How I Am Going to Change The World

"Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood.  Now is the time to understand more so that we may fear less."   

~ Marie Curie ~

I don’t know about you, but these last few weeks have been very ‘HEAVY’.  By heavy I mean emotionally tolling with the culmination of the past days, weeks and this year plus known as COVID.All you have to do is turn on the news in whatever form you prefer and you will be inundated with tragedy, hatred and the fury of Mother Nature being unleashed around the world.There’s been plenty of it... from flooding, fires, collapses, deaths and countless examples of humanity at its worst.I remember pondering silently many months ago… perhaps COVID is in some way our ‘BIG TEST’, the turning point the world can someday look back on with fondness for how we pulled together, forgave our trespasses and moved forward in greater unity.I venture to think it matters not whether you come from the more or less optimistic.FEAR surrounds us, envelops us and for those who can’t see beyond its borders, anger and even hatred erupts.When did we become so intent on imposing our own will on others?  We have always lived in a world of opposing thoughts, beliefs, practices… and yet COVID has birthed a disdain toward those who don’t think exactly as ‘I’ think.If I stay in the ‘top half’ of the glass, there are still many examples of people helping people… humanity in its glory - from the slightest to the magnificent.  So, how did I find myself drowning, swirling, gasping for air from the bottom of the glass?

Cringe worthy COVID moments

On one hand it seems we have fallen farther and farther from grace.  One might be inclined to forget the reaction of some in emptying the shelves of staples - purely in panic and fear despite reassurances our supply was secure.Was it a peek into our future… a crystal ball view of what was yet to come?  Perhaps a prediction of behaviour much viler, much uglier in the face of ever changing restrictions and ongoing FEAR.

• Spitting in a young store attendant's face
• Yelling obscenities at a non white security guard tending to a vaccination clinic
• Denying rental access based on a difference in opinion on vaccination
• Unfriending years long friendships due to individual stances on political/personal differences specific to the pandemic
• Protesting, harassing and interrupting the very people who have been risking their own (and loved ones) well being for months - for this one, there are no words

Moments of loss and sadness

The world around us has been wrought with natural and manmade tragedy… increased individual and collective suffering.

• School yard gravesites
• Flooding and fires
• Abandonment of pets
• Deaths and destruction
• Illicit drug overdoses
• Tragic accidents
• Afghanistan

This summer, these past months have presented an emotional toll - for some earth shattering and others -  a kind of “bring me to my knees” sense of grief.🧡 The discovery of 200 unmarked graves of a former residential school… the truth can no longer be ignored.  Tears flow silently, an ache deep within rising....  heart broken and hopeful… is this where healing begins?💔 An accident scene turned memorial - 3 young lives lost just as they were beginning... choking sobs, blurring tears.  Six or seven police officers standing in silent vigil.  A day earlier, a cameraman reporter mercilessly placed a microphone in front of a young griever… how will healing begin?💗 A man stops his car, pushing an aged dog out onto the street.  He drives away, following the fire evacuation order that forced him from his home.  The dog is taken in by strangers… a reminder -  where ugliness lives, beauty still blooms.It’s taken a few days for me to come to terms with the stranger living within - doom and gloom has been hovering and despite my best efforts, settled overhead, ready to trace my steps wherever I go.As is often the case, this temporary ailment is mostly self-inflicted.  I can’t take the entire blame… after all, there's been a lotta shit happening.  My role lies in getting sucked in… reading the headlines, digging into the stories, falling victim to the media’s tendency to an overabundance of ‘BAD NEWS’.Alas, if I simply adjust my perspective… see the other side of the story.  I find countless moments of kindness, for they live not only in others but more importantly in my heart. 

"In a gentle way, you can shake the world."

~ Mahatma Ghandi ~

I’m going to change the world by seeing it through a lens of beauty and hope… no longer falling prey to the darkness and despair.I’m going to change the world by living from a place of compassion and kindness (in thoughts and actions)... allowing (guiding) those wrapped up in fear to find their way out.Withholding any other intention or imposition of my own beliefs,  I wish only to implore a little more grace, a lot more kindness and far less fear and anger… to practice a more cohesive way of being... a less divisive nature.I am changing the world by coming from a place filled with love not hatred, understanding not judgement, unity not divisiveness…I am changing the world, one small moment at a time.Will you join me?Feature image by Bekky Bekks on UnsplashHi, I'm Donna and I am deeply passionate about helping people achieve more than they thought possible by unravelling self-sabotage behaviours and creating new practices in order to a experience more joy and fulfillment.  I invite you to book a no obligation Discovery Call nd see where it takes us.