Make up your mind.... to make a difference

How many times in our lives do we come across issues that speak to our heart? Some issues whisper gently, and others scream at us! Too often, if it is an issue that does not directly impact our personal life, the passion will dissipate prior to us taking action.

Think of the emotions that are evoked when we see the devastation from acts of nature…we go into heart mode and we watch excessive media footage that just perpetuates a feeling of helplessness…this can often lead us to prayer or maybe make a donation to help an effected area recover. All too often, we just stay stuck in the helplessness of it. This humanitarian paradigm is ongoing…

…it is instinctual to react to a fearful situation with fear…but, it is equally important to note that what you set in motion, may require a new emotion – another way this is put is, as Albert Einstein noted, is that ‘You can’t solve a problem from the same level of thinking that created it.’

…everyday life issues follow a similar paradigm, especially with ongoing issues. Issues arise that bring high emotional responses…we replay the worst-case scenario over and over again in our minds. Depending on how many areas of our life may be impacted, we create the ripple effect of the impact with more of the same energy and feelings of despair. Before too long, we are in a joyless state of survival, because everywhere you look seems to display the worst that you are thinking. Soon, even the most insignificant negative issue balloons into a catastrophe in your mind, or sometimes becomes that last straw. It is not until you wonder how such a small issue made you react that way, that you can change your reference point.

The change will require some form of reframing and empowerment. This may not look like super hero powers that we want, thinking that we can put on our cape, and save the day! But reframing the issue based on facts is often difficult until a thought can become a choice to choose a moving forward thought. Moving forward means choosing to do something to make a difference in the situation despite the situation. Moving forward feels like movement and not being numbed by the static energy of the worst-case scenario. Moving forward looks like surrounding the situation and not being surrounded by it. Instead of trying to push back the high tide so it doesn’t drown you – get out of the way! Stop watching it and gawking at it. Step back to a safer place where it doesn’t look so scary and imminent. It is in that new space that you will see more clearly.

Friends can often be a sounding board for this reframing. If we have a platform to voice our concerns, we will often stop in the middle of our conversation, hearing our own words, blink at what we knew all along, and then move forward with knowing.

Shake off the fear, and take a cleansing breath. Don’t stay stuck in the fear of the situation it was created in. Sometimes situations are there to propel us to change, to find a way to help ourselves, and others, and to reach out in love when we don’t understand how things can be so awful. Always offer love rather than staying in fear, even if you don’t know what the outcome may look like.

The news is full of stories that are just plain awful - it is not going away. Our lives are inevitably going to have conflicts, and resolution needs to follow. Moving forward in love is the only response. Once we realize this, we can begin to make a difference in our own lives, and that of others.

…always be the love you are called to be – and listen for that call – it may not be coming from where you think it is