Finding Our Way Back to Center
We are living in crazy times. Every day, we are confronted with another story, another decision, another injustice, another moment that makes us wonder, what is happening?
I see the anger on social media—personally, professionally and politically. I understand it because there are times I feel it too. I am astonished by miscarriages of justice, blatant lies, cruelty, division and the discounting of human dignity. There are days when I can feel myself getting pulled into the outrage.
And I have noticed something else about myself:
The more I dwell on everything that is wrong, the more upset I become. My body feels it. My spirit feels it. My creativity feels it. I can become so focused on what I don’t want that I lose connection with the very energy I need to create what I do want.
So, I have been asking myself some questions that might support you navigating these times.
Is my anger helping?
I don’t believe anger is bad. Anger is information. It can tell us that a boundary has been crossed, that something we value is being threatened or that change is needed. But anger is also energy. And we get to decide what we do with that energy.
My practice right now is not to deny what I feel or spiritually bypass what is happening. It is to feel it without allowing it to consume me.
I am learning to return to center and ask:
What is mine to do?
How can I make a difference?
How can I be kinder and more caring?
How can my gifts and talents lift humanity?
How can I become part of the possibility I want to see in the world?
The Bridge
Here are three practices that are helping me move from anger into possibility, joy and freedom.
Feel It Without Becoming It
When anger arises, give yourself permission to feel it. Before you post, respond, argue or react, pause.
Breathe. Put your hand on your heart. Notice what is happening in your body.
Then ask: What is underneath my anger?
Is it fear? Grief? Helplessness? Disappointment? A desire to protect something you love? You don’t have to judge the feeling or immediately fix it. Simply become aware of it.
Possibility Affirmation: I can feel anger without allowing anger to lead me. That is freedom.
Channel It and Open to Possibility
Anger contains tremendous energy. What if instead of simply releasing that energy into the world, we directed it? Maybe your anger is asking you to vote…….
Volunteer.
Mentor someone.
Write.
Create.
Donate.
Organize.
Speak up.
Have a courageous conversation. Support someone who feels unseen. Or simply offer more kindness to the person standing in front of you.
You do not have to save the world. Just find your daily assignment.
Choose Your Frequency and Protect Your Joy
Joy is not denial. Joy is not pretending that suffering doesn’t exist. And joy is certainly not a lack of concern.
Joy can be an act of spiritual strength.
We need moments when we turn off the news, put down the phone, step outside, laugh with someone we love, listen to music, pray, dance, create, rest and remember that beauty still exists.
Protecting your joy does not mean you have stopped caring about the world. It means you are caring for the part of you that must live in this world. Get clear and honor those parts that:
Want to stay informed.
Want to stand for justice.
Want to be heard.
I do not want the chaos around me to become the chaos within me.
Begin to practice the following:
Feel what I feel.
Find my center.
Ask what is mine to do?
Take conscious action.
And then return to love.
Sacred Messengers
Dear Ones, your anger carries messages—but we don’t have to build a home there. Let it awaken you. Let it inform you. Let it move you. And then allow that powerful energy to become possibility, creativity, service, joy and freedom.
The world may feel upside down. But we still get to choose what we bring into it. We still get to choose what we amplify. We still get to choose what we create.
And perhaps one of our greatest acts of resistance is refusing to let what is happening around us steal the love, joy and light within us.
This week, I invite you to ask yourself:
What gifts can I shard today?
And then do that….. With courage…… With compassion…. With love.
Remember that you can always join my private community to get more wisdom and join our community gatherings.
Sending you love and light,
Cynthia
