There Is Always Beauty and Hope

It can be challenging to be conscious on a planet that is so filled with discord and suffering. It can be tempting to want to put one’s head in the sand, live in denial, numb out. Or at the other extreme to overdose on doomscrolling, allowing the mind to be intoxicated by the latest fear cocktail being mixed up by the MSM, shaken and stirred on the social media feeds. Neither of these approaches is helpful to anyone.

What the world needs most of all right now is people who are conscious, awake, and grounded.

Contrary to popular belief, being awake doesn’t mean suffering any more than living in denial. Denial masks pain but it doesn’t get rid of it. Being awake means acknowledging the pain in the world and feeling all the feelings that arise because of that.

But staying in the pain is not sustainable either (and also not helpful to anyone). The truth is that no matter what is happening personally or globally, there is always goodness and beauty available as well. We can become so used to staring at each train wreck as it unfolds in apparent slo-mo, that we can’t see much else.

But at any moment we can choose to anchor into the deep goodness and the ever present beauty of life, as those are the things that will sustain us. Focusing on these things is not “toxic positivity”; it is not ignoring others’ suffering or turning a blind eye. It is turning towards the source of healing that we can rely on to soothe and nourish our souls. And if we are well resourced ourselves, then we can help others when called to.

Being conscious doesn’t mean taking on the pain and suffering of others. It means witnessing it with compassion and showing up to each interaction with lovingkindness. It means letting your light shine – through art or generosity of spirit. It means taking actions – big or small – to help ease someone’s suffering.

Being awake means focusing on what you can control. You are not responsible for “fixing” the world. Your presence and loving attention to the world around you will have an impact greater than you can imagine. Small intentional actions can add up to big changes and can model healthy behaviors to others.

At the end of the day, if we face the pain and the problems of the world open eyed, with compassion and curiosity rather than pessimism and hopelessness, if we trust in life and anchor ourselves in the goodness and beauty of it, then there is hope.