I decided a while ago not to watch the news. If something was important enough for me to know about, I’d find out about it through my circles, or casual circumstances.
I carefully sifted through my social media feeds, email subscriptions, apps and everything in my environment to weed out the mainstream, mostly negative, stories that violated my mind and heart (with my permission) daily.
And no, I didn’t start living in a bubble that has no connection to reality. On the contrary; the more I disconnected from the daily bullshit we’re bombarded with, the more I could make sense of the world from a more objective lens.
Not surprisingly, my levels of anger and indignation with humanity declined dramatically, and I gradually felt happier and at peace.
You see, any truth is a matter of perspective. And any perspective can be backed up with evidence. That’s the nature of reality, but I’ll save the philosophy discussions for another post.
Here’s where it gets tricky. There are realities which are hard to ignore and simply CAN’T be ignored.
I’m a believer of the good in humanity. It’s everywhere around us. In fact, only a very small portion of humanity is up to no good, but unfortunately, it’s the one that gets most airtime.
The problem we’re facing is that the socio-economic structures/systems we’re part of no longer serve us, and favour that small, but powerful percentage of rotten human beings (for lack of a better expression) who cause most of the harm in the world.
These are people who are deeply disconnected with themselves, others and the world around them, to the point of complete numbness to the harm they cause.
What does this have to do with connecting with and celebrating my inner Goddess? Everything, as I’ve been discovering.
As I attempt to re-connect and explore the inner light and pureness I was born with, the more it gets harder for me to ignore my own contribution to our society’s ugly footprint on earth.
I AM society. You ARE society. And this is a hard one to get my head around.
On one hand, I feel we’re all part of a system that sets us up for failure as a species. On the other hand, I contribute to its perpetuation with my everyday actions, even when I really don’t mean to. This can be overwhelming, if I let it.
Even the most trivial action has this effect.
For example, I often buy groceries at the supermarket instead of farmers’ markets. On the surface, there’s nothing wrong with this. Except, if I start consciously thinking about all aspects of it, I see that it’s a direct contribution to keeping this archaic, earth-violating system alive.
How? These supermarkets tries to please a consumer like me by stocking heaps of perishable produce, meat, fish (you get the gist) every single day, whether it’s going to be completely sold out or not. Let’s leave other manufactured products out of the equation to keep this as simple as possible.
Just how much of it gets thrown away every day? How much packaging (which ends up in landfills and pollutes our oceans) fills those supermarket shelves? How many animals get killed, whether we end up eating them or not? How much pressure (in the form of all sorts of nasty agricultural practices) do we put on our soils, water supplies, and our own health, just to keep up this pace?
All just so that I can go to the supermarket when I feel like it and get what I want, in exchange for making these big corporates (and the ones who stock their shelves) obscene sums of money.
Now, it’s tempting to blame these big, anonymous corporations. These giants we can’t escape from. And yes, in so many ways, they have us trapped. But WHO are these corporations? People like ME and YOU, who make decisions every day, which either contribute to a better society, better use of the precious resources on earth, or its destruction.
Here’s the good news.
If people like you and me started these corporations and are part of them, then we can also change them or take them down. We’re the majority, after all.
Most would argue it’s too big a job, and we’ll never be able to change it. I call bullshit. Complete bullshit.
Before we were all born free, slavery was the norm, until something better took place. Who led the change? Women and men like you and me. That’s how we evolve as a species.
Before you call me a hippy or a dreamer, know that I’m anything but. I’m a C-level executive (as the label goes), I have an extensive background in business, marketing, influence and a variety of other disciplines. In fact, I love the intricacies of the business world.
I don’t hold negative views on money/currency but rather how it’s used, which leads to the financial markets we have today, and how big business and big industry operates.
But I believe it’s our responsibility to use the current system for the good. In fact, good businesses should enjoy an abundance of profits as a reward for their good practices.
What do I define as good businesses? The ones who produce anything under a strong ethical foundation. These businesses use clean resources, don’t create waste in the world, they look after their people both on a human and financial level, and use marketing and sales practices with full integrity to attract their customers.
As a consumer, I’m more than happy for my dollars to support them. Because they’ve done me a favour. They help me live in alignment with my values, in full respect of my environment, without trying to fleece me for every cent they can get out of me. But most importantly, the people behind these businesses know the only way forward is sustainability in the true sense of the word.
The good news is, that people are starting these kinds of great businesses all over the world. I could give you so many examples. And a shift from the old, violating business and manufacturing practices is inevitable. It will happen one consumer, one family at a time to make a difference.
The same is true for any other change we need to see in the world.
How do we achieve this? By digging deep into our unconscious ways, and what causes us to contribute to the current state of affairs. Where does my sense of inner lack have me horde material goods to make me feel good? Where does my need for corporate titles, status symbols come from and how can I evolve from it? Where does my need to keep up play out, and what’s the price I truly pay for it in real life?
Digging deep in our own internal dirt is urgent. Connection, connection, connection. With ourselves first, then everyone and everything else. This is the way forward. The way of the Goddess. One little change at a time.
Easier said than done, of course. But it must be done.