Keeping Your Sanity

We Have a Powerful Place at the Table

You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming. - Pablo Neruda 

As spring flowers gently emerge from the once-frozen ground, raising their faces to the light, the "winter of our discontent" transforms. Signs of change are evident everywhere. It's a new dawn and a new day as people worldwide begin to unite in peaceful resistance to injustice for nothing exists in a vacuum, least of all injustice. As spring inevitably follows winter, "every action has an equal and opposite reaction" - a core principle of Newton's Third Law of Motion in physics, the law of karma and the Christian teaching “what we reap, we sow.”
 
Every action has a corresponding consequence, physical or ethical. Ours is a dynamic era of rapid change where the steady trickle of chaotic and misguided choices and actions has accelerated. The consequences are swift. Take African American history for example. The action, the assault on the centuries-long history of an entire people and nation, has become a call to action as organizations and citizens voluntarily fill the void. The consequence? A bright light is now shining into centuries of gloomy corners.
 
Whenever we lie and deceive we fight a battle we cannot win. Arrogance and hubris that run roughshod over the scientific and spiritual law - we are all intricately interconnected - are doomed strategies. Daily we witness the increasingly desperate scramble to defend and enforce the unjust divide-and-conquer agenda.
 
The chaos will only increase because separating people by fabricating division requires a forceful and monumental effort to maintain the façade. After World War II the Berlin Wall, constructed to divide East from West, needed tens of thousands of military and civilian personnel from East and West Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Soviet Union to enforce. The East Germans even monitored their guards for they couldn't trust them not to defect which many did. It was an unsustainable situation and inevitable that the wall would one day be destroyed and the people reunited.
 
History shows monumental change is possible when people unite for a common cause. Mahatma Gandhi was appalled by the racial discrimination and exploitation inflicted by the British Empire's rule in India. Through peaceful resistance, he significantly undermined the British Empire's grip on India. He also inspired similar global movements. He accomplished this while sitting cross-legged on a prayer mat without raising his voice.
 
How was Gandhi able to prevail against all odds? By articulating the universal truth of the sanctity and dignity of all life, he attracted millions to the cause. Courage is contagious and truth includes us all. Gandhi showed us that people's power must be firmly rooted in universal and spiritual truths to prevail against divisive forces; this is what is meant by a spiritual reckoning. Only when we align with the truth can the miraculous happen. Only when aligned with the truth can we expect peace and justice for all.
 
Here's the magic that happens when we unite in peaceful resistance and selflessly advocate for each other. Because the choice is heartfelt, spontaneous and genuine, nobody needs to force us. Bonds are strengthened and faith in our interconnectedness shows us others will be there for us when we need them. Aligning with truth smooths the path and illuminates the way.
 
This is the opposite of the enormous effort required to divide and cause harm requiring constant lies and deceit to enforce. Underlying motives are hidden with constant rhetoric, propaganda. False arguments become increasingly impossible to sustain for truth will always manifest. Aligning with falsehood is akin to single-handedly dragging a massive boulder up a mountain in a pair of flip-flops.
 
When we break people's hearts by being greedy and self-serving, only caring about ourselves at the expense of others, we erode trust and damage relationships. As a result, we become increasingly weak. Eventually one day, we're on our own. No one will be there for us when we need them.
 
We face an existential struggle but also have many reasons to be optimistic. We possess free will and with free will comes great responsibility. We are all here for a reason. What we do now and how we approach it matters more than ever. As we witness daily, every action and reaction has a consequence.

Our choices will be crucial in shaping the future - this is how powerful we are. Just consider the incredible power of the latest boycotts. Take heart that we hold a powerful place at the table. Together we have enough powerful to overcome seemingly impossible odds and can trust that the truth will set us free.