat everyone with respect
recognize that everyone feels a sense of injustice
ask for forgiveness and give forgiveness to those that do not agree with you
let’s stop trying to prove other people wrong
let’s not talk about our ideologies, because no system of thought can overcome another system of thought
let’s not be belligerent
let us consider our values at this moment because those values are reflected in the collective conscious
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there can’t be a social transformation without our own personal transformation. a transformation not at the level of thought but at the level of being - there there is truth, harmony, evolution, truth, ethics and goodness that is not of the mind.
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what am I still grateful for? what kind of relationships to I want to have?
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What is new story for humanity? What are you going to do to engage in the creation of that story, without being resentful or angry or trying to prove others wrong?”
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What do we value deep deep within us and deep within others?
We need to see if we can move forward. I don’t think we can move forward just by sticking to our opinions defending our point of view. because there will always be on opposing point of view. we can’t move forward by re enforcing our desire to fight for what we think is right, because there are others who are fighting for what they think is right. and there is no convincing them, just like there is no conniving us.
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activism with an angry mind can only bring more resentment. we should first reflect and incubate with questions like what kind of world do we want to live in? our children to live in? our grandchildren to live in? how can we engage in personal and social transformation that that vision will entail?
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everyday reality is a human construct
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time to question our values
