Drawing on Truth In Our Divided Times

 

Through writing these newsletters, I have been observing that I often want to preface my writing with, “These Challenging Times…”

It  seems that we have been in a sort of collective pressure cooker for far too long, so for this newsletter, I’d like to share with you a deeper contemplation about the state of our world:

Our external world is not so separate from our inner state. Many might believe that by tuning out the noise of politics, war, or natural disasters, we can find inner peace, but after holding space for many different people, I’ve come to learn that there’s a fine line between dissociation and tuning out. I propose that the real antidote is tuning in.

We are one people: when one of us goes hungry, we all do; when our brothers and sisters cry, we all cry. Each of us, both as individuals and as a collective, are responsible for creating the world we want to live in. We do this by becoming the solution to the chaos and a real life antidote to the dissonance of separation.

It is up to us to act, starting with ourselves, by creating lines of communication rooted in healing, resonance, and alignment with our highest purpose on earth.

Becoming Real Leaders and Guides

We are being called to step forward as genuine leaders and guides. True leaders do not claim to hold the sole truth or have all the answers. Instead, we are those who are willing—willing to peer into the crystal ball of our lives to examine the conflicts we may have with others, - and within our inner compass. It takes great courage to lead with vulnerability and to stand in that uncomfortable space between knowing and not knowing. This is where truth is born from. For the truth is not a final destination; it is a living practice that grows as we grow.

We need nothing but an earnest heart and our voices to be bearers of truth. We need no platform or following to be equipped with genuine curiosity, a willingness to grow, and the courage to push beyond our edges.

That is why we cultivate practices of self-observation: to see where we are fixed to a belief rooted in our wounding.

This is why our “Sankalpa,”—our sacred vow—reaches beyond the polarized shores of our collective wounding or desire. We long for things to be different, to be our way, or to simply not be this way. But between what life should be and what life is, there is an invitation: an asking of us to become.

A Call for Unity and Change

We are being asked to become more than our biases. As long as we remain consumed with choosing sides, we will remain divided. Viewing the world solely in black-and-white, or right versus wrong, leaves us with only shades of grey. True color lies in the subtlety of our shared human experience. It requires the light of our compassion and the courage to let ourselves be cleansed in the rain of our tears—to be washed by spirit—and to transform our anger into the courage that unites our voices. It is through our actions that lasting change is born because truth remains a living practice.

We stand at a profound threshold—a moment where our perception can either fragment or unite, shatter or become whole again.

Our challenge is not to eliminate the complexity of the human experience but to understand the intricate threads that weave us together.

May our prayers and our devotion to this practice bring true peace in these troubling times…

Alicia Marie