What does it mean to “heal”? How do we start to heal the deep divide that has infiltrated our nation and our culture? What can any one of us do to counter this tide of hatred and violence?
We are currently mired in a sea of negativity, a culture that is emboldening negativity and the hatred of others. It is a culture of division and fear, and fear is both the natural response to the negativity in which we are living, and the driver of further negative behavior.
As a healer, I see and deal with people every day who are being affected by the current culture of negativity and fear; I am drawn to wanting a response to the stress that is helpful and a path forward that can help change the negativity.
Upon reflection, I am reminded that we have and know that best tool for change; mindfulness. We know the gift and the power that comes from being present in the moment, the antidote to stress that a mindfulness practice can bring; the equanimity and sense of balance it can offer.
Just as a mindfulness practice can bring us into a state of calm and awareness, it can help remind us of the true essence of ourselves as humans. We are, all of us, here on this Earth for a finite period of time. I believe that one of our life-tasks is to learn how to love. To love ones we know and ones we don’t; to find what unites us instead of what separates us.
A mindfulness practice can help create the conditions to allow us to experience and to feel the love we are here to understand. Getting quiet, bringing our focus fully to the present and becoming aware can create an expansion that allows us to navigate the ups and downs of life, the stress and negativity and yet stay more grounded ourselves, offering a choice of responsiveness vs. reactiveness. In this expanded space we choose to see what unites us rather than what separates us, and allows us to move away from fear into light and love.
And that is how we can move towards healing.