Last night I watched Blood Diamond. It wasn’t a movie. To me it was yet another wake up call to all the atrocities happening around the world that we Westerners so often ignore or profit from. It cut me to the core, gave me another massive jolt and I found myself questioning – what am I doing – really doing to have a positive impact, to help make changes, to help with the serious issues of cruelty, poverty and social injustice on our planet – what am I doing to create a happier, safer place and to change the world?
I drove home in tears – of frustration and anger and powerlessness. And at 11pm on a rainy Sydney night, I ran until it hurt.
And then my mind switched to me and the questions started on so many tangents. One thing that has come up again and again for me is why do I do what I do? Why do I want to make money? Why do I appear in the media? Why do I build a profile? Many of you might be able to relate to these questions.
I’m sure some people might believe my ego is out of control and I have this perpetual need for external validation. To an extent they would be right – we all have a need to belong, to feel good enough, to be worthy, to be loved, to be seen. I am acutely aware of this and question my intentions and check in with myself on a daily basis. I also acknowledge that part of it is indeed ego and a combination of the above defects of character. But in my early 20’s I wrote in my journal “we cannot make positive change by being a wallflower”. I think my fate was sealed. And I believe the potential to do good far outweighs the few naysayers (and my own waiver from the path of purity every now and then) that may try to bring us down.
But I also believe its bigger than that. I recently heard something that resonated with me and it went along the lines of – we can’t help the poor by staying poor. We can’t help the sick by being sick. We can’t help the unhappy by being unhappy and really we can’t help the world by being small.
And for this reason, I believe making money gives us freedom and choice and having a profile gives us a platform from which we have the opportunity and the strength to be able to really make positive lasting changes. As mentioned in recent posts, a few weeks ago I attended a global entrepreneurs conference with the theme, Change the World (www.amsterdam2011.com). There has been a groundswell happening since in me and I believe and hope in the other 550 plus people who were fortunate enough to experience the energy, platform and power held in that space.
I don’t yet have all the answers and I’m not yet sure what my next move will be, but I know sure as the sun shines – for me now more than ever its bigger than money for moneys sake and profile for egos sake. Its about gearing up for something much bigger than me. Its about staying open, being aware, being informed and educated, and consciously looking for opportunities about how I as one individual can truly make a difference. I would hope that every one of us starts opening our eyes and starts to really believe that we have the power as individuals and communities to do things much bigger and much more long lasting and impactful than we ever dreamed.
I am grateful for the space I am in and look forward to whatever comes next. I don’t presume to have the answers and truthfully yet don’t even really have the questions. I posed this predicament a few days ago on my facebook and people kindly gave me all sorts of advice – most of it esoteric – someone very wise said… “Working in your Grace Zone = doing just what you have been purposed to do. It feels easy, there is no striving, things fall into place and you know you’re there because your heart feels satisfied. Everyone has their own special job to do. Just do that! No need to do anyone else’s job. That takes away the opportunity for them to do it. What is in your hand right now that you could use to outwork what is in your heart? The answer is right there!”
I thank you for this feedback and I get it – I’ve been writing books and educating myself on manifestation, laws of attraction, just being… for a long time now and I will endeavour to live in that conscious state. However my question here is really more about the tangible – I would like to have a go at really addressing major social, political, economic and environmental issues. Because some of us need to take a lead. We can’t all sit back saying we’ll just tune in and do the little bit that is presented to us. Sometimes when we feel we have the tools, the maturity and the emotional intelligence I believe we can actively pursue the bigger issues.
One thing that’s burning in my head and heart at the moment is that according to UNICEF 22,000 (yes twenty two thousand) children die every day from poverty, hunger or an easily prevented disease… I would welcome your feedback about the bigger tangible issues at hand. I believe if we bring them into consciousness, then indeed the universe does have a magical way of showing us a path to address them x L
Sidenote – I wrote this on 8th October 2011. 6 days later (today) I have had 7 meetings on Change the World / Human Consciousness related topics. Only I knew I had written this BLOG. This, my friends, is what I truly believe is the power of intention, getting clear, creating a vision and then in some divine way, the universe starts presenting us with opportunities. Some of these opportunities are just so incredible and have so much power to make a difference and I will be sharing some of those with you soon. Eternally grateful – Lisa xx