Finding Peace in Difficult Times

To be able to sustain inner peace, brightness, and yes, even joy, in these times of environmental, social, and economic crisis, is great strength.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness:

Only light can do that.

Hate cannot drive out hate:

Only love can do that”

(Martin Luther King Jr.)

These words describe a universal truth. Simple. But that does not mean easy. It was never easy.

The real work is inside each of us, within our own inner world. By engendering loving-kindness, compassion, understanding, acceptance, forgiveness, gratitude, optimism, joy, and peace, the best within us. These emotional states lift our whole being and affect others around us in a positive way as well.

But please understand this: I am not talking about shutting down our fears, anger, and grief at all. To manage these emotions, to allow them to move us and inform us, to understand their wisdom and power, we have to allow ourselves to really feel them.

To be human includes the whole spectrum of experience, positive, negative, light to dark, and everything in between. “Hu” = “all the colors”, “man” = “to be”.

To learn to respond to our suffering (our fear, anger, and grief) in a proactive, life affirming, positive way, we can align all that we feel with the best that is within us. Bringing it all together, not pushing stuff out.

This means, firstly, we are no longer willing to be in a victim mindset, blaming our life circumstances, the state of the world, other people, our upbringing, or even traumatic experiences, for our inability to thrive. We no longer use these as excuses for apathy and despair. We decide we will deal with it all, rather than blame others, or shame ourselves, for the way it is. We decide to be awake (“viveka”).

First, we feel. We don’t judge ourselves for our honest emotions. Instead, we bring self-compassion, love, and acceptance to this pain inside. We inwardly care for ourselves as we process our feelings.

We align all that arises within us with the best within us: our pain with love, so that we feel soothed; our fear with peace, so that we feel calmer; our frustrations with gratitude, our darkness with joy, our negativity with courage, our confusion with wisdom. We bring them together.

This process is so enlightening! We learn so much about ourselves and we build great inner confidence, trust, and stability. A deep, true calmness emerges: inner settling, self-knowledge, and self-possession.

And clarity of our passion about certain issues, a realization of action we are compelled to that will further align our whole life (through thought, word, and action) with the best within us. We are directed from deep within. So, act!

This is how we deal. This is how we become part of the solution rather than part of the problem. This is empowerment.

And who’s to say this is not what these problems in life are all about anyway?

“There is a crack in everything.

That’s how the light gets in.”

(Leonard Cohen)

Those of us who seek peace, love, and joy, those of us ready to be responsible for our own lives, all of us who are moved to help…

We are the light holders. Our light is challenged for sure. Our work, for ourselves and for the world, is to tend our own inner selves, to strengthen again and again and again.

Build your light. Hold your light.

I am with you. I support you.

In Love and Light,

Jacqui