Change—even global change—starts on the individual level, and then if it contains clarity and vitality, can spread to the hearts and minds of many. This is important to remember because acts of anger and conflict seem to have become part of our everyday life. Unfortunately, this makes it too easy for these daily events to erode our mental, emotional, and physical stability, which makes it difficult for us to maintain internal clarity and vitality. When this happens, we can become part of the problem instead of part of the solution.
How did we get here? Is there something we can do to change this situation? I think we need to remember that things don’t just appear out of thin air, but are rather the by-product of thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors—sometimes conscious and sometimes unconscious. I also think there tends to be a natural human tendency to sweep things under the rug when we don’t know—or don’t want to know—how deal with something difficult and painful. Unfortunately, when we don’t deal with these situations, we will eventually find a large elephant under the rug in our living room.
So what are three things we can personally do to bring about change?
- Get in touch with yourself, your feelings, and your beliefs. Then ask yourself honestly if your life really reflects those beliefs. If it doesn’t, then step-by-step work on making small changes in your life so it becomes a reflection of your beliefs. You may be surprised on how quickly your life can change to be an accurate reflection of your own—not another person’s—beliefs.
- Decide if you like what is inside your head. If there is significant negativity in the news, observe how this information affects your inner wellbeing. I am not suggesting you ignore the elephant in the room, but what I am suggesting is that you pay attention to your personal tolerance level for external chaos and upheaval. How does your body tell you that it has reached its tipping point? And, do you listen and disengage when you reach that tipping point? Every day, each of us has the choice to remain centered, clear, and to move from our heart. When we do, we can be positive and productive human beings. When we don’t, we can become part of the problem.
- Invest in yourself—or to put it another way—pay attention to where you put your energy, and where and how you use your time. Our sanity, clarity, and ability to be conscious, contributing members of society is dependent on us maintaining a high level of vitality and clarity. To do this, we need to put good gas in our tank (nutrition), drive our vehicle well (exercise regularly) and keep our windshield clear (make sure our thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors don’t cloud or distort our vision).
If you do these three steps, I think it is possible to remain balanced, even under the stress and upheaval of the day, and to become part of the solution—not the problem.
With this in mind, I invite you to explore some of the ICWIB! art activities and videos for FREE because they are also a wonderful way reduce stress and increase your internal clarity and vitality.
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