I keep asking myself this question. When? Over and over I roll this word around in my mind as my stomach does little flips and my mind anxiously ponders the state of our world. When will I read the news, scroll through social media, or turn on the television and stop seeing destruction, violence, and evil in the world? When will children stop being murdered at what should be as a safe haven for learning and growing? When will people stop being physically violated and killed for being born with more melanin in their skin or being born of a particular religion? When will women stop being sexually assaulted and made to feel that they are powerless and will never matter? When will wealth stop being more powerful than laws and morality? When will this world wake up and start taking care of the environment and mother nature who gives to us so selflessly? When will the genocides end? When will we start taking care of each other?
The more I think about the set of dilemmas in our world, the sicker with nausea I grow. Over and over and over again I see the good in this world get shut down and get trampled on by the powers of politics and money. The good exist, we are here and we are fighting with everything we have to ensure that the fate of human existence doesn’t quickly devolve into catastrophe and destruction. Unfortunately the unknowing, the ignorant, and the lost ones continue to operate in their loud unapologetic way, leaving a path of destruction behind them. There is a lack of foresight, a stubborn refusal to look at the facts and at history; insisting that because they want something to be, the consequences must not be real.
I ask and I ask and I ask, and the only answer to my question I can come up with is “when the hate stops.” When there is no longer hate in the hearts of the citizens of this world, is when this will all stop. When everyone is able to love themselves fully and without abandon, is when we will be able to love and take care of the world. When love guides our way, emanating from our hearts and our souls, is when this will all stop. Only when we learn how to love unconditionally and without bias, will this world heal. When will that be? Or a more realistic question may be, will it ever be? The context we exist in is one filled with anxiety, hostility, and divisiveness. It permeates our being and contributes to feelings of stress, discomfort, sadness, and helplessness. This moment in time has taken on its own energy, and it feels like it cannot be stopped or swayed, like it is immortal. However, when I look at history I know that all evil things eventually come to an end.
While I cannot provide an answer to my own question of “when?” I can provide an alternative question, “how?” How will this stop? The answer I can come up with is through promoting love in everything that we do, starting with ourselves. Standing strong in the face of this destruction, not allowing it to topple us over, or render us helpless, but to contribute. Little by little if we all do good in the ways that we know how to, the love will overpower the hate. The idea is not to get overwhelmed, we are not going to be able to tackle every issue or change everything that we are worried about, but just start where we can and with what we have. I witnessed this in action yesterday as I walked down the street and overheard a young man tell a volunteer from UNESCO that while he did not have any money to donate to the cause he would like to volunteer his time. This is love, this is beauty, and with this was a reminder that we are not powerless to the lost souls filled with confusion that are acting in anger instead of love. We are powerful and we have enough love to spread. One can only hope that it will be contagious. Through love, we will be healed. We must start with ourselves. When we are filled with this beautiful feeling, it will pour out from our souls onto the world and begin its repair.