The Sun Also Rises
Caution, Heavy Fog
A thick fog has settled over our economy. Like cautious drivers, we have slowed our pace, scanning the horizon for obstacles that might present a danger. Hazard lights are flashing each time we turn on the news, read the paper, or even engage in conversation with our friends. In response, we clench our hands around the proverbial wheel, fighting to hang on to the lives to which we have become accustomed. Strain and struggle epitomize the energy that dominates our society.
Incomplete Perspective
This seemingly appropriate response to our current situation is not merely imperfect. It is contributing to and prolonging our economic quagmire. There are no harmless thoughts. Believing we are at the affect of these global challenges moves us away from proactive life design and into reactive acceptance. Every thought we have shapes our expectations, and influences the effort and energy we bring to our challenges. If we wish to move beyond this current economic environment, we must engage life with positive expectation.
At a casual glance, this metaphor of driving cautiously and reactively in the fog seems logical. However, viewing our situation from such a passive and defensive vantage point fails to recognize both our responsibility and opportunity. We are not merely the drivers in this scene, but we are also the sun beams which must shine hot and bright to burn off the fog and eliminate the artificial barriers to our growth.
The Fog is Lifting
While their drumbeat may currently be overwhelmed, many are recognizing the amazing opportunity before us. These thought leaders are excited by the possibility to build on a new foundation and to do so based on the universal principles that always succeed. This collaborative shifting of consciousness will enable us to tap into the power of synergy, fully engaging our collective potential to create the world we most desire.
The answer to our challenges is not going to present itself on the news. It will not come from outside. Meaningful life change comes from within. This is a great time to abide in the core message of Gandhi’s inspirational life to “be the change you want to see in the world.” If we want more trust, faith, courage, and passion in the world, first model it with our lives.
Moving from Inspiration to Implementation
So how do we transfer this from concept to implementation. Who is not moved by the idea of peaceful co-existence and abundant productivity for all. However, living at full speed presents many challenges that come may come upon us faster than we are equipped to handle. In the throws of life, many of us will forget to “be the change,” instead reacting defensively, and possibly aggressively to our subconscious fears. Our nature betrays us by instinctively going into a fight or flight mode to threats that require neither.
What encompasses unlimited promise is that we need not live out of our instincts. One of the distinctive human endowments is the ability we have to choose our response, rather than to live reactively. By recognizing that our life experience is never the result of what happens to us, we expand the space between the event and our response to it. This allows us to act in alignment with our values, even when that might not be our immediate response. Maintaining this awareness allows us to move out of “victim energy” and to reclaim control of our lives.
Without this conscious shift, we will continue to attract into our lives more evidence that supports the belief that the world is happening to us, rather than that we are creating our world. This passive perspective results in what many refer to a negative self-fulfilling prophecy.
“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” Wayne Dyer
Each of us has a primary paradigm, or lens through which we see the world. This determines the way we see things. This paradigm is influenced, though not controlled by the society within which we live. As the headlines have become increasingly negative, that societal influence has also become stronger and more consistent.
The Power to Choose
Fortunately, of far greater impact is a triad of choices we make in each moment:
1. what we will focus on
2. how we will manage our physical energy
3. the meaning we will give to the events in our lives