At the Core - “When the hate comes, let there be love”
When the hate comes, let there be love
And when the night falls, let there be peace
And when the dark cloud over our heads
releases its grasp on our hearts and our souls
May we re-member...
Chorus:
We’re whole...
Connected at the core
One people, we’re whole
Connected at the core of it all
When the fear comes, let there be love
And when the tears fall, let there be peace
And when the violent fist of the lost ones crashes down...
Breaks our hearts, chains our souls
May we re-member...
Chorus:
We’re whole...
Connected at the core
One people, we’re whole
Connected at the core of it all
And when the fever starts to flare
We’re gonna shake down, shake it down, shake it down
And when those guns are in the air
We’re gonna lay them down, lay them down, lay
‘em down
And re-member...
Chorus:
We’re whole...
Connected at the core
One people, we’re whole
Connected at the core of it all (Repeat)
In recent times, we have been living amidst a tapestry of intense emotions and a turbulent scape of hostile realities, playing out in our lives on personal, community, country and world levels. As we become more connected daily, through the vehicle of the internet, it is increasingly difficult not to feel personally affected by larger world conflicts…and communities are quickly and directly impacted by the reflections of country scale clashes. Our perspectives of micro to macro life are becoming interwoven as one larger experience.
While this heightened connectivity opens up the possibility for many new levels of peaceful sharing and passionate action, it can also become a road-block of heaviness in our lives as we observe conflict, hate and war play out in the world again and again. For the first time in human history we are drawn in to feel personally involved, responsible even, with a war happening in a small country of Africa, a fatal clash in the Middle East, impending global warming, various protests and marches taking place around the world, and the latest horrific shooting...all of these layers, and many more, every single day.
As we observe complex and weighted events playing out via our internet/social media looking glass, it is easy to be pulled in by the collective popular responses and reactions, and also feel triggered or uncomfortable if they do not totally align with our own views. The inner sensation can end up weighing on us like self-inflicted peer-pressure, stemming from a source that we cannot even totally identify or understand.
While scrolling down through the latest “social media news,” amidst the turbulence and heat of the latest worldly wars, protests and unrest, I came across a poem by my dear friend Stephanie Carlin, addressing the idea of “fighting hate,” a term that was being widely circulated in mass response. Stephanie realized that this concept did not resonate with her own personal truth about our growth and potential as humans…and that by focusing our intentions around “fighting hate” rather than the possibility of “charging forward with love,” we energetically and unintentionally call in more conflict.
Stephanie chose to take a boldly creative step to clarify her own truth around the idea of “fighting hate,” both for her own growth as well as others, as she penned the following poem and released it into the social media ethers:
Fyi
You don't "fight hate"
You love.
You move from love, you exude love
You transform the world out of an unwavering stand for...
You guessed it...
Love
There is a distinct difference between charging forward with love
and fighting hate
And its hard
to "just" love
And maybe you disagree
But so what
I think you know
It's the truth.
As I absorbed Stephanie’s words and message, I was deeply touched by the beautifully bold sentiment and felt a personal sense of heaviness begin to release, like pulling up the drain in a bath-full of dirty water. I realized how bogged down my own system had been by the “fighting narrative” being acted out on so many scales of human existence. I instantly fell in love with Stephanie’s new image of “charging forward with love”...a motto and mantra I could embody in my daily practice and actions, brimming with a lifted sense of purpose to be positive change now.
There is a metaphorical bomb going off outside our windows these days, granting us direct viewing at all hours, and it is so hard to know when, and how, to close the blinds in order to maintain a sense of sanity, self care, and focus on our own Soul missions. Many people watch through the window and get emotionally riled up to go join “the fight.” Others end up feeling so paralyzed by the destruction and hate they observe, that all they can manage in their lives is to get up each day, totally overwhelmed, with just enough energy to keep watching the show. Please understand that I am not judging either of these reactions or experiences, as they are both part of our collective learning, and sometimes we must go to extremes in order to discover greater awareness. However, I am posing a question...
Is there another way to be, and progress, than from a state of polarized re-action?
Gratefully, I believe the answer is yes! Firstly, it is important to remember that for all of the hate and fighting we see playing out in the world, there are even more people embracing love, peace, harmony, collaboration and growth. In the same way we feel directly affected and pulled into the daily macro-drama, we can slightly re-tune our awareness to become aligned with the “Macro-Awakening” movement that is rising up all around us.
Fighting evil and hate are ancient story-lines, begging to be outmoded. We are at a point in our human evolution where we have the awareness to tune to the deeper resonance of our shared human experience and, with empathy and compassion, choose to love, grow, and accept others in response to hate. Gandhi’s Satyagraha, or “Truth Force” movement, is arising once again on a whole new magnitude and scale...now that we can actually see and feel our human worldly connectivity and actions playing out in real time via the internet platform. We are given the choice to add our creative energy, vision, and manifestation to this building wave and “charge forward with love.”
For those who realize our oneness nature at the core, and want to see brave expressions of peace become contagious, follow Stephanie Carlin’s lead...gather your courage, and send your creative voice and actions into the world. It will likely feel freeing to share your vision, while simultaneously opting out of the group polarity game.
In your personal life, make time to practice “closing the blinds” from time to time; not in denial, but with the intention of conscious awakening. Develop your deeper listening and visioning skills, tuning in to what your own voice sounds like, what your own actions look like, manifested in your family, neighborhood, community and world. When you understand your role and personal life mission, sourced from a place of peaceful inner reflection, it is a lot easier to know how to move in your truth and make meaningful connections with others doing the same. Awakened thought leaders are being called to speak out and rise on all levels right now....and every single Earthly person holds the potential to make an impression in a high vibrational and conscious way, sourced from seeds of virtue.
Through the modern day looking glass, beyond the chaos, we have been given the gift of re-membering just how connected we all are. At the core, we are ALL Soul Beings having the Human Experience. I believe, beneath the illusions of separation and difference, that we have created, lies a core truth of peace, love, and light, as pure and present as the day we were born. The more we practice embodying these virtues, the more we can realize our own unique purpose and send our voices singing into the world. We can, and will, impact the whole of who we are as a collective…as we consciously cultivate love and radiate positivity from the core.