We are at a crossroads – a very significant one at that. I feel it and it seems as if a lot of others do also. There are now enough of us that have some sense of the clarity of peace within and how fear and blame have no place in that clarity. Rather than continue with the old fear based way of relating, many now sense the possibility to break free, individually and collectively, into a new way of being together.
Breaking free collectively, however, will not be easy. It will be very ‘messy’ – not because of those who are as yet unaware that fear and blame are not the way but because of the pull, for those of us who are aware, to go back into fear and blame. The old fear based way of thinking and all that has been built on it will not dissolve quietly and comfortably without reverberating repercussions. Time and time again we will have to choose between reacting in fear and blame or responding to what our heart knows as the deepest truth. The collective breaking free will only unfold as our individual breaking free continues.
The current Time’s Up movement, although well-intentioned, often has a subtle yet distinct emphasis on what we don’t want rather than what we do. The visual that pops into my head with this current movement is a female figure standing with legs apart, one hand on her hip and the other arm extended with her palm facing outward. Her energy is resistance. ‘No!’ is what she communicates verbally and nonverbally. She unwittingly points the finger outward continuing the old, tired mentality of fear and blame – victim and victimizer – which will never allow anything new to arise. Rather than communicate what she is for she communicates what she is against.
Yes – time is up. Time’s up on the old way of seeing ourself, others and how we relate to each other. It’s time to see beyond the surface appearances of victim and victimizer based on gender, race, religion or nationality. It’s time to realize the truth that ‘we are one’ and to finally allow that deep understanding to work its way into every aspect of daily life. How we relate to those in our families, those of different religions and races and those of different nations cannot help to then reflect this understanding. The visual that pops into my head with this kind of energy is a human figure standing in full sun, head up, arms extended fully, heart wide open, radiating Yes.
It’s time to see beyond what doesn’t work to what does. Fear based ‘them against us’ kind of thinking only continues what we don’t want.
It’s time for the clarity of understanding that has no root in fear and blame.
It’s time for the wisdom and courage of clear action that, without exception, holds only good will for the whole.
The Spanish film No, despite the title, clearly and amusingly points to the power of communicating what we stand for rather than against. Based on historic events of the 1988 Chilean campaign to oust dictator Pinochet, this film is a powerful reminder of not only what we all desire – but how to actualize that.
Initially, there is a campaign to oust Pinochet which is based on fear and blame. Those running this campaign believe that the best way to win the election (and to honor those who lost their life under Pinochet’s rule) is to communicate the atrocities committed under his rule. They graphically and in great detail remind people of the injustices they will continue to face if he is reelected. The intent of the campaign is to motivate people through fear to vote Pinochet out of office. This campaign, however, isn’t working very well so they bring in Rene, a successful advertiser, to consult with.
Rene has a very different perspective of what works – fear and blame have no place in his view. Despite heated opposition from many in the campaign, he stands firm that inspiring others to action through reminding them of our shared innate sense of well-being and happiness is much more effective than fear based motivation emphasizing the victim and victimizer way of viewing each other.
As Martin Luther King, Jr. stated, “We discredit systems – not misguided individuals within the system…Love is the refusal to defeat any individual…Love has within it a redemptive power. Love is creative. Hate is destructive.” All of this is not to say that misguided individuals who violate other’s freedom should not be held accountable. But holding people accountable within the understanding of this love Martin Luther King reminds of us, allows an energy to radiate that is redemptive not punitive. The knowing that we are all one does not crack in the face of any actions by those who are not yet aware.
If we truly want something new to arise here on this beautiful planet called Earth we have to have the wisdom and courage to first allow the old to be fully exposed and then dissolve without once again going into fear and blame. We won’t be perfect at it by any means – but hopefully there will be enough of us who are clear enough to remind each other along the way that peace is not only the end it is the very means.
Rather than a ‘Time’s Up’ movement which elicits the energy of what we don’t want – it is my hope that we will collectively move into the energy of ‘It’s Time’. It’s simply time. The time is now. It’s now time to actualize, individually and collectively, what each of us, somewhere deep within, knows is fully possible.