Our world has been splintered.
I’m reminded of what happened to me in the early 1980’s, when a terrible incident initiated what many would call a mental breakdown. I felt at the time as though my head exploded into thousands of little pieces, all of which slowly and painstakingly came back together. Once they did, there was something inside my brain - my consciousness, my spirit, whatever we call it - that had not been there before. My career began not too long afterwards. My breakdown led to breakthrough.
That’s how I choose to see what’s happening in the world today. Things are falling apart, and the question is how we can ensure that things will come back together. This isn’t an easy time, and it might get even harder before it gets better. But it’s also a profound opportunity for all of us to become the people we need to be, to learn from what we have experienced, in order to repair the world.
The first thing that has to happen is that we must repair ourselves. Gandhi said self-purification must precede direct political action. What happens when our lives fall apart, or a society falls apart, is that we are forced to look at all the ways in which we ourselves must improve. There’s always a temptation to lay blame on others, but that’s not a portal to healing; it’s a portal to pain. At some point we must look at ourselves, and monitor our own behavior, if we’re to make our way from the darkness to the light.
Today’s video is about our current political discourse, particularly the ugliness of so much of it. We’re splintered, stuck in silos, too often unable to hear each other, all of which obstruct the deeper conversation that’s imperative if we’re to transform these times. I hope it adds a bit of insight to a larger conversation in the air today. We must mature beyond the anger and disrespect that characterizes the times in which we live.
A politics of contempt will not repair the world. Only love can do that, and if we allow it to it will.
(P.S. In case you haven’t checked out Substack Notes, I post fairly often. I’m writing daily prayers leading up to the midterm election on November 3rd, praying for peace and harmony in the midst of what is obviously a very volatile campaign season.
May no weapon formed against our democracy stand.)
